The Ads of the Fore

Television has been such an integral part of growing up, especially for those of us born is the latter half of the 80s. Computers were confined to the labs and phones which could be carried in the pocket were science fiction. Hence, television was the chief form of visual entertainment for a notable period of growing up.

What stands out about “that” era of television were the advertisements. Unlike today, there were a few advertisements and they went on for years. So much so, that television viewing wasn’t complete without humming the tunes and mouthing the lyrics of the ads as they played out. Today, the advertisements are treated with contempt but back then the ads boasted of as much importance as the shows itself.

Some of these ads still play today and are a subject of fond reminiscence and ridicule. One such ad which stands out is that of “Vicco Vajradanti”, which still airs on Doordarshan and some of the theatres. In college, we use to sing the entire song that played with the ad, as loudly as we could, in chorus and have a hearty laugh at the end. Not surprisingly, everybody remembered the lyrics. Pepsi might have changed its tagline many a times in the last 2 decades but “Yeh dil maange more” which ends with the satisfying “aaaaaa hhhaa” will always remain special. Even today, when I’m extracting the last few drops of ketchup from the bottle I implicitly start saying “Aaja, aah aah aaja, aah aah aaja....aah aah aaaaah”.

“Those were the days”, I think smiling stupidly, and feeling like an 80 year old stuck in the body of a 21 year old. At that moment somebody switches the television on and I snap out of my reverie.