Latest news with #VinodKunj
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
This Friendship Day, Parle-G positions mom as a bestie
Biscuit brand Parle-G has released its Friendship Day film. This year's campaign is to pause and reflect on the bonds that weren't chosen , but were always there . Mayank Shah, vice president, Parle Products, said, 'Friendship isn't just about who we laugh with. It's also about those who quietly stand by us through every step of life.' He added, "Through this film, we honour not just our bonds with friends, but the deeper bonds of companionship with those who are our silent pillars of support—our mothers, sisters, mentors—who've moulded us with love and care. The fact that we understand and empathise with our near and dear ones comes through naturally in this film.' Vinod Kunj, founder and chief creative officer, Thought Blurb Communications , said ,'This film reflects a generational shift in parenting. That change in perspective lies at the heart of our film.' Renu Somani, national creative director, Thought Blurb Communications said, 'Today's mother isn't just parenting, she's growing with her teen. She's evolving, unlearning, listening, and effortlessly stepping into the role of a friend. And what's beautiful is, it's mutual. This film is a celebration of the quiet, unspoken friendship that so many mothers and daughters share today.' The film shows a child's worry in modern times and sacrifices of the mother. The film begins with a daughter segregating friendship bands for her close friends and getting confused on who can get the title of a 'bestie'. The conversation then revolves around how her mother would have spent her days with friends, without the pressures of the current times. It shares the essence of the bond between a mother and her daughter that evolves continuously, into a lifetime bond full of so many emotions . Watch the film on ET Brand Equity here:
Time of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
The dark side of the boon - Trust in the times of AI
HighlightsThe democratization of communication has led to an increase in unqualified information, making the intelligent cynical and the unintelligent gullible. Artificial Intelligence algorithms often prioritize engagement by promoting outrage and divisive discussions over measured discourse. The rise of influencers raises questions about their qualifications and the potential harm they may cause in disseminating financial and medical advice. Professional journalism is facing a decline, with the prevalence of fake news impacting its credibility even in high-profile settings like the White House press briefing room. Music democratization allows independent artists to share their work, but larger acts still dominate financial success, raising questions about talent and market dynamics. By Vinod Kunj The democratization of communication has come with a few notable problems. While the Internet opened us up to all the information in the world, it also opened us up to completely unqualified drivel. The setback in the construct is that it has made the intelligent cynical and the unintelligent gullible. It has split the conversation into professional reportage and opinions and complete blather. We take our book, movie, music, hotel, restaurant and product reviews from Reddit and Amazon. We take our health advice from WebMD and 'influencers'. We listen to the mood music that we really want to hear. Think about this. Nobody calls the manager when they have an excellent meal at a restaurant. They only summon him if there's a problem. The trouble with reading customer reviews of a product online, is that they tend to be all in that exact same vein. If there is a substantial number of reviews for a product, rest assured, the brand will come out with a terrible reputation. And now, AI is making the decisions for you. Fire up a GPT, and you will find that everything you want to buy is terrible. This is because AI searches through tones of data and instantly makes up its mind that all the bad reviews of a product on all the sites on the Internet. That is because, AI is not created by the power of incredulity. This reminds me of an incident that happened to me a long time ago. There was a Durex survey on sex in India. When asked 'Have you ever cheated on your spouse with somebody married?' 13 per thousand men replied in the affirmative against 25 per thousand women. I wonder who these additional women were having an affair with, each other? So, I asked a social researcher, and this is what she had to say. 'They are both lying. But the men are lying through a sense of shame. The women are lying through a desire for a fantasy'. How long before AI figures that out? How long before AI begins to learn incredulity? If you put an algorithm into a robot asking it to maximize engagement, it will search for conversations where they are abundant. Unfortunately, a measured discourse on economics or poetry rarely has the level of bellicosity as a completely disjointed brawl. The robot has no moral leanings, so it recognizes these to be the best discussions to promote. Outrage and fury sell a lot more social media advertising than genuine discussions. Broadcast and print media, Ad agencies and other media outlets used to have self-censorship back in the day. Then came cable and standards were relaxed. Today, in the streaming era, all that was defenestrated. On streaming, even advertising has as much sex, foul language and violence as an 'A' rated movie. How do you define an influencer? Does financial or medical advice from any pretty face and stern voice make them one? How do you register them? If they have a modest number of followers, are they really influencers? Or do you build a model to evaluate the harm that they do? I believe the question of fake news has been discussed ad infinitum. It is so pervasive that it's even coming out of the White House press briefing room. It's not just print journalism that is dying. Professional journalism is on the endangered list. Broadcast TV had the power to surprise you. You can change a channel and find something interesting. Streaming asks you to choose. You end up choosing a movie or a television program based on a thumbnail image on a page and a ten-word synopsis. Music has been democratized too. If you are a garage band, you are not relegated to busking on the subway. You can record a track and put it up on your own Spotify channel. (You need a laptop some software and some pretty basic sound equipment. That is another aspect of democratization.) But then the common complaint out there is that the big name acts still get paid a lot more than the little guys. Here's an illuminating thought. Have you considered that that professional recording artists are making more money because they are better? The communication we consume shape our world. I remember a time when the music, literature, art theater, movies were about love and loss, heartbreak and aspiration, dedication and rebelliousness. Today, the zeitgeist is about chasing brands, keeping up with a bunch of rich brats, and random acts of obscenity disguised as 'content'. And consider this. A new version of Generative AI just got released. (The author is the founder and CCO, Thought Blurb Communications.)
