Audacious Axe Unilever Lax

It was 8 PM in the evening. It was just like another day.

My eight year old daughter had just switched on the TV to watch Baal Veer on SAB TV.

She has been seeing Baal Veer for over four months now. She happened to come to know about Baal Veer through her friends. (More on that kind of referral in some other post)

She is usually all by herself while watching Baal Veer. On this particular occasion, I for some reason, sat down along with her and began reading from the Nexus.

Occasionally, I would look at the TV distracted by the sound-byte music. Then comes the ad break.

The daughter continues watching.

Knorr soups OK.

Some biscuit OK.

Axe Deodorant, Excuse Me !!!

And what rubbish, the same Axe AD is repeated in every Baal Veer ad break

I was really upset.

I knew there was a way to complain. I asked my NITIE batchmates on the whatsapp NITIE IM6 group. And there was the answer.

IBF (Indian Broadcasting Foundation)

On the IBF website, displayed prominently is the link to Lodge a Complaint to the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC). Thankfully, it did not come down to BCCI. The complaint can be lodged both, online and offline. In the case of offline, you have to download the form (Hindi / English), fill it and mail it to IBF.

I filled in an online complaint. The only issue I faced was in managing the complaint within 1000 characters. And since there was no character count tool on the website, it was a painful user experience. Eventually, I did manage to submit the complaint.

The IBF Online complaint submission was Easy

Now to see how they redress the complaint.

IBF or ASCI

On choosing the category of complaint as "Ads Related", the following message is displayed.

ASCI or IBF ?

So, it seems that the correct forum to complain about the AD is Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

I decided to submit the complaint to ASCI, as well.

The online complaint form did not generate a Tracking Number as should have been the case. So I decided to call them on 1800-22-2724 to find out. I was advised to email my complaint to contact@ascionline.org and I did.

Here is the copy of my complaint for the reader's reference.

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Baal Veer is a children's program played on SAB TV every weekday at 8 PM. Owing to its popularity, even my 8 year old girl watches and enjoys it. Such is the magnetism of Baal Veer that she promptly finishes her tasks so as not to miss out on even a second of the program. And I need not explain how difficult it is to get kids to do their things on time.

So, during Baal Veer, she is glued to the TV more than 100%. As the only child in the house, she is usually all by herself while watching the program. As parents, we do not disturb her during the program. We are sure that what she is watching is OK for children.

Until, a few day ago. The Axe deodorant Advertisement was being broadcasted on all the ad breaks of Baal Veer. As a parent, I was shocked. Even my girl was visibly uncomfortable.

This is unacceptable. What kind of standards are these?

As an upset parent, I demand an explanation from the broadcaster, the advertiser and the media agency, the basis for this action. An apology is not enough.

And of course, the Advertisement should be taken off immediately.
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Will all this work out? Let us find out.

Finding Osmo

My daughter is 8. It is really heartening to see how she is learning and growing.

Yesterday, she came around to use the word Talisman. I was excited.

Always on the lookout to support her continuous learning, I randomly came across OSMO. Intrigued and interested, I am keen to check it out. Here is a quick video about Osmo.


If you are a parent I would appreciate your views and feedback about Osmo.

My first impression - OUTSTANDING. Awesome stuff Team Osmo.

Dell Inspiron N5010 Replacement Laptop Battery - Where to Buy?

The Dell Inspiron N5010 is now four years old.

It still runs (unsuccessfully) on the original battery. The battery is also four years old, but dead many times over. It is more like a really bad UPS.

On couple of occasions, I have attempted reviving it using the freezer method. It has not worked for me. Logically, it should have. But, it didn't. Do give it a shot, though.

It was time to buy a replacement, given the erratic Gurgaon power supply.

It was but natural to check out the big Dadas of e-commerce in India.

• Flipkart
• Ebay
• Amazon

 And all of them disappointed. Not in terms of price (can't complain on price), but in terms of TERMS.

Flipkart

Please refer this Link. These were the issues that dissuaded me from going ahead with it.

• 90 Day Warranty is not good enough
• Not all the User reviews were comforting

Ebay

The price was attractive, but not the seller. These were the issues that dissuaded me from going ahead with it.

• Seller categorically stated that the battery was NOT ORIGINAL. Whoa!
• See point above.

 

Amazon

Did not make it to Amazon. By that time, I was clear that I had to buy it directly from Dell.

Let's see how that works out !