Love him, Like him or Hate himbut you can’t ignore him. As the anti-corruption stir intensifies, Anna Hazare, has overtaken almost everything in India for the moment, be it in politics, cinema , sports or media. Media has played a big role in creating brand Anna and he has the empathy of the common man or the middle class which is full of angst against corruption. Why if you wonder: His image is fresh and clean, he looks like somebody you can trust and he has proven this by his actions and track record. Anna stands for honesty, transparency, uprightness, speaking up, protest, against corruption and Jan Lok Pal Bill. Anna Hazare website, Anti Corruption website
Anna fever has gripped the nation so much so that being attached with the Gandhian movement to uproot corruption by the Jan Lokpal has emerged as a status symbol among the masses. The huge fan following of Anna Hazare, who entered the 11th day of his fast on Friday, is prominently visible by the huge influx of people thronging the streets flaunting Brand Anna. The people are keen on visiting the Ramlila ground in Delhi or Freedom Park in Bangalore, atleast once with friends and family, to savour a lifetime experience. The Anna magic has cast a strong spell on youth, kids who have stopped chanting the names of their idols like Sachin Tendulkar, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Dhoni. Instead Gandhian Anna has become a rage among the youths.
Anna Hazare has not just captured the imagination of the ordinary citizen of India but also that of several brand managers who are cashing in on his popularity. Nokia is now promoting its smart-phones with an operating system called Simbian Anna, actor Saif Ali Khan is seen at a peaceful rally in an ad for Lays while Tantra and Inkfruit are selling merchandise like T-shirts, caps and bags with ‘anti-corruption’ slogans. He is also the inspiration for online games and an advertisement for pesticide brand Hit.
(Courtsey: Economic Times -Sunday 21/Aug)
Business houses, however, deny that Hazare has anything do with their campaigns. “The system was conceived months ago and has a Western pronunciation. It has nothing to do with Hazare’s name,” said Poonam Kaul, director of communications, Nokia India. Pradeep Wadhwa, head of corporate communications at Pepsi Co said its ad featuring Saif was not inspired by Hazare. Experts believe brands want to cash in on ‘Annaism’ but are exercising caution. “Using Brand Anna means going against the government,” said an ad guru and a marketing expert.
But you know Anna has arrived when you see the posters of Lage Rahe Munna Bhai and Dabang with Anna, you get mail about “10 things to know about Anna Hazare” at-least twice in a day, News channel are doing 24X7 coverage of Anna at Ramlila Maidan, Newspaper first page hasonly Anna related news. Let’s explore what
has been inspired by Anna.
Table of Contents
Posters
Amul Ads
Merchandise
A young man says to his friend, “Come, let’s buy an Anna. Should I get two?” “No; get four,” the friend replies. The men walk away with four ‘I am Anna’ Gandhi caps. Anna badges, masks, caps, wristbands and headbands are selling like hotcakes. People are snapping up the merchandise at and away from protest sites.
In Freedom Parkin Bangalore(the protest site), In less than three days, the organizers sold 1,200 Gandhi caps and 1,800 T-shirts. “The caps, procured from the Khadi Bhandar at Rs. 33 a piece, were sold at Rs. 40 each to avoid change issues. Similarly, the T-shirts were sold at Rs. 130 while we bought them at Rs. 124 each. We have run out of the first stock and are now planning to order more,” said IAC volunteer Rajashekhar Maran. Bookseller Y.L. Iranna, who has just two titles, Enidu Lokpal and Anna Hazare, is selling at least 500 copies a day. Some vendors flocking the venue too are laughing their way to the bank.
At Ramlila Maidan the situation is more chaotic. By eight in the morning, vendors like Mukesh of the Banjara tribe start arriving at the shops to buy the merchandise and sell it near Ramlila Maidan for 100 per cent profit, even more. By 2 pm, it’s already Mukesh’s third trip to the shop. “I’ve been selling 700 to 800 caps per day for a profit of Rs 5 to 10,” says he. That’s a neat Rs 3,500 to Rs 8,000 in his pocket in one day — many times what he would otherwise earn as daily wages.
Anna pizza, haircuts
A Bokaro eatery is selling desi pizza to go with the patriotic fervour with a gram flour base. People are queuing up for a bite of this culinary invention. Barbers have been busy offering Anna haircuts. Shambhu, a hair cutting salon owner, said, “The Anna cut is simple, close cropped hair with his name written between the strands. Youth are sporting this look to show their support.” Reference:Times of India
T Shirts
As the Anna Hazare heat spikes, anti-corruption fashion takes over the streets. He may be in the eye of a storm, but that isn’t stopping 74-year-old Hazare from setting a new fashion trend.
Online you can order T-shirts at Tantra, InkFruit, SeventyMM, Tshirts.in
SMS , TV, Tweets
SMS traffic too has soared since the protest started. On August 23, an SMS asking everybody to protest outside the houses of MPs and ministers was sent to over 56 million mobile users through Site2Sms.Com, a free SMS site. “According to our SMS traffic analysis, every day over 640,000 SMSes related to Anna are sent through our site,” says its CEO, Nitin Lohchad. “The greater the traffic, the better it is for us, both in terms of brand building and revenue generation.”
