Sunday, September 28, 2014

Print Ad That Works!

Be it India or US or any country, there are some written rules for creating effective print advertising, which hold universally true irrespective of the boundaries and cultural differences.



Following are the key areas you need to focus on while creating a print ad/campaign:
  • Have a message in mind—Clarity of thought while writing a copy for print ad is extremely vital. The next step is to know how you want your readers to understand it, which means how you wish to convey your message. If it is a campaign, make sure your reader takes away the same uniform message from each ad. 
  • Have a headline that has stopping power—Short and to-the-point headlines always work. Throw a question, challenge a common belief or throw the offer in the headline. 
  • Use an updated Logo—Use an eye appealing logo with appropriate colors that match your product and the taste of the audience you are targeting. 
  • Choose the right color scheme—Right color scheme for an entire ad is equally imperative while building a brand and its presence locally as well as online. Also, make sure that colors used are in streamline with the colors of the logo.
  • Consider the size of your print advertising designs—Print ads require higher DPI (300 Dots Per Inch) while web graphics require 72 DPI. Thus, it is essential to utilize high-quality graphics, photos and vector images.
  • Typography matters—Depending on the type of media you are using to communicate your message, you must use the fonts. Some fonts which may work for online ads may not necessarily work for the print ads. Hence, a careful study and use of fonts can help you to know if your ad will be read or merely glanced by the viewer. In simple language, the fonts must be easy on eyes while reading.
  • Graphics vs Photos—Choosing between graphic and photos depends on your product and the message you wish to send across to your viewers. Lately modern ads use lot of vector images while the ads that want to set up a tone and be straightforward in their message make use of images. 
  • Print friendly Media and Image—Make sure your image is at least 300 DPI for a print ad and its copy-right free.
  • Be in the audience's shoes—While creating an ad it is important to know how your audience reacts to what. You must understand your target demographics well in order to come up with an ad that is bang on. 
  • Incorporate a call to action at the end—End your ad with a message that reads, 'visit our website, call us on ********** number or scan a barcode to avail the offer'. Basically the reader must not read your ad and flip the page. You want him to act the very moment. 
While creating an ad, we do not necessarily follow these steps in this particular order. But, these are simple things which can help us come with an ad that works. So, what are you waiting for? Get started with one of yours! 

See you next time. Until then, bye!

My Top 15 Ad Picks 2013-14


Unlike every week, wherein I come up with American ads and Indian ads and try to draw in a comparison, this week I planned to look beyond these wonderful nations and their ads and search ads from across the globe. My picks this week consists of ads from Brazil, New Zealand, US, India, UK, Thailand, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. The beauty of following ads is that they do not sell their brands outright. They are however selling ideas and making a subtle relation with the product.


15. Dove—Real Beauty Sketches (Brazil)


At number 15 is the lovely Dove—Real Beauty Sketches ad for exposing the low self-esteem in women created as a result of unrealistic beauty standards generated by ads. It shows the difference in the way woman perceives herself and the way a stranger perceives her. The stranger is more positive about her looks than herself. This ad asks women to believe in themselves and be confident in their own skin.

14. Honda - Hands (UK)

A brilliant two-minute ad which describes the engineering and innovation of Honda products over 65 years. 

13. Chipotle - Scarecrow (LA, US)

Beautiful lyrics and ear-soothing music were the key reasons apart from the great message, that Chipotle uses meat of animals which haven't been treated with drugs that make this ad so difficult to forget. 

12. Skype - Two Friends (New Zealand)

The brilliant film is about two friends, each one with just one arm, one living in US and the other one in New Zealand, meet over Skype and become friends for life. The message being how Skype played the role of uniting two people having same physical problem from different parts of the world.  

11. Ram Trucks (Dallas, US)

This film about Ram Trucks captures the importance of a farmer. The ad is composed of several still images without even once mentioning the brand in question.

10. TrueMove (Thailand)
  
This mobile network service provider ad takes an emotional route to convey how giving is the best communication. The basic message of the ad being if you do good to someone, someday you shall be paid back. This video created quite a buzz with lot of people sharing it on Facebook and other social media tools.

  9. ICICI Life Prudential (India)

While the world remains too busy discussing the partial treatment women receive in all the areas of life, this ad comes in as a wave of fresh air. It discusses how males in our lives are ignored in the course of providing justice to women. The ad depicts no matter how careless and indifferent you think men are, they are the ones who take care of the family without making too much hoopla about it. 

