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| A picture-perfect TVC on Goa looks good while a trip to Sabrimala turns miraculous. |
| What Ive Liked Tourism advertising has always managed to produce some pretty memorable work, both internationally and nationally. For instance, DDBs TVC for the Bermudas, a film called Bermuda Shorts done quite a while ago, has not only made the countrys tourism registers ring, it has also managed to rake in a decent number of awards. |
| At home too, some very eye-catching and award winning works have been produced for states like Maharashtra and Kerala, not to mention the reels on India itself. |
| Most of them satisfy industry norms for destination branding such as: distinctiveness, consistently communicating a persona, and the last but most debatable one, delivering on a promise. If they manage to bring the tourist back again, then even the last criterion is fulfilled. |
| Now, coming to the ad that I would like to talk about, its the latest in the tourism category the Go Goa TVC. So much has been said and written about Goa and its beauty that one wondered if it was possible to ever see the place in a fresh, new light at all. |
| But the latest TVC for Goa seems to have effectively done that. The Go Goa ad made me want to revisit the place despite the fact that Id visited it countless times before. |
| A cheerful sequence of picture-postcard-perfect shots strung together with a light, bubbly jingle has managed to place this idyllic little spot right up there along with any international tourist destination. Jamaica, Aruba, Bahamas, Goa see how nicely it fits into the same train of thought visually? |
| I guess that proves the efficacy of the advertising when you can take an old, familiar place and turn into an exotic destination. Familiarity, as they say, tends to breed contempt, and its nice when ads like these come along, capture the magic of an old haunt, remind us why we fell in love with it in the first place, and proceed to effectively resell it back to us. |
| What Ive Learned Blind faith for better vision Faith is to believe what you do not yet see. The reward for this faith is to see what you believe. Almost every religion in the world down the ages, every nursery book fairytale, every impossible achiever has reinforced this belief in some fashion or the other. |
| Enough to make you wonder if theres some truth in it after all. Even a hardened marketer/ad person like me can sometimes get bowled over by the seemingly impossible. As I did a week ago. |
| Every year, around this time, I undertake a pilgrimage to Sabrimala. Those familiar with it will know that part of the ritual involves a pretty strenuous uphill climb, invariably through the inevitable Kerala downpour. |
| As luck would have it, the day before I was to leave I came down with an extremely bad cold, fever, ear ache the entire package deal. I was dreading this gruelling 100-minute, drenched-to-the-bone, barefoot trek up a gravelly mountain path, shivering with fever! In fact, I nearly cancelled my trip but something made me carry on call it faith, call it commitment anything. |
| It was pouring in Kochi when I landed and it continued pouring on our onward journey, while I kept staring out of the car desperately wishing it would stop. But a Kerala downpour is not one that can easily be wished away! No, it rained relentlessly till we reached the banks of the Pamba River where we had to alight for our uphill trek. And then it happened. Believe it or not, just as I opened the car door, the rains stopped. The sun actually came out. |
| It was such a miraculous moment for me that I couldnt help believing that nature had paused a bit to give me a break. I trekked up in the warm sunshine, soaking in the rain-drenched beauty of Sabrimala. And the fine weather continued till we came downhill. I would like to believe that it was my faith that made it possible. |
| Faith never gives you its rewards on a platter. It tests and pushes you till you are on the verge of losing it. Sadly, most people lose it. But, if you manage to cling to faith, your rewards are other-worldly. |
| Look around you and read the success stories of super achievers and you will see most of them have one thing in common: Uncommon faith in the impossible. As someone said, Youve got to believe in something. And give it some time. Youve got to believe in someone. Go over the line. |
This first of its kind Gulf-Goans e-newsletter archived at www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans is dedicated to Goans around the Globe and is moderated/edited by Gaspar Almeida (since 1994) and presented by Ulysses Menezes, owner of http://www.goa-world.com website.
GOENCHO ULO - New Konkani Fortnightly in Romi script
- First issue hit the stand on 24-Nov-2005.
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