[TejasV]

This post is regarding the inshorts article I found about the Jimny ad at a lake in Ladakh - shared by the MP who rightfully called out the filming of the same with little/no regard to how it may damage the lake.

Image for easy reference.



https://twitter.com/jtnladakh/status...76119590887425

It got me thinking about how the ads/imagery are also a reason why the average Indian cares so less about the ecology and thinks of replicating the same as a sense of an "outdoorsy" achievement with their SUVs (Remember the idiots who've beached a lot of SUVs in Goa & Kerala).

Especially the ads for SUVs, right from the old iconic Safari ads where it is wading through a lake to this (which is remember and wanted to do once I grow up). We would in our heads want to do the same and rarely pay heed to the ecological damage we may be causing, especially at places like Ladakh or the onetime I personally experienced, at the Chilka lake where a lot of tourists took their Thars out and disturbed the birds in the area.

I think is is not just the everyday folk but also the system that is insensitive, I'm guessing the Jimny ad too had some permissions in place, which is wrong to start with so here I am writing about it as I do not know who to blame but also, still wish to put it out there so that we remember not to do the same in a moment of joy or adrenaline rush when out in the wild.

PS: Reckless driving too - I remember the awesome Josh machine ad for the Ford Ikon, which looking back looks pretty careless, as people with very little skill may try to do the same and again did (many videos of kids doing dangerous 360s in their college grounds during college fests on social media). Am I over reacting as an adult now? maybe, did the ad work? yes, I pushed my dad as a kid and we actually bought an Ikon over the City because of that ad with a dream that I could do the same with the car (neither could I drive nor was I old enough to but it left such a big mark in my head to actually make him buy that car for my sake).

[shankar.balan]

On a related note, this ad of Mahindra Thar too, is a bit over the top and rather cheesy…

https://youtu.be/GqWLtKjso2Y

[GTO]

Bunny Punia gave a nice reply on the Twitter thread:

Stop all flights to Leh: exhaust gases are bad for fragile ecosystem

Stop all diesel vehicles : exhaust gases are bad for Ladakh's fragile ecosystem

Come on Mr Namgyal : didn't the local authorities know this before giving permission?

I see no harm here. Lovely backdrop!

This is the nature of the beast, that is advertising. Anyway, knowing Maruti, their agency would have surely taken permission from local authorities for this shoot. Else police really come and harass whenever they see such equipment and a big gathering. There are strict protocols around such shoots.

Thanks to the widespread coverage of this incident, even those people who would have otherwise not seen the picture of a Jimny in Ladakh will see it.

For an upcoming launch, any kind of publicity is seen as good publicity. It's precisely why we see so many falsely "engineered controversies" before the release of big budget films.

[SinghBHP]

I do not understand the Noise after such act has been done.

I am sure Maruti applied for the local authority approvals (with details of how they plan to shoot and enter the river) well in advance- why did no one stopped it then ? Why were they given approval to shoot it ?

Even after the approval it may have taken them time to move such heavy equipment across the region and then plan and create setup for shoot. This cant be done in a day or two. Why did no one raised alarm then or stopped it then ?

After the harm is done we see noise and then product gets all the publicity they are actually looking for. Their work is done.

[GeeTee TSI]

In current times of high sensitivity towards the environment, the observation by the MP is a right wake up call to change one's conditioned mindset (from it has always been done this way). I don't think an average Joe driving to that part will be allowed to wade through the lake, and rightfully so.

In the same breath, I do not admire anymore racing/stunts on public streets, irresponsible / impossible manoeuvres filmed for the sake of drama

[fhdowntheline]

Watch this video ( depressing yet beautiful for the camera work on the Lumix S5) . If environmental factors are to be highlighted, then tourism might have to be curbed. And that pretty much goes for all of the Himalayan regions.

https://youtu.be/MG-AactRSDk

[sweetvar26]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Watch this video ( depressing yet beautiful for the camera work on the Lumix S5) . If environmental factors are to be highlighted, then tourism might have to be curbed. And that pretty much goes for all of the Himalayan regions.

https://Youtu.be/MG-AactRSDk

Thank you for sharing this.

I know that a lot of folks here on TBHP travel to J&K region, I know some people put genuine effort in bringing back their waste from the region. Thank you to all those that do and setting an example for the rest of us.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

On a related note, this ad of Mahindra Thar too, is a bit over the top and rather cheesy…

Thank you so much for sharing this. Didn’t have a good laugh since long. You choose the perfect two words to describe it: cheesy and over the top.

Coming to the Jimny controversy, I think shooting an ad should be mostly okay. It is the driving on the waters of the lake which should be avoided as it can disturb the aquatic eco system.

Thanks.

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

On a related note, this ad of Mahindra Thar too, is a bit over the top and rather cheesy…
https://Youtu.be/GqWLtKjso2Y

A bit over the top? This is way too silly and perhaps will do more damage to the brand than good in terms of enhancing sales or "furthering" the brand Thar. I wonder how Marketing teams even approve of such Creatives and let them be actually used. For me this pushes me away from the "Brand" rather than "pull" towards it.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

A bit over the top? This is way too silly and perhaps will do more damage to the brand than good in terms of enhancing sales or "furthering" the brand Thar. I wonder how Marketing teams even approve of such Creatives and let them be actually used. For me this pushes me away from the "Brand" rather than "pull" towards it.