Viewership of news channels feasting on the Anna protest has almost doubled — the pinch is being felt by the entertainment channels.According to News Content Track, a service of TAM Media Research, reports on the Jan Lokpal Bill bagged 77% coverage on the top 10 TV news shows in the first half of August.
Hazare’s fast is India’s first major movement to have been actively driven by online media. After Hazare was arrested by the Delhi Police on 16 August, the day he was to start his second fast in the Capital in five months, 180,000 Internet users signed the online petition to free him. For two days, the Twitter hash tag #isupportannahazare was the top-trending topic in India. Till Monday, Hazare’s India Against Corruption campaign had more than 400,000 “likes” on its Facebook page. Hazare’s video, recorded in Tihar Jail, has been visited by more than 100,000 people on YouTube.(Ref:LiveMint)
Games
Anna Hazare has inspired a free online game Angry Anna(on lines of Angry Birds), Yes Prime Minister
Angry Anna
Angry Anna, it is an imitation of the popular game, Angry Birds. it is launched by Geek Mentors Studios, a Gurgaon-based game and app developer. In the game, Team Anna members play the part of the birds while the UPA ministers take the hit. The game has four levels. “We couldn’t go to Ramlila ground to support Anna. But we figured there were several others like us who are in office. So we thought, why not make a game around the theme because that’s what we do,” says Himthani of Geek Mentors Studios.
Uploaded on Wednesday 24 August at 5pm, the site had received over 46,000 hits in the next 24 hours. “Angry Anna” was a top trend on Wednesday on microblogging website Twitter.
Yes Prime Minister on Ibibo
Move over the English TV Series “Yes PrimeMinister“, Yes PrimeMinister is a popular virtual game developed by ibibo that allows people to punish those who are responsible for corruption in India. (Remember the TV ad:Why play akele? Those were by ibibo) The theme of Yes Prime Minister is to build your India by taking control of various ministries. However, if projects are left unguarded, corruption creeps in and your online friends come to your rescue by volunteering as vigilance commissioners. You can also have your own adalat(court), where you can punish or reward the commonly news-making public figures.
People can punish the corrupt politician either putting them behind bars, getting them to ride a donkey or even throw a chappal (slippers) or egg at them. Since Kanhee Mozi’s’character (2G scam fame) was added to its already existing line of infamous politicians and celebrities including ‘Shared Power’, ‘Rajah’ and ‘Kalmaddy’, over one lakh netizens have punished her.“I have punished her. She looted our country,” says Arjun Shah, 21, student, adding that he chose to throw a chappal (slipper) at her. His friend Sanjay Desai, 21, says he made her “ride a donkey. She deserves it”.
Yes Prime Minister game on ibibo
Miscellaneous
Brand Anna has entered the management class. The students of Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University, will have a class on ‘Brand Anna’, where they will deliberate on how Anna turned the corruption issue into a brand and an exciting marketing strategy, too. Even this article is inspired by brand Anna Hazare.
Interesting slide show at india-today website
While the politicians/critics may keep guessing about Anna Hazare, he has achieved what politicians couldn’t: bringing the privileged middle class to the street How long will Anna-ism last? Will brand Anna be over once the fast is over? What do you think? Please share your thought.
Disclaimer: This article is personal view of author and is not meant to degrade Anna Hazare or Anti Corruption Stir. The intent of article is not to hurt anyone’s feelings but just to make one aware of how big brand Anna Hazare has become.
Hi,
this is abhirup here. I came across your blog and loved your writing. I run a popular business blog http://www.ideasmakemarket.com . I would like to post articles from you which if approved will be posted with full credit. Let me know what you think about it. If you like the idea mail me back at ideasmakemarket@gmail.com
regards,
Abhirup
Exceptional article! This post is very informative and inspirational. The way you wrote about Anna Hazare brilliant works is really interesting to read. I think he is one of the real followers of Gandhi. Thanks 🙂
Thanks Muskan,
Yes the entire nation is caught in Anna fever. He has made Indians with “chalta hai” attitude
come on streets and made even Parliament listen to aam-aadmi demands. We can question
his methods but can’t ignore him.
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Hi,
this is abhirup here. I came across your blog and loved your writing. I run a popular business blog http://www.ideasmakemarket.com . I would like to post articles from you which if approved will be posted with full credit. Let me know what you think about it. If you like the idea mail me back at ideasmakemarket@gmail.com
regards,
Abhirup
Exceptional article! This post is very informative and inspirational. The way you wrote about Anna Hazare brilliant works is really interesting to read. I think he is one of the real followers of Gandhi. Thanks 🙂
Thanks Ben. Glad you liked it!
You have really interesting blog, keep up posting such informative posts!
Wonderful article…. It correctly reflects the current mood of the nation and it’s addiction to all things “anna”… thankz for sharing this..
Thanks Muskan,
Yes the entire nation is caught in Anna fever. He has made Indians with “chalta hai” attitude
come on streets and made even Parliament listen to aam-aadmi demands. We can question
his methods but can’t ignore him.
Thanks. Your encouragement means lot to us