  8. Proctor & Gamble (Portland, US)
  
'Thank You Mom' by Proctor & Gamble pays a tribute to all the moms with this beautiful ad. Moms are the ones who teach us that falling only makes us stronger. They are the ones who encourage us to keep trying. With this beautiful message, this ad is a heart-captivating one.

  7. Guinness - Basketball (New York, US)

The 'Friendship' commercial by Guinness is another great ad that one cannot simply forget. It depicts the true meaning of friendship with all the friends opting to use wheelchair to be fair enough to their friend who is handicapped.   

  6. Dove - Peek-a-boo (London, UK)

Without too much complexity in terms of storyline, this beautiful peek-a-boo ad depicts how females irrespective of their age are shy of facing camera. It is on the lines of the Brazilian Dove ad which is at number 15 on the list. The ad pops a mind provoking question, 'Since, when did you start thinking you're not beautiful?', drawing a connection with the recent research which shows women are turning too conscious of themselves owing to the high beauty standards set by society and advertisers. 

  5. Let's Save Africa (Norway)

Intelligent and clever social cause ad which points out that there is real poverty and need in Africa, but stereotypes and western perception of the problems need updating.

  4. Google Earth (Australia)

For more than 26 years, Saroo Brierley, who was an Indian adopted by Australian family, searched for his family before finding his way back home with the help of Google Earth. The ad depicts the true story of hope, determination and technology. 

  3. Ikea - Bookbook (Singapore)

A brilliant spoof on the smart phone/tablet/iPad features. One of the must watch super funny ads.  

  2. Google Search (India)

India and Pakistan have strained relationship with each other ever since partition in 1947. This ad shows how two friends got distanced due to partition and couldn't meet over the years because of the brewing tension on the border between two countries. It then shows how with the help of Google Search they could trace each other and meet up like old times. This ad is important because lot of peace initiatives are taken by the world towards melting the animosity between these two nations. 

And finally comes the ad that needs no description because its just so heart-warming that words might snatch the beauty of the message.

.
.
.
.
.  

  1. Budweiser - Puppy Love (US)


Some of the above ads are high on creativity, some are high on ideas, some are just beautiful for their simplicity, some are simply heartwarming, some of them carry a social message, and some are eye-openers. None of the above ads sell product explicitly.

I thoroughly enjoyed viewing these ads. For me ads like these have hardly been interruptions and I can view them back to back just like one listens to songs on the play list. I hope u too enjoy and appreciate the beauty of these ads. Till then, bye!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Ad-it Wiki

Owing to the fact that my blog deals with advertising in India and America, I had a tough time searching for a wiki article that dealt with a brand that had its presence in both the countries. While going through several ads, I came across the 'Dove - Real Beauty Sketches' ad released on April 14, 2013. Dove is an international brand owned and marketed by Unilever in India as well as in America.




Following is the link to the Ad, the making and the rest of which I have added to the wikipedia page of the ad. I have also included the number of languages it was released in, the awards and Social Media presence it received.