Unfortunately the way our society is going, with this disastrous social media obsession, people only love over the top trash like this. Nuances, subtelty, finesse are attributes of a bygone era unfortunately.

[turbowhistle]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

A bit over the top? This is way too silly and perhaps will do more damage to the brand than good in terms of enhancing sales or "furthering" the brand Thar. I wonder how Marketing teams even approve of such Creatives and let them be actually used. For me this pushes me away from the "Brand" rather than "pull" towards it.

We are a very small tribe sir, I have seen people going gaga over such over the top things and not recognizing anything weird towards it. Mahindra sadly doesn't mind losing some customer base if they can connect to a broader junta which loves things like this. Similar to adding generous amounts of Chrome on your car. They've been doing it for a while and not gonna stop now.

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Unfortunately the way our society is going, with this disastrous social media obsession, people only love over the top trash like this. Nuances, subtelty, finesse are attributes of a bygone era unfortunately.

Exactly my thoughts! We form a very small minority which Mahindra/Maruti Suzuki doesnt care about.

Coming back to the Ad, this seems very elaborate effort to spruce up some controversy just before the launch. I have few friends in Media agencies and according to them clients are ready to create even negative buzz if it's gonna help visibility. So we never know!

[alpha1]

My capitalist view on this: Ladakh has a choice to become completely cut-off from rest of India/World and choose to preserve its pristine ecology (and remain poor); or it may generate revenue from tourism activities (and its downstream economy) and invest the monies into preserving the ecology as well as benefiting the local population.

Mr. MP should also make his stand clear to the public and especially his constituency.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

A bit over the top? This is way too silly and perhaps will do more damage to the brand than good in terms of enhancing sales or "furthering" the brand Thar. I wonder how Marketing teams even approve of such Creatives and let them be actually used. For me this pushes me away from the "Brand" rather than "pull" towards it.

A woman is at the driver`s seat of one of the cars, Mika Singh rendering the Sapno Ki Rani song.

Nearly a year after this Ad a more affordable Thar arrives with 2WD, sales numbers are on the up tick - Do you really think the ad was off point?

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Watch this video ( depressing yet beautiful for the camera work on the Lumix S5) . If environmental factors are to be highlighted, then tourism might have to be curbed. And that pretty much goes for all of the Himalayan regions.

https://Youtu.be/MG-AactRSDk

I think places like Ladakh which are unique in their culture and topography must be regulated for tourism. It may sound ridiculous but it is a way to preserve the ecosystem and culture for future generations. The Ladakhis themselves are partly responsible as they built commercial and residential structures haphazardly to meet the demands of tourism. As a society if they had governed themselves to develop their tourism industry in a regulated and organized manner, much of today's problem would not exist. It's an irony that a local Ladakhi had mentioned exactly this way back in 2009 when I had visited Ladakh.

Note: For me Ladakh was never a conquest. It was a dream due to my liking for Budhism and nature. A dream fuelled by text-books from childhood and not YouTube influencing. Did a solo travel, used public transport or shared transport, or simply walked, except for one day of bike rentals. I think banning vehicles from other states for tourism purpose could be one way to regulate the industry there. That way, the truly serious travellers will only go there. Much more can be done. The Government must pay some attention to this.

Coming to the furore over the advertisement, it should not be seen as an isolated incident. Our society has a great capacity to ape stuff once shown in ads like these or uploaded by some silly YouTube or Instagram influencer. That leaves behind a trail of unwarranted destruction. I think the MP has the rights to condemn such behavior. More importantly, he is from the ruling party as well. Hope he can take steps to preserve what is left of Ladakh.

[gsferrari]

Ladakh is what it is because of tourism. Remove tourism and it is a high altitude desert filled with armed forces. The army will fly in whatever provisions they need to survive and perform their duties. The local population will migrate out of Ladakh in search of better economic opportunities.

Banning out-station vehicles is such a typical Indian approach to solving a problem which is essentially going after the low hanging fruit. No logic is applied. No long-term repercussions are considered or projected. How will this impact the economy, terrorism, population age and gender diaspora. Everything is impacted when you take something away.

Another issue is, what if other states take a similar stand? No out-of-state vehicles can cross the borders. You cannot have one rule for Ladakh and another for the rest of the country. We have enough separatists working overtime as it is.

I posted this in the Jimny thread as well. You cannot do a shoot of that scale/nature without permits and permits are extremely granular. Everything about the shoot, script, location, personnel, scenes, shots, talent, animals, logistics, toilets, waste management, environmental impact etc. etc. It is a monumental effort to get permissions like this and agencies /production houses employ an army of local fixers to make it happen. When I say “make it happen” there is obviously potential for bad actors to do what they are best at. This is the nature of the world we live in.

Declare all of Ladakh as a nature reserve, create buffer zones, militarised zones and get everyone out of there if you truly want to preserve it. We created a mess with unchecked growth, tourism, haphazard development and now you want to rein it in? The seemingly well-intentioned MP’s PR team have played a master stroke.

There is a proverb somewhere, something about stable doors and horses. You know what I am talking about don’t you?