The beautiful thing about insights is that it makes you realize how much we all have in common with the person sitting next to us and irrespective of the many differences that we may have, there are a few not-so-different things that still make us both feel familiar to each other.

DEEEP!!!!

No but seriously… I’m not just talking about the fluffy way we advertising folks use insights to make ‘unsuspecting’ consumers smile in exchange to snatch away some estate in their already over-populated skyline of brand choice. I’m talking about pure insights that simply makes us go ‘i know what you mean!’

It’s said that my line of work and my ethinicity are both supposed to make me overtly philosophical about these insights and i’m not about to shy away from that fact. I’ve been keeping a close watch over life’s small pleasures all week long and i found this awesome compilation to which i’ve added a few of my life’s little joys.

Walking barefoot in grass.

Listening to good music in the car.

Taking a long, relaxing shower

Hot coffee.

Watching grains of sugar sink into the

A good novel.

Popcorn and an old movie on DVD.

The smell of fresh-cut grass.

Watching the sunrise.

Walking on the beach.

A gentle morning run.

Yoga or stretching or meditation.

Snuggling in bed with your partner.

Watching the sunset.

Good wine.

Dancing like you’re crazy.

Laughing till your sides ache.

A long conversation with a good friend.

Kissing in the rain.

Being lazy on a Friday.

Waking to a clean house.

An uncluttered room.

Fries

Singing in the shower, loudly.

Dancing in the rain

Stomping in puddles.

Watching a child play.

Fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

Making someone smile.

A nature hike.

Laying back and watching the stars.

Making a sandcastle.

Floating in the water.

Taking an afternoon nap.

Laying back and looking up at clouds.

Watching the horizon curve on the ocean

Getting a massage.

Playing footsie.

Acting crazy in public.

Seeing your savings account grow.

Seeing your debt shrink.

Taking a hot bath.

Blowing bubbles.

A gentle breeze.

The feeling after a good workout.

Checking something off your to-do list.

Snuggling together under the covers on a stormy day.

The smell of a new Moleskine notebook.

Writing on good paper with a good pen.

A clear desk.

Catching fresh snow with your tongue.

Swinging on a swing.

Watching animals in nature.

A very slow and sensual night with your partner.

Staying up all night talking.

Having a picnic.

Swimming at night.

Watching a child chasing waves on the beach.

Watching the same child being chased by the waves.

Popping bubble wrap.

Skimming stones on a pond/puddle of rain water.

Blowing off soap suds from your hand while washing dishes.

Letting the wind play with your hands as you hold it out of the car.

Seeing her smile as she unsuspectingly looks into the camera and you go ‘click!’

Licking cream off your finger tips.

Jumping to touch the top of the door/gate.

A hug.

To top it all off, i had my simply pleasurable moment of staying at home and watching a movie with my folks today as the dogs snoozed away comfortably on my lap. Director Ayan Mukerji’s ‘Wakeup Sid’ was a treasure trove of sweet insightful moments.

Life’s good..

Ok.. so it happened once again! Blog lethargy!! Actually, it was more of lethargy consumed repeatedly with potent spoons-full of doziness! That sounds just about right – I blogdozed!! I blogdozed for a year almost and every time i told myself to get back into it, i blogdozed a little more.

Honestly, guess i’ve been keeping zip because i was afraid that my literal diarrhea would get me in trouble with ‘certain’ people i work with. But am hoping that my dormancy has sent them on a trip to Farawaysthan.

Why am i being such a mysterious 16 year old girl? Must be all that Nivea Soft work that i’ve been doing lately.Trying to get myself into the heels of a 25 year old has had me flipping the pages of Vogue and talking about the subtle differences between ‘touching’ and ‘feeling’.

And now.. i think i know!! believe it or not ladies! i think i am a tad bit closer to figuring you all out!

Ok.. sudden and sporadic intent to spin out of my blog’coon ends here. I may or may not return with more accounts of twists n’ turns from my life. No promises.. just doziness!

Oh btw, on the note of Nivea.. somebody please save me from this sexbomb goddess – Asha Leo. On a recent edit job that i’ve had to do for this client, I’ve had to repeatedly treat myself to watching clips of her dancing to the tune of LadyBug’s track ‘SnapShot’ in the Happytime commercial and boy!! was that 1 minute worth it?