Dove Real Beauty Sketches Ad 

Below is the part from Wikipedia, I have chosen to edit—
Background (Original)
Inspired by market research that suggested only 4% of women describe themselves as beautiful, Unilever's Dove brand has been conducting a marketing campaign called Dove Campaign for Real Beauty that aims to celebrate women's natural beauty since 2005. According to Anselmo Ramos, creative director of Ogilvy & Mather, and head of the Real Beauty Sketches project, the goal of the Real Beauty Campaign is to find a way to convince the other 96% they are also beautiful. Several ideas to achieve this aim were suggested, and it was decided that an unscripted experiment would be the best way to reach women. The idea of hiring a forensic sketch artist stood out, but Ramos was not sure it would work. "With Real Beauty Sketches, we thought that women would probably describe themselves in a more negative way than strangers. But it was just a guess really. It could go totally wrong." The idea was pitched to Dove with the caveat that it might not work. Gil Zamora, an FBI-trained forensics artist with over 3,000 criminal sketches under his belt was hired through Unilever's U.K. office and Ogilvy Brazil to interview and draw seven different women—two sketches of each. According to Ramos, Zamora was "really excited about the project" and was crucial to its success. Ogilvy & Mather selected two groups of women - those being sketched and those providing a second description of them - from diverse backgrounds through a normal casting process. John X. Carey from Paranoid US was chosen to direct. 
Edited Version 
Inspired by market research that suggested only 4% of women describe themselves as beautiful and around 54% believe that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty criticUnilever's Dove brand has been conducting a marketing campaign called Dove Campaign for Real Beauty that aims to celebrate women's natural beauty since 2005. According to Anselmo Ramos, creative director of Ogilvy & Mather, and head of the Real Beauty Sketches project, the goal of the Real Beauty Campaign is to find a way to convince the other 96% they are also beautiful. Several ideas to achieve this aim were suggested, and it was decided that an unscripted experiment would be the best way to reach women. The idea of hiring a forensic sketch artist stood out, but Ramos was not sure it would work. "With Real Beauty Sketches, we thought that women would probably describe themselves in a more negative way than strangers. But it was just a guess really. It could go totally wrong." The idea was pitched to Dove with the caveat that it might not work. Dove agreed and Ogilvy & Mather hired FBI-trained sketch artist Gil Zamora after "extensive research" because of his experience (3,000+ criminal sketches) and intimate style. According to Ramos, Zamora was "really excited about the project" and was crucial to its success. Ogilvy & Mather selected two groups of women - those being sketched and those providing a second description of them - from diverse backgrounds through a normal casting process. John X. Carey from Paranoid US was chosen to direct. A three-minute long video was launched in four key markets, U.S., Canada, Brazil and Australia, and was then produced and uploaded in 25 languages to 46 Dove YouTube channels across remaining countries. The video was launched using TrueView in-stream, TrueView in-search, YouTube homepage masthead, and search ads globally. Audience participation via YouTube brand channels, YouTube video responses, Google+ Hangouts, and a Google+ page was encouraged. 
Reaction (Original)
The films were released on April 14, 2013 and quickly generated a strong reaction, going viral within days. By April 18, the 3-minute version had been downloaded 7.5 million times, while the 6-minute version had been viewed more than 900,000 times. By April 21, the videos had more than 15 million views between them. On Mashable, an article about the campaign was shared more than 500,000 times in 24 hours. The video was among Buzzfeed's top 10 items on April 18. According to AdAge, the campaign generated just under 30 million views and 660,000 Facebook shares during its first ten days.Those numbers allowed the video to more than double up on its nearest competition in the publication's week survey of viral video advertisement interest. As of April 27, 2013, the 3-minute video had been viewed 30.6 million times; user feedback on YouTube was 97.6% positive (98,000 likes and 2,200 dislikes).
Edited Version
The films were released on April 14, 2013 and quickly generated a strong reaction, going viral within days. By April 18, the 3-minute version had been downloaded 7.5 million times, while the 6-minute version had been viewed more than 900,000 times. By April 21, the videos had more than 15 million views between them. On Mashable, an article about the campaign was shared more than 500,000 times in 24 hours.[2] The video was among Buzzfeed's top 10 items on April 18.[2] According to AdAge, the campaign generated just under 30 million views and 660,000 Facebook shares during its first ten days. Those numbers allowed the video to more than double up on its nearest competition in the publication's week survey of viral video advertisement interest. As of April 27, 2013, the 3-minute video had been viewed 30.6 million times; user feedback on YouTube was 97.6% positive (98,000 likes and 2,200 dislikes). By June 2013, the video received 163 million global views, topped Cannes YouTube Ads leader board and won the Titanium Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Overall it achieved 4.6 billion media impressions and 275,000 followers on Google+. Over 15 video parodies of the ad have been created so far. The campaign garnered over 4.6 billion Public Relations and blogger media impressions by June 2013. 
Instead of altering the content of the Wikipedia, I have added a few facts that were not mentioned on the Dove Real Beauty Wikipedia page. The ad campaign was such a success that I thought it was important for people interested in advertising to know as many facts as possible about the ad. 



Saturday, September 20, 2014

Advertising Gender?

