“It’s all your fault”

Strange how much flack we ad people take for simply working on a brand.

“Tum saalley XXX waaley”, yelled an irate customer of the telecom brand I did ads for, “Kya ad banaate rehte ho. Tumhara network toh chalta hi nahin.”
I think I’ve faced more abuses than the brand managers of the telecom company itself.

A neighbour once called me to tea and simply took off on me. This was when I worked on a detergent brand.
“Bade aaye kapde chamkaane waale. Yeh lo tikiya, jao bathroom mein. Kapde chamka ke dikhao.”
Those who know me are aware that I no more go to anybody’s place for a cup of tea.

This elderly gentleman I met in the elevator started waving an electricity bill in my face.
“Didn’t you make the ad saying so-and-so refrigerator saves electricity? Some jargon about smaller bills. Yeh lo mera bill. Now YOU pay!”

Thankfully, I’ve learnt my lesson and never told anybody about the insurance and mutual fund ads I’ve scripted. Nowadays, whenever anyone asks me which brand I work on, I cleverly change the topic.

I was almost cornered one day, when an elderly aunt insisted on finding out.
Gearing up for yet another lecture I answered, “XYZ biscuits.”

With a wide grin she cheered me up, “Arre yeh toh sabse best biscuits hain. Humaari saari family yehi khaati hai. We love these biscuits!”

I did a collar-up and happily accepted the compliment with a gracious I’m-glad-you-like-them as if I’d made them myself. What the heck! Why not?