howzzat ad?

The Cricket World Cup is on. IPL comes next. Brands clamoring for ad spaces both online and offline for the sporting extravaganzas and audiences they bring along. Another day in the life of India. And the only thing that's assured other than human stupidity and fixed matches is the low standards adopted by ads these days.

Sony's Dhoni ad with him having a wet dream with diamonds, sweat, and a wet pitch full of grass. Or Shah Rukh promoting Dish TV while looking positively delirious before signing off with an "Are you HD Idiot?" And another top contender for facepalms during over breaks is the swanky new ad series from idea. 'keep cricket clean' is seemingly their campaign thought, but 'make audiences weep' is the actual one. Airtel's 'stop start' ads have done nothing but expose India to Saif and Kareena's painful foreplay routines and the mind-numbing Suzuki Slingshot who can afford airing their excuse of an ad during prime time but not real shots on real roads with a semi decent script.

True most ads need to be dumbed down for the Indian populace, but ads today have taken it upon themselves to do the dumbing down of the masses. But hey, at least it makes the good ads look great. T&C*