Sex in ads sells like popcorn in movie theaters. By sex, I refer to women. Women, who are shown in submissive roles, who are minimally clad, who are shown as objects needed to beautify the product. You buy a car and you get a girl, you buy a deodorant and you get a girl, you buy any damn thing, girls are a tag along. Women have alway been portrayed as a part of product package offer. While there are a lot of differences that I have mentioned in my earlier blogs with respect to the advertising in America and advertising in India, objectification of women seem to be common phenomenon across the globe with slight variations and some evolutions currently.



American ads selling 'women'—

In US, women are more often than necessary treated as partially or fully naked objects that are merely used to adorn the product they are not even remotely related to. While the portrayal of women in traditional roles as dependent housewives has been forgone, a more damaging route to boost the product promotion in ads has seeped in. As if sexualizing female products wasn't enough, advertisers these days sexualize cars, food and all things that have little or no relation with women.

In the Mercedes ad below, the shape of the car is compared with various parts of women's body. The ad concept is completely irrelevant and presents women in a completely disrespectful fashion.

Mercedes Ad

Check out the role reversal video (It contains some explicit images of women, but this was needed to explain the point, hence I have used it here)

Role Reversal Video

There are several videos and efforts taken in direction of highlighting the disgraceful treatment that women in ads receive.

sexism and sexual violence in ads in US

Dove came up with a beautiful ad in 2013, which depicted how little women thought of themselves in terms of looks and how they looked from a stranger's view point. A lot of cosmetic products reinforce the thought in women's mind that they need to look perfect and flawless and the only way is through the use of their cosmetics/products. Hence, an ad from Dove that depicted that there is much more perfection than imperfection, that women thought they had actually was a 'feel-good' ad. Though the ad had nothing to do with breaking stereotypes or treating them as humans in place of objects, the ad is beautiful in its way for bringing the confidence back in women (who have constantly been hammered by males as having either chubby cheeks, broad jaws, wrinkled skin or patchy complexion etc).

Dove - You are more beautiful than you think

Indian ads selling 'women'—

Just like Indian culture, Indian climate is also diverse as one moves from North to South. While northern part of India experiences extreme winters (snow falls) most part of the year, southern part remains extremely warm. As a result the skin color of the people as one moves from north to south darkens. Fairer women are the first choice in all the spheres of life, be it personal or professional. A fair looking woman is expected to give birth to fair kids is the myth and hence prospective grooms (no matter how dark they are) want their prospective brides to be fair. Even in the professional fronts, women are expected to attend meetings, deal with clients and so on and hence a fairer looking women are preferred. I really wonder why is the same criteria not applicable to Indian men who are dark? Even they are expected to meet people on professional front, then why the bias? Northern women who are naturally fair do not have to face as much struggle as women in the southern part of India. This leads to lack of confidence and feeling of inferiority complex among them. These advertisers take the advantage of this 'color bias' going on in the Indian society and offer products which are expected to turn black/brown into white!

Ponds ad (the entire campaign was released in English)

The start of the obsession for fairness

Other than this, role of women in Indian ads has evolved greatly over the years. Most of the ads show women in better light, show them self-sufficient, independent, and most of the times in roles equivalent to their male counterparts. However, the following ad fails to portray woman in non-stereotypical fashion. It shows two women preparing meal, while the man makes himself a drink.

Titan Ad

International brands like Axe continue to follow the same positioning as they do in US with respect to treating women as 'sex objects' by showing them half naked and mostly clinging to men. The latest Indian Axe ad however objectifies 'Men' instead of women this time. There is an entire campaign consisting of 8 ads, all on the same lines.

Axe Ad

It is a taboo for Indian women to get married again if her husband dies or leaves her for another women. If a man gets married again, it is acceptable but if a woman gets married again, she is looked down upon by the society. The following ad shows the change in the society's perception and open welcomes re-marriage of a woman and show her equivalent to male. The ad ends with the little girl asking her new dad, if she can address him as her father -

Tanishq Jewelry

It is not just that women in Indian ads are expected to be in perfect shape, the current trend shows that even men are not spared. However, have a look at the following ad (2014 ad). It shows no matter what shape men are in, they want their women to be beautiful and slim -

Imperial Blue

Most importantly, the women (especially in decorative roles) give a negative impression as most of these ads are airbrushed or altered, creating a false standard of beauty. Young girls starve themselves to death just to look slim in front of their male colleagues and friends.

