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Victoria

The event of the fortnight was the Radio Mirchi Kaan awards for excellence in radio advertising. The invitation card had a earbud attached in case you wanted to clear your audio channels before sitting down to listen. The venue was the spanking new Grand Hyatt Ballroom in Vakola, near the airport. And for all those who are interested in trivia, it was an all-invitee show. Think. All the awards nites you have gone for are ticketed. Unless you are a Past President of that association, or a member of their jury, or a celebrity.

Well, the reportage one received is worth quoting. The function began just two hours behind schedule. Did I hear you sniggering about Mumbai Standard Time? Well, you obviously haven't attended an Abby or the AdAsia!

Anyway, presenters of awards had the envelope that contained the name of the winner and lingerie attached to it. Don't ask me why. Some of the winners got kissed by two pretty young girls. Others by two handsome young men. Still others by the famous Mumbai hijras (eunuchs). No, the choice of who got kissed by who was not based on their proclivities. It was strictly random.

Well, yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan. Oh yes, Shankar Mahadevan gave an outstanding performance and poor Amin Sayani, the man with the honey-tipped voice got slow-clapped through his speech. No reflection on the all time radio great. Some audiences never change, even if they are invitees and not paying customers.

Estee Lauder R.I.P.

Metrosexual Mumbai shed all of one tear at the news that cosmetics queen Estee Lauder passed away in her nineties. For the less (en) lightened, Lauder had several very popular cosmetic and fragrance brands like Estee Lauder, Clinique and Aramis. These were favoured by the phoren- returned types.

The Week

The Week had a distinguished function to release a collection of works on their Men and Women of the Year, called Prophets of New India. The book was released by Chief Minister Shinde, and Philip Mathews played perfect host to the many advertising and media personalities present.

India Shining?

The last flurry of print advertising from the BJP had the unique key number, Grey Crayons. No, this was not the name of a new agency, nor was it penned by a solitary grey crayon. This was the new joint effort by Grey Worldwide and Crayons, a Delhi-based agency. Those wondering about the rather strange alliance would be advised to note that if politics makes for strange bedfellows, so does political advertising.

In any case, students of political history now have a new bone to chew upon. Did the India Shining campaign bring into sharp focus the lives of those for whom India was not shining? A famous psephologist floated that theory on air as a possible explanation for the poor showing of the BJP in the exit polls. How negative can you get?

Lose 94.6 FM

The first sign of a shake-out in the FM segment is the silent exit of Win 94.6 FM. The crowded radio market is experiencing growth, but only the deepest pockets will survive to tell the tale. One point worth noting is that the remaining players, Midday, Star, Red (India Today) and Mirchi (Times Group) are all seasoned media players.

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