[aneezan]

There was an earlier ad by another biggie motorcycle brand with the tag-line "Don't ride, Fly!". I joked about it to my wife, who was really annoyed with the ad and the brand for promoting such reckless ads and messages. Of-course 90% of all lads out there will want to try the same. A lot of first time bikers esp. kids will watch the ad with their tongues hanging out. And telling them to refrain from doing such tricks in reality is a long ask.

I don't blame the guys putting out the ads. Its the guidelines around such that the government should strengthen. Is that asking for a lot?

[YaeJay]

Would a "Dont fly, ride at 30 kmph" sell? Fairness creams. seriously if anyone wants to argue over an advt.. I dont have the time right now.

[interest]

Originally Posted by YaeJay

The milk that we see on an advt is not milk ( paint), the silky hair that we see to promote various shampoos are not real. None of the advts are real. Their only intention is to sell (dreams).

I have never seen any adverts by either tata or AL promoting their mofosil buses, that ply on our roads. You really have to see them drive..

@ interest you would break the 100 mts record by a few secs while crossing our roads.

maybe you are antihero? :P

YaeJay, please explain how is milk in the advertisement being paint in reality (and your other example) related to how imitating a stunt can injure others apart from the stuntman itself. your are comparing apples and oranges and in the process entirely missing the point. What can a person do upon seeing a milk advertisement- at best drink the milk (and trust me not many people know it is paint because the advertisement doesnt say it is paint). Problem would be if they show someone drinking milk in a fashion that is dangerous ( eg. showing that if you drink milk while standing on the edge of the roof of a 30 story building, it would taste better)

hope you get the drift.

"@ interest you would break the 100 mts record by a few secs while crossing our roads" - As I said in my previous post, it is not the smarter ones who we should worry about. They can differenciate between the real and unreal, beneficial and hurtful.

[YaeJay]

@interest. wake up. Yes, milk is paint, etc. That is the advt world.
so many ads.. ok daikin ad.. so silent that u can hear ants walk.. that would make me batman.

Advertisements sell hopes and dreams. usually for the company.

Still not convinced?

what do you drive?

I doubt you have a bike.

And sir, with your health in mind, you shouldnt be doing that to a horse, manekaji is watching you!

[Octane_Power]

The 1st time my dad saw this advert he was like "As it is youngsters ride recklessly and on top of that such ads! It just encourages them more to follow such a thing and make matters worse "

Remember the 'Dhoom' movie effect? Similarly, I wouldn't be amazed if I see those helmet-less youngsters trying to put on clothes and do what not (their imagination in such things is just out of this world) on their crotch-rockets!!

-Bhargav

[interest]

Originally Posted by YaeJay

@interest. wake up. Yes, milk is paint, etc. That is the advt world.
so many ads.. ok daikin ad.. so silent that u can hear ants walk.. that would make me batman.

Advertisements sell hopes and dreams. usually for the company.

Still not convinced?

what do you drive?

I doubt you have a bike.

And sir, with your health in mind, you shouldnt be doing that to a horse, manekaji is watching you!

I think you are still confusing issues. Whether an AC is silent or makes some noise doesn't injure anyone. Whether the soap in ad is actually plastic doesnt injure others around the person using it. So please get the issue right. Everyone know that a lot of things are not real but in our subconscious mind these ads definitely create an aspiration to be able to do it. If you search on the internet, several people have died imitating pro-wrestling stunts despite the warnings that these shows carry. Several people have also been gravely injured imitating acts shown in Jackass movie series. Kindly learn to differentiate between harmless fantasies aroused by advertisements versus stunts which can potentially injure not just the imitator but also others around him.

[rulerofsun]

What is an advertisement? a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy.

What is advertising?: Advertising is the paid, impersonal, one-way marketing of persuasive information from an identified sponsor disseminated through channels of mass communication to promote the adoption of goods, services or ideas.

Now we with the visual media being so strong around the world we do not call advertisements, advertisements we call them commercials. And that is placing as many virtues of the product in 30 seconds.

The Hero commercial showcases the virtues of the bike, stability, security etc.. It also has a warning at the bottom. Now let’s look at some other commercials, Thumbs Up, Mountain Dew, Axe, Wild Stone, Swift, Fair and Lovely Men’s, MRF bike tires, all of them are larger than life and some of them dangerous.

With such high competition all producers want to grab your attention in that 30 sec and make an impact. The way to do this is to go beyond what is reality. Would you have seen the ad had it been a slideshow showcasing features of the bike? I don’t think so. I think Hero has made a brilliant ad because this discussion is now two pages long.

There is also subconscious advertising like in the movies showcasing a particular model of vehicle, Transporter - Audi, James Bond - BMW, Aston Martin, the entire Fast and Furious series and many others mentioned earlier in the thread. Do want to ban these too? They are much more dangerous than these 30 second ones.

Is what we are discussing really changing anything? No! When we were kids we riding cycles watching BMX kids wanted us to try the same stunts and it was cool to ride hands free. The circus was there with “maut ka kua” no warnings pure entertainment.