Despite so much advancement in all the areas, the real area that needs reformation has remained mostly untouched. Women continue to remain being portrayed in demeaning roles almost 7/10 times. We humans have left everything that remained in past, in past, leaving the way women are treated in reality and portrayed in films and ads. It is an universal phenomenon and sadly it seems like its unchangeable.







Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Advertising Life In Different Worlds

Even before I stepped onto the American soil, I could luckily access lot of American and other International ads online. I really enjoyed the creative aspects of not just TV ads or Print ads but also of Digital ads from different cultures from across the world. There was a time (2010-2012) when my FaceBook account used to be flooded with my own ad postings and I had gained a substantial fan base as well who would follow my each ad posting. Looking back, it sounds really funny but comparing and analyzing cross-cultural advertising, especially pertaining to industrially developing countries in the Eastern cultural environment and highly industrialized countries in the western cultural context seem extremely interesting and important. A lot of international brands create global ads with a local tailoring. 

Tune into Star Plus, an Indian satellite channel and you can find it flooded with ads of leading American insurance and financial investment companies like New York Life, MetLife and State Farm among ads for several other brands. But, the way even the same insurance company advertises in America and India is as different as chalk and cheese.

Ads for review—MetLife Insurance ads (India and US)


The American version of the ad begins with a white American family comprising of grandmother, mother and a daughter discussing the benefits of insurance. The mother-daughter duo tries to explain the grand mother how easy, important and beneficial it is to have insurance. There is a continuous display of phone number at the bottom of the screen. The male voice over runs for over a minute and explains the low rates of premium, different payment options, and several other benefits. The male voice over continuously hammers the ad viewers with "call now" message almost three times within a span of a minute. Basically, the advertisers here opt for a "call to action" format. 


The Indian version of the ad begins with a granny trying to woo her husband (grandpa) by dancing to the tunes of a famous Bollywood number when suddenly her grandson catches her do that. Grandson is shown as a typical naughty kid who tries to blackmail his granny by asking for chocolate and roadside ice candy. The grandmother out of the fear of his grandson revealing about her dance to her son and her daughter-in-law agrees to bribe him each time. But, she gets surprised when her son reveals how everybody in family knew about her style of wooing his dad. The ad ends with a voiceover stating that 'You never know when this game of regular monthly income in life stops and thats why opt for MetLife monthly income plan. This ad depicts the typical closely knit Indian family that enjoys having fun. Usually the olds of the family in India do not flirt with each other especially in front of their kids and grand kids. Also, the kids of the family do not discuss such topics openly out of respect to their parents. This family depicts the actual Indian culture. 


While the Indian version weaves a beautiful storyline to get to the point, the American version doesn't believe in beating around the bush and rather talks straight to the point. It uses a 'Fear' technique to generate a need. The American version is quite informative and covers all the important information, any insurance applicant would wish to know.




There are many such American and Indian ads which I shall review in coming blogs. Till then happy reading. Bye! 




Friday, September 12, 2014

Ad-less world?

Imagine a world free of ads, no branding and no marketing, no colorful hoardings on roads, only text heavy magazines and newspapers. You buy a lotion but it has no brand name written over it, you buy a $2000 Louis Vuitton handbag or a $20 regular handbag, who is going to know the difference? Imagine how would you tell someone which handbag you exactly want? The letters "LV" written all over its bags is branding/advertising. Every single thing is advertising. When you meet a stranger, you advertise yourself. When you choose Coke over Pepsi, its because of advertising. When you wait outside the Apple store entire night just to get its newly launched iPhone on the very first day, its because of advertising. Advertising is an inseparable part of society and our lives.

Leaving aside the bad ads (cigarette and alcohol ads), I do not understand or see any reason why people have to criticize the regular ads. The world would be like a blank white paper and what would you do with such a blank white paper? How chaotic would life be? How boring would it be to have no brands competing with each other? How would you know if you made a right purchase if there was no branding or advertising? How would you know which one is coke and which one is pepsi without tasting it? Advertising is extremely integral to understanding and targeting people with goods and services of their taste and choice. I feel ads reflect the mindset of the people in the society and its latest trends. Ads would prove to be the best proof that coming generations would have to understand the past times.  

S. H Britt said 'Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does'. While I do agree that advertisers these days go over the board and their ads are present all over the place. But, with increased competition, are they left with any choice but not hammer you with their ads again and again. There are surely benefits of watching a movie or a television show without interruption from ads but what would this world be like if not interrupted by constant ad-attacks? Think about it! 

