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Of love, fun, and product pitching
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Christmas has never been so `in' before. What else do you expect with a market at its overactive best?
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JIM REEVES and Christmas. A few years ago, or should we say some generations ago, we couldn't have had one without the other. Now poor old Reeves is passé. Not Christmas though... it's never been so `in' before. But then you might ask, what isn't?
Why, from Funskool toys to a trendy Lee Christmas Kids Collection to more clothes, blue pottery planters, and Hayley, Jodie, and Susana, everything is on show this season. To amuse, delight, and leave you with a lighter pocket. And this funfest is not going to end on Christmas day, it will continue well into the New Year. For, that way, our canny marketers get to sell more, and more time to do so.
We are not trying to be cynical here, but isn't it rather sad that anything remotely joyous is today so blatantly and eminently saleable?
And while on that vein, we must tell you that it is not just establishments on Commercial Street, Brigade Road, and M.G. Road that get dolled up for Christmas. All nukkad shops do too. In fact, you will see the same stars, sparklers, and glitter on show here as well, except that the stuff will be some 10 times cheaper. They wouldn't bother to get publicity for any of it either.
But, to illustrate all that we spoke of, here are some samples. The three women we referred to earlier (Hayley, Jodie, and Susana) are, in reality, part of an exotically scintillating team of dancers called Les Belles Duval. They are coming here "from Europe with Love" to perform at the Grand Ashok from December 24 to 31. We've been told that their dance routines are sensuous and costumes absolutely breathtaking. And from what we've seen of the belles, we guarantee that their clothes (or lack of) will certainly take your breath away!
If you're not too much into physical beauty, try things material instead at Things in Domlur II Stage (Phone: 5350173). They have a Christmas Bazaar till December 25. And, incidentally, that's where you'll get the blue planters.
But then, practically every store has a fair of some kind, never mind how "fair" their prices are. The Bombay Store, for example, has a Christmas Carnival till this month-end, and they promise "days of fun, frolic, and fabulous gifts, plus an incredible bumper prize". All you need do is spend between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,999 to get a "guaranteed" gift hamper worth (hold your breath) Rs. 300. And if that's not enough to make you jump with joy, they also have a Christmas tree on display, plus artistically ornamental Volume Candles shaped like Santa Claus for sale.
Poor ol' Santa is rather overworked. Every fivestar hotel has one in-house. And every store has a replica, if not some hapless human in a red suit and white beard. Shopper's Stop has a kids' festival called Santa and the Wishing Well on till January. On Christmas Day, children can meet the jolly red man. And parents, who happen to go along, can try winning a Hyundai car. The store has tied up with the South Korean carmaker to offer shoppers "a new car along with a new wardrobe", and this offer ends on January 11.
But we did mention clothes earlier too, didn't we? Well, little people who think they just must overhaul their wardrobe could try Lee Kids' New Collection for Boys and Girls, for the two to 12 age group. That unfortunate group appears to be the most targeted this season, for Funskool India too has some tricks (or in this case, toys) up their sleeve. They aim to get their market share through games like Willie Go Boom, Beetle Race, Trivial Pursuit Kids, and GI Joe Windmill. The games, they say, are ideal for Christmas stockings.
Now, we are not sure how many families here actually put goodies in socks (forget stockings), but then, all is fair in love and war and the big bad world of marketing, isn't it?
Enjoy!
DIVYA SREEDHARAN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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