Asterisk And Oblique

Traditional advertising is passé, thanks to celebrity fatigue and empowered consumers. Brands are now dipping deep into the bag of tricks to stay visible

- Anuja Chauhan

Nobody likes advertising. It is really the ultimate Great Gatbsy, shiny, shallow and over-the-top, throwing huge, glittering parties for people it does not even know, desperate to be loved and accepted, and meeting with only fleeting, erratic success.

But unlike Jay Gatsby, who was at least driven by love, advertising is driven by lust for lucre. It sponsors beauty pageants, award shows, the best TV and digital content and the IPL, essentially in a bid to kiss up to you and become your bestie, all the while whispering words into your ear that confirm your worst insecurities (not fair enough, not strong enough, not rich enough, not smart enough, not popular enough). And it always, always, has one eye on your wallet.

Consumers—who today are the wokest they have ever been—sense this, and have only contempt for it. They enjoy what it has to offer, but despise it for its pushiness and its desperation to be liked. Aided by smart technology, they fast-forward, skip and dodge it adroitly, never letting it into their inner circle, or inviting it back to the exclusive private parties they hold in their own homes. And so advertising has had to become insidious. In the old days, it used to straight out declare itself; it used to say “I am advertising—slick, glossy, over-bright, shallow, shiny and simple.” But now, it has become a creature that hides its teeth.