Travelling in Bombay local trains for nearly a decade now one gets immune to the smells, the crowds, the sweat (your own, not others’) and the graffiti inside the ladies’ compartments (all of which is graphic and mostly badly drawn)! What one doesn’t get used to (and I mean it in a positive way) are the advertisements people put up in the train compartments.
They are an art form in their own right, what with their handwritten phone numbers, bad grammar, even worse spellings, and an assumption of knowing what the public wants!
They are an art form in their own right, what with their handwritten phone numbers, bad grammar, even worse spellings, and an assumption of knowing what the public wants!
They offer everything from cookery classes (Rs. 1000/- mein Chinese, Tandoori, Moghlai, Breakfast food, Chocolate desserts and other courses, Icecreams, Cakes, different types of biryanis and much more.) to ‘Elongated ear lobe repair without stitches’. They also come in various colours, from boring white to bright green!!
Recently there were these small envelopes stuck in the compartments, over the seats and near the doors. They simply read: ‘Take 1’. Everyone looking at them would think, take what? Several of these people (including me) took a look at what was inside the envelope out of sheer curiosity (and the fact that I was forced to face the envelope near the door owing to the fact that I was being crushed by the weight of some 50 women behind me!). What better way to advertise?
I personally think it’s the best and cheapest form of marketing – who needs ad agencies when you can do it with a copy machine, a bottle of glue and local trains?
[Note: This post is not considering the morals of sticking material in trains, which can be construed as vandalism. The author is just appreciating individual ingenuity and good marketing strategy.]
Recently there were these small envelopes stuck in the compartments, over the seats and near the doors. They simply read: ‘Take 1’. Everyone looking at them would think, take what? Several of these people (including me) took a look at what was inside the envelope out of sheer curiosity (and the fact that I was forced to face the envelope near the door owing to the fact that I was being crushed by the weight of some 50 women behind me!). What better way to advertise?
I personally think it’s the best and cheapest form of marketing – who needs ad agencies when you can do it with a copy machine, a bottle of glue and local trains?
[Note: This post is not considering the morals of sticking material in trains, which can be construed as vandalism. The author is just appreciating individual ingenuity and good marketing strategy.]
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