I think this is what commercials need to be looked as pure entertainment. Don’t make the Government responsible for everything because even they get elected by commercials and that can be a very very dangerous thing.

At the end I would like to say, if you have a budding rider, driver, drill into them the virtue of road safety and civil sense. It’s much better than giving Hero unwanted bandwidth by discussing their commercial. At least both riders are wearing helmets.

[ani_meher]

I too share OP's concerns. The ad is absolutely irresponsible, and cheapens the brand beyond anything. If we start comparing this one with other similarly outrageous ads, then we must consider how many of such actions are replicable.

Additionally, what is the target audience? Idiots who think only helmets are enough to warrant stunts? This should be the opposing video to compulsion on helmets, to depict how wearing a helmet alone is not enough for your safety.

[veyron_head]

A simple fact is that this advertisement violates basic traffic rules - the guy is commuting from his home to his GF's and its obviously the public roads that he would use to commute. In a public road, he chooses to change his dress and tie his shoes. What a dangerous influence it can be on young 18 yr old minds that get to ride their first bike? Not cool.

[Biraj]

While many here are talking about the sane/mature majority, the real challenge or threat is from the immature minority. The guys that were getting an adrenaline rush by performing a wheelie or stoppie at India Gate, may now start trying these new stunts. The last thing anyone wants is a moron trying these stunts in front of their car.

Saying that there's equally or more offensive content on TV thus this should be allowed is as illogical as the climate change debates. "Somebody did more damage earlier so we should be allowed to do some now."

Advertising is about exaggeration and selling dreams but it can be done in a responsible manner as well. I know a few brilliant advertising chaps that will never work on a fairness cream ad irrespective of how big/lucrative the account is. I understand that the team that conceptualised this ad might have been provided with a brief from their client, which included terms/phrases like adrenaline, youth, devil-may-care, etc. Thus they tried to make it as visually appealing as possible and went overboard with the concept. Still, the same messages could have been put across in a responsible manner.

Here's an ad that delivers the message without being offensive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xygSmiQtbds

[phamilyman]

I think there are two things:
- Irresponsible ads
- Impressionable or stupid folks who want to ape them.

The problem isnt with the first one - every country surely has those ads. Our Bajaj shows the same kinda ads globally. Like this one , which IMHO is far edgier than the Hero ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38LmRDz5iLc

The problem in India is inadequate policing / enforcement. Which is the real problem. With internet being as ubiquitous as it is, someone who wants to do something stupid will find inspiration somewhere.

I agree with the broad opinion that such ads should be discouraged but I would much rather avoid any banning or any action that borders on censorship. Part of it is my core freedom of speech principles, and partly I think its a slippery slope from there on. In a post-section 66A world, I would rather not have that. We are enough of a anti-freedom country already.

I would much rather see an economic cost to such ads. Basically any such ad that is deemed (peer reviewed or user voted) to promote unsafe behaviors pays a reasonably extra amount into a road safety fund, thus incentivizing them to promote safe behaviors. If you promote stupid behavior, then please fund the societal cost of such stupidity - without moralizing about it or censorship.

Biraj - thanks for the R1 ad - its a beauty!

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by saket77

Not long before saw ads which displayed dangerous overtaking, stunts by riders like wheelies, burn-outs among others.

Long ago, a famous car brand had an ad in the print media which almost promoted rash driving because their cars had many safety features in-built!

I can't recall which. In case you recall the make/manufacturer, please do share and share it freely

__________________________________________________ _______________________________

The beauty of Team-BHP is, we can always speak what we feel right and take the name of any manufacturer which has erred without any fear as Team-BHP isn't obliged to any. (As long as stats and data prove it)

[4k_jz]

Originally Posted by interest

Smarter ones are never our worry. It is those "wannabe cool" halfwits that bother us. Not only will they loose their own limbs (which is still OK as they deserve it for their recklessness) they will injure someone else in the process (this is what makes us worry). Am sure you do remember how many people tried to imitate Aamir Khan's Ghulam antics where he extinguishes a burning matchstick on his tongue. Atleast those people were only hurting themselves. Here we are talking about others getting hurt as well.

Since you are from Delhi, you must be familiar with the DDA parks? In my locality the easily influenced by bollywood throttle wrack their activas and maestro in the park. None of them having a proper DL or even an adult as a pinion, or even common sense! They are children aged 14-15. These "Dhoom" bikers have just made it difficult for anyone to walk freely-leave the roadside, even the public parks in Delhi are full of them.

A Pulsar in a mature's hand and a Pulsar in a teenager's are two different world! This adv is made keeping in mind only the youth. The present age youth is more aggressive and impatient. And the vehicle becomes a source of venting their anger and stress. "How dare he overtake me?", and here pedal is floored until the car is overtaken or totaled. That is the scenario in Delhi.
On recent observation, the number of underage riders and riders without helmet has increased in Delhi.

Mod Note: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

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[YaeJay]

@interest, I do get your point, Next time i see someone changing their clothes on a bike i will personally stop and suggest its not a good idea. Will ask my friends to do that too.

Drive safe

[Thad E Ginathom]

People may die because they saw this advert, and others like it. Or worse, they may die because somebody else did.