Friday, September 5, 2014

Ad Culture

Over the past two decades a lot of western companies/brands have made their foray into the eastern market and vice versa. A lot of American cuisine (western cuisine), clothing lines, cosmetic products, automobiles and several other American brands that my parents' generation had just heard of in their childhood have reached Indian homes. While Pizza Huts and Starbucks satiate the hunger of a typical Indian teenager, brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors have found place in every upper class Indian's wardrobe. Right from Pepsi and Coca Cola to Taco Bell and California Pizza Kitchen, name it and India has it. Not all of these brands necessarily advertise but the ones which advertise differ in the message they communicate to the Indian audience and to the American audience.

India falls under the highly collectivist and high-context culture while US falls under the highly individualistic and low-context culture. American ads use direct approach, individualistic visual stances, sexual portrayal of women and comparative approaches while Indian ads use indirect communication style, collective visual stances and stereotypical portrayal of women. On a personal front, I find American ads to be highly creative (owing to the liberal nature of American society) and funnier compared to the Indian ads which are highly emotion driven (owing to the closely knit family structures) and subtle in nature.


While Apple and Samsung in US wouldn't leave a single chance of attacking each other and proving themselves as superior brands, same brands in India cannot even distantly mention each other in their ads. According to the Indian advertising law, "a manufacturer is not entitled to say that his competitor's goods are bad so as to puff and promote his goods. It, therefore, appears that if an action lies for defamation an injunction may be granted." (Adveritising Laws in India)


A McDonalds ad in India and in US serves its audience with the same cheap menu option but with a slight variation. The Indian version combines the concept of Rs. 20 (Dollar Menu in US) in a dramatic family setting which is actually quite heartwarming. While on the other hand, the American version focuses on the close shots of the burgers, people biting onto them and enjoying the taste with the closed eyes. Hence, it wouldn't be wrong to infer that McDonalds in India sells values along with the product, while in US it sells taste along with the product. There are certainly exceptions to the creative aspects of advertising. But, this seems to be the closest ongoing advertising trend in these countries.


The above examples were just described to give an idea of how culture influences the advertising and how these ads in return shape the society. The entire advertising, culture and society thing is like a circle, with each being dependent on the other one. Also, among so many dissimilarities in culture, all these brands communicate a common universal advertising theme/message which they use in all the countries they have their feet in.



Welcome To Vidhi's Ad World

Namaste (Hello) Folks,

Exactly two summers back, when the temperatures were soaring to 80 something and everybody was leaving their homes and flocking to beaches, this Indian girl by the name Vidhi Joshi, almost clueless about where she was headed (not physically, but professionally), crossed 7 seas (not literally!) and reached Uncle Sam’s land. Well, honestly leaving the thermal shock (India was suffering from 100 something), I was thankfully spared of the culture shock or any other shocks that were on their way. Thanks to the diverse culture I was brought up in.

So, before I came here and decided to educate myself a little more (with my second Masters), I was an ad man. I wasn't necessarily a mad man though! (Mad Men is an American TV series based in 1960s about high class yet whacky weirdos working in an ad agency on Madison Ave in New York). So, unlike the Mad Men characters and their not so normal, colorful, fun filled lives, my life was not half as colorful.  Thanks to the demanding clients whose minds wavered with every call/e-mail and who kept unloading their not-so-creative ideas on me and the team. But, thats not the point I am trying to make. The point is that that it is really interesting how even after crossing 7 seas when you are in a completely different culture, you find so many similarities with that culture. Like they say, the more you try to run from something, the more it chases you.


Having lived in India for more than two decades and having got this wonderful opportunity to live in US now, I am trying to understand these similarities and some dissimilarities (if any) with respect to the creative (copy) aspect of advertising. In my blog, I would introduce all of you all to some of the Indian ads and American ads and discuss the ways in which communication to both the audience differs. It wouldn't be an Indian perspective on American ads but rather a perspective of a person who belongs to both the nations and yet belongs to none.


I whole heartedly welcome all of you all to reading my blog. The goods, the bads and the in-betweens (the comments, I mean!) can equally make their ways into the comment box.


Happy reading folks, avjo (bye)