SilentDog: Campaign propositions

One of my dear friends met with an accident recently, over a useless news alert from the Operator. Having heard a text alert, he had let go of his brakes while reaching for his hand phone. Fortunately for him, his insurance covered the cost of his ruined bonnet and his silly mistake, but not the biggest mistake he committed by telling us the truth and becoming the butt end of our jokes.

A quick question for you: how many times have you met with an accident, while on the phone? If you are reading this, you survived it, if at all.

Here is a surprising observation. When we answer that ‘irresponsible’ call while driving, unlike my good friend, we tend to be more vigilant, even slowing down, to do so. However, accidents can occur as a result of what follows that call, especially if it happened to be your wife, yelling at you for not mowing the lawn. We will try to catch up for the loss of time incurred due to the call, taking more risks by speeding and overtaking, etc,. So, what is really dangerous is not the call itself, but how it alters our behavior after that.

Now, unfortunately, most communications tend to miss this fact and always depict the driver as being caught off guard while on the call. Because we instinctively know this to be rare and especially, since we compensate the call by lowering consumption of risk while on the call, we dismiss the claim and go on with our behavior, rendering that piece of communication ineffective. I believe that the proposition should revolve around, “it’s what happens after the call”, and not, “it’s what happens during the call”.

In countries like ours’, insurance penetration is less than 10% of the population and naturally, having tried everything possible, insurance companies struggle to expand their market. A combination of the culture and political systems makes it really tough for them to penetrate the market. We have free healthcare and free education for our children, and when we get old, we will have our children to take care of us, eliminating the need for a pension plan. Even if we don’t have children, we will still fit in somewhere within the larger context of our family, and one of our distant relatives will be more than happy to accommodate us. But things are changing, and fast, as we adopt a more western outlook and become increasingly disconnected from our roots.

So, what really stands in the way of these insurance companies? A lot of things, and that’s exactly the problem. One example is Superstition. There are people who actually believe that strange cosmic powers protect them from possible disasters, although it’s so blindingly obvious that a lot of shit happens to ‘people just like themselves’ all the time. It’s the ‘I am not vulnerable’ belief. Here’s a funny thought. Superman jumps from one building to another, slides down a ramp and lands smoothly on the pavement. Just as he lands, he gets hit by a truck driven by a drunk.

We always have someone to take care of us. When we were small, our parents took care of us. In school, our friends did that, and now, our partners do it. But when that person we count on, is gone, how vulnerable we then become. Here’s a thought on this line. Batman along with Robin, about to take on the goons of Joker, one of whom knocks Batman out completely, with a single punch, resulting in the pathetic scene of a very vulnerable looking Robin, now having to face the whole gang on his own.

But here is the one I really like. If ever one buys insurance, it will usually be for his dependants, rather than for himself to become a prosperous Silver, because he will still expect his children to take care of him and keep him company right to the end, etc. The cultures of the South East Asian belt are deeply rooted in the Buddhist belief of ‘karma’, or cause and effect. If you live badly in his life, your next life will surely be worse. So, imagine bidding your byes prematurely, before doing all your fatherly duties? One of the possibilities is that you could come back as a cockroach, or even a stray dog everyone chases away from everywhere. So, finally, it could lead to this. “Get insurance for a better rebirth”.

Have a great week.
SilentDog

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Want to arrive safely? Then take that call!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Your father is a cockroach