Lately, I find myself reaching for the TV remote to turn the Mute button off - every time the  Amazon Kindle ad is aired. Like the plot and love the song - something that is hard to say for any ad these days. But I haven't been able to figure out why the Kindle guy has to go to the children who live so far off that he has to travel by practically all possible modes of transport - flight, train, bus and boat - to reach them. Do they belong to the village that he was born and brought up in? I am equally confused by his crossing himself and looking at the sky towards the end of the ad. Is he thanking God for giving him an opportunity to be able to do something for the kids or is he thanking God for Amazon? ;-) Whatever the case, it seems that Amazon has found out, and rightly so, that we Indians fall for emotional ads. Whether that will translate into actual sales or not is a different ballgame altogether.

Among the ads that make me bang the remote in frustration is the Fair And Lovely one. They have been spreading the false promise of turning your skin tone lighter, with its subtle message that fair skin is superior, for years. And now they are offering scholarships so women can earn all that they are expecting from their future husband before they get married? Wow! Another such ad is by Flipkart - which shows Ranbir Singh milking a she-goat to add milk to his cereal. Gross!

And Priyanka Chopra's ad for Schmidt chocolate has killed my appetite for it :-(