Sunday, February 2, 2014

A PR Masterstroke



Peals of laughter and wobbly sirens of criticism filled the air after the Congress apparatchik was shaken, stirred and shot down the throats of his vote base. The footage went viral with unique forms of caricaturing to testify below each clip or line. A school of jokes swam across the seven seas to plant a red nose on Mr. Gandhi. On the other side of the pond, the saffron camp would place barfi in each other’s mouths to celebrate their first inroad en route mission 272.

The interview places a mirror before the BJP. While Rahul's periodic escape to women empowerment and a new India is trolled, one may want to shift the locus to the wads of currency placed before the PR machine. For those who condition the public for a living, a lot has been achieved. Within a few feet of a free fall, any publicity is good publicity. And Rahul provided the right amount of ballast in the project. The only meaningful image makeover would be along the lines of George W Bush. Inverted text books and confusing New Zealand with Sri Lanka is the perfect recipe for an image overhaul. And with apparent ease, the congress Vice President seems to tune in to this wavelength. While the urban middle class driving around in their colourful, matted hatchbacks roll on the floors of their drawing rooms in laughter, they miss out on the fluids that transpire about the core of voter space- the masses.

While the English media steamrolls Rahul in a clown car, the vernacular press plants promise and empathy. Simple repetitive answers in English when directly translated to vernacular media iron out the alarming features observed only by anglicized viewership. Just like the hand stamps on nightclub queues that are visible only under white light. The vernacular viewership would easily question the Rahul bashing and dismiss the over enthusiasm of the English media. In the end, a simple message is communicated to the masses in their own language. This, over and above the praise and promise from the international media deemed irrelevant by the opposition and their ilk.

The subjects of mission 272 sit back and sip on their martini in anticipation of a landslide. But the architects for sure have a thought process in their labs. A battle of the PRs is often bloody, especially when fought on political fields. The rise of NaMo would mean total powerlessness for at least a decade, something aging congressmen cannot afford. Valiant attempts by the septuagenarians by prodding Dentsu with their walking sticks will try to botch up the mission 272 by the rival camp. A fractured mandate is better for the congress for lobbying and coalition will ensure a veiled presence in some form. A case of not going for a win but a draw to save the series.

Who cares about the spirit of the game anyway?

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