,,,it sure was! take a snapshot of it yourself…

Sachin and Paresh of Curry Smugglers got in touch with me last week to see if i’d be interested in designing a little identity unit for their podcast and sure-as-bob i was. Already on their 3rd episode, the two still seem to have enough new insights to share and good energy to spread around with their seemingly laid back presence. It’s going to be interesting to see how far these two will go to keep things fresh as we go along. Personally, i have a pretty good feeling about it but the pressure is ON boys!!!

Tune in here

In a glittering ceremony last week, attended by over 200 eminent personalities from the media, marketing and advertising fraternity, the UAE Chapter of the IAA announced that it would award ParisGallery, the leading luxury retailer in the GCC with the honor of founding UAE’s National Lunch Bag.

For over 25 years, ParisGallery’s iconic red bag has become the quintessential grub bag for many UAE residents who prefer to carry their own lunch to work. Over the years, white collar employees have been traveling back and forth from work with this bag that has now officially been named a national fashion accessory. Hesham Ezzat, an executive working for a leading insurance firm claimed that not only was the size of the bag just ideal for most tupperware that he owned but the bag’s durability made it a highly reliable lunch mate.

The CEO of ParisGallery has been considering slashing his marketing budgets and producing more durable retail shopping bags from next year. In a proud moment after receiving the honor, he said ‘ All this while, i had no idea that shoppers were advertising my brand for me. Imagine, all the money i could have saved on marketing if i knew this was happening. I could have bought more hair gel and Bmw’s instead’

So here is a little heap of nostalgia that came rolling into my head this morning. Johnny5!! Surely you remember that clumsy artificial intelligent metal contraption that came alive after being struck by a bolt of lightning ? Anyway! if you don’t and have a few hours to spare, log onto youtube and watch the entire movie there (in episodes.. pity and applaud the soul who had the dedication to upload it there one by one).

On a side note, i hadn’t quite realized how much Johnny resembled Wall-e !

Watch this from 6:20 onwards to 8:10 . The funniest and most memorable bit of this movie ever !!! Its the bit Johnny5 convinces Steve Guttenberg that he actually is alive.

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I’ve been wanting to put this one together forever.. actually No.. am lying!
I’ve been wanting to put this one together ever since i watched the scene in Madmen where Ron Sterling (John Slattery) walks into Don Draper’s office (Jon Hamm) where suited creatives sit in admiration over Volkswagen’s legendary ad ‘Think Big’. The creatives point to the ad and say ‘This is Advertising!’ to which Ron says ‘ you want to know what advertising is? it’s 99c. That’s advertising!’ HAH! Super!

So around “arvo” yesterday, Jex raises his head above the little black partition that separates our desks and says enthusiastically in his stoner subdued voice – ‘Duude! have you seen the new Melbourne rebranding?’ I always find it quite funny how he gets so charged when he finds something about Melbourne. I suppose its natural! Anyway, this time Jexy’s big aussie find was of special interest to me as well.

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A truly sad day to see such a man leave us all. A man who made culture accept color much before Tiger Woods and Obama.

Michael Jackson Dangerous

Dangerous Album Cover – The most inspiring album cover that intoxicates me with nostalgia. RIP Michael!

About a month ago, Bert and Annie Sue recommended a book called ‘E by Matt Beaumont‘.. HILARIOUS and INSIGHTFUL TO THE CORE! is all i have to say. Just thought i’d pick a bit from the book to share here. This is the bit where Daniel Westbrooke (Head of Client Servicing) sends an email to Katie Philpott (intern), briefly telling her about advertising and ‘who does what’ in an agency.

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I know that the next post in queue was going to be dedicated to how awesome me and my writer were at the ‘Dubai Young Lynx 2009′ But i am forced to digress and crib about a depressing brief i found laying on my desk this morning. It was for the lack of a better word – CONDESCENDING!! – a brief that required me to design a poster urging mall shoppers to wear respectable clothing!! Now don’t get me wrong… i don’t usually consider any project as ‘beneath me’ and i have been charged guilty on numerous accounts as being the eternal optimist who sees a fluttering potential in mostly every shitty situation.. but somehow i considered it purely offensive and borderline insulting when i was asked to replicate an existing artwork for which we were missing our very own digital files. NOW THAT! IS BENEATH ME!

Anyway.. the drama queen within me found peace at the thought of ‘taking the piss’ !! mwahaha! If you can’t beat em – join em, is what they say ??? The call against ‘indecent exposure’ turned into a support for ‘decent exposure’ and i was calmed by the sound of my own brain giggling at these silly little figurines wearing these modestly shaped designer shopping bags. I mean after-all, if you can’t show any skin – you may as well wear the damn bag yea ??

Click on the image to see it BIG!