Parent Allergy

 `Teenagers’ Parent Allergy starts at 13`, screamed the headline of an article in a leading daily. The article talks about how parents find themselves in confrontation with their children- boys or  girls-as they enter their teens- the age of thirteen to be precise; when nothing that they do sits right with their teenagers. This phase can last a couple of years or even more depending on how the parents are able to handle their children.

A few months ago, a friend came to me with loads of complaints against his teenage son  who had turned extremely hostile towards his parents accusing them of real and imaginary charges .  ‘You don`t like me because you don`t allow me to do anything that I want to do. You are my worst enemies… I hate you.` he screamed at them one day.  He even threatened to walk out of the house and start a life on his own.  My friend`s efforts to get a few people close to the son to talk to him was also not working. The friend was obviously shattered.

I told my friend that almost all parents go through this phase with their teenage children when they begin to have their own dreams, different from their parents dream for them. Very often the teenagers’ thoughts are greatly influenced by their close friends and peers.  Once the teenagers have had time and space to establish their  own skills, interests and tastes, their allergic response to their parents usually dies down.

I remember the time when we faced  problems with our elder daughter as  she entered her teens .  I was very busy with my career and other activities and it was my wife who had to face the brunt of the tantrums that my daughter used to throw from time to time. As a writer, my wife even wrote an article on the problems she was facing with her daughter, which was published in a leading Tamil monthly for women.

My advice to parents; Try to be friendly parents instead of being bossy. Listen to your children and try to understand their own aspirations before you start imposing your ideas on them. Most important, keep a careful check on the kind of friends that they are close to when they enter their teens. Friends and peers at this stage play a major role in building or ruining a youngster`s life. I know of any number of brilliant students going astray and ruining their lives after they get into bad company at this stage.  Very often such friends belong to  more affluent families  where either the parents have no time to spend with their children or the child comes from a broken home  where the parents are separated. A careful use of `carrot & stick` approach and enormous patience should help parents tide over this particular phase in the upbringing of their children.

Tailpiece:  My friend who complained to me about his son, informs me that, on the verge of entering a college, his son is slowly coming around to becoming a normal boy. God Bless him!

This article appeared in the Adyar Times issue dt. July 15-21,2018 under my columbn `Rajan`s Random Reflections`

Memory Hooks

Some brands become famous because of catchy tunes or a sound effect used at the end of the spot. Just by listening to the tune you can recall the brand being advertised. The signature tunes of Airtel, Titan, Nirma, among others, are famous examples of this.

“The secret of a good advertisement commercial is to ensure that it has a good memory hook which people can never forget. It could be in the form of a sound effect, catchy jingle or tune, a striking visual effect,  a striking action or even a celebrity” said  a successful director of several advertising commercials.  He was famous in his times for the success of brands like `Regaul Blue  powder and  Rasna . Who can forget the memorable `Chottu Neelam Doi…` advertising commercial featuring Kushboo which made a big success of the Regaul Blue brand . `I love you Rasna` series of spots  were also produced by him. In the same vein you cannot forget spots with catchy lines like `Boost is the secret of our energy` or ` I am a Complan boy`.

Many brands also use memorable caricatures which get deeply associated with the brands. The oldest example is that of `AIR INDIA  Maharajah`  and the cute baby featured in the Amul Butter series, which incidentally celebrated its golden jubilee recently. Like the famous, ageless `Markandeya` in our mythology, the age of the Amul baby has remained frozen at 5 even after fifty years!  How can you also forget the iconic `Devil` used by ONIDA for over three decades in all their advertisements , who told us that `Owners Pride is the neighbours envy`. In recent years `Vodafone` has made use of caricatures like `Zuzus` to bring memorability to their brand.  The cute `pug`` they used in their spots earlier has made a comeback with its whole family being featured in the latest Vodafone spots.

Today scores of Corporates’ use endorsement of their brands by celebrities.  Hindustan Lever was one of the earliest to use this idea for their `LUX` soaps. For over 80 years they have been using famous film stars of the time to promote Lux . Today modelling for brands has become a major source of income for celebrities ranging from film stars to sports icons. The Big B has been one of the most famous and enduring celebrity endorser of brands- from `pin to elephant` followed by Sachin Tendulkar who is fast being replaced by Virat Kohli.  Our own `Ulaga Nayagan` Kamal Hassan broke his resolve not to model by agreeing to model for `Pothy` range of textiles last year!

`Thanda Matlab Coca Cola` was another  memorable series of commercials featuring Aamir Khan donning the role of characters from different regions to promote the Rs. 5 bottle of Coca Cola primarily aimed at the rural markets, now withdrawn. 
 

In recent years Kent water purifier and the Dream girl of yester years Hema  Malini  have become synonymous. At a session in the Hindu Lit Festival held this year  where she was a guest speaker, a member from the audience asked her if she really used the Kent air purifier,  she responded with a smile that she really used the brand at home.  It is important that the association between the brand and the celebrity is  credible.

Similarly, using clever gimmicks which have no relevance to the brand as memory hooks can very often misfire. The audience will remember the gimmick but not the brand.

This article has  appeared in the Adyar Times issue dt. July 1-7,2018