I had heard about, made a mental note to blog about and then promptly forgotten Tanqueray’s newest offering– Tanqueray Rangpur Distilled Gin –until one of you alkies Sena X thoughtfully reminded me of it via our News Tab. Sena X posted a link to YouTube, where a mini-movie starring Tony Sinclair (who always reminds me more of Austin Powers than a “highly-esteemed socialite”) had been deposited in what I’m guessing is a bit of viral marketing (though the YTer’s other videos seem to have nothing to do with Tanqueray, liquor or other products, in general).
I watched the 9:53 extended commercial, which is a bit of a parody of one of my favorite shows, Globe Trekker, except in this spoof, it’s “Globe Probe“. When it was finished, I experienced a cocktail of mixed emotions, none of which I shall list, lest I somehow dilute the experience of watching it for yourselves, like one too many ice cubes in my Gold and coke. How many cliches can you spot? The winner gets…something. 😉
Seriously though– are any of you offended by this video? Amused? Indifferent? Is it as disrespectful as deities on knickers or nowhere close? I am sincerely curious as to what the Mutiny’s take on this is, considering the video’s plethora of orientalist stereotypes which got my eyes-rolling…do y’all think it is zimbly cute or utterly obnoxious?
p.s. For a ten-minute alcohol ad/movie that gets the job done so well, it ends up on our banners, get nostalgic with Mulit, here.
Eww. It’s just plain bad. I can’t imagine anyone liking it, except the possibly drunk ad execs who thought it up.
It wasnt bad at all, I think they did a good job, its absolutely silly but I think that’s the whole point of it.
I might not laugh quite so much in the presence of yahoos who can’t tell the difference between parody and veracity; but it is gloriously stupid nonetheless. The spoof of Globetrekker is fun… i liked the three-armed sitar player/masseur. This reminded me of the low-budget opening trailers my friends and I shoot in three hours for some of our performance events.
It’s quite harmless …not very funny but harmless
I agree completely with Shimmi – only to be enjoyed in the absence of Yahoos. I did enjoy it despite the multitude of cliches. I think it is much less harmful now then It would have been in the past (when India was known only by these tired cliches).
The Guide “Sanji” was hilarious. I’ve seen guys just like him in India.
Ava
I must say I did get a chuckle out of it,but damn that little movie had some mad cliches and straight up coonery being done by all.
Was the actor who played “Sanji” someone famous? He looked/sounded familiar, but I don’t watch a ton of Indian movies, so I wasn’t sure…anyone know?
See how those dastardly marketing execs manipulate us into talking about an ad for ordinary booze? The trick, it seems, is to present quirky-but-clichéd characters with lots of silly humor and “irony”.
They fooled us again! Damn you, advertisers! Damn you all to hell! [Shakes fist at indiffent skyscrapers]
Slightly amusing. The British accent is all over the place though. I like the Amazonian guardswomen of the Sadhu.
I liked it…but then again I also liked the Hapdits or whatever it was called (the tv pilot with Madhur Jaafrey as the mother in law). The Linguist/Miss Latvia actress looked good, and the whole thing was kind of funny.
dude you watch globetrekker, too? second to India of course, which place was your favorite? let me guess…Costa Rica right?
I guess I’m in the minority, then. I thought the fimmaking itself was bad – slick-looking but lame, and took way too long, with lots of gratuitous elements that added nothing to the “story.” I’m the last person here who’s gonna give it a “race analysis in a postcolonial context,” but as a short film I give it thumbs down.
I liked Mulit however.
i loved it. it’s hilarious on so many levels…
“I’m the last person here who’s gonna give it a “race analysis in a postcolonial context,” “
But this kind of lens through which to watch it, I feel, is what makes it that much funnier…or else I’d have prolly not laughed either…
I did not like it at all .First of all anything about India with snakecharmers in it totally puts me off.
So many cliches, so little time.
Maybe I am uber-sensitive but it increasingly grated ’til I had to stop watching.
I can understand its appeal for a predominantly non-Indian audience though – and I guess that’s the point of the marketing campaign.
Can’t really say I am offended because its just an ad film – mildly irritated is more like it. There are plenty of other ads that have offended me on so many levels -(“Fair & Lovely” anyone?)
LOL I thought it was hilarious! A sort of parody of cliches!
HAHA, i work for Diageo, and think its hilarious, viral marketing is better than anything and cheap, it was a big success for Smirnoff Hard Teas, dunno if anyone saw the video, http://www.teapartay.com.
Hahaha…this was very post-cliche and hence witty. It is all in good fun — and anyone can see that it is a parody of the whole genre of “exotic” Raj movies — involving the standard set of characters i) Brave explorer ii) Master disguiser (reminds me of Kim, by Kipling) iii) hot interpreter woman iv) guides v)holy-men and vi) snake charmers. I thought putting a black man as an explorer was deliciously subversive, as was the holy-man who conjures up alcohol.
Do I think the whole idea is a rip-off of Bombay Sapphire? Hell yeah!
Argh.. Can’t watch this now ‘cuz am on a borrowed comp with no speakers, but so badly want to! Because.. when I first heard of “Rangpur lime” I thought it sounded so Indian and wrote something connecting love for alky with love for the fatherland… Bleh, sounds terrible when I say it like this! 🙂
“Good morning, Good night!”
I think I found a new way to greet people.
Maybe Katie Couric can say this after each broadcast to help with the rating’s.
“This is Katie Couric, saying good morning and good night!”
Black and white mixing lol cobras, miscegenation at its finest
Before I make any judgment calls…I am gonna have to try this drink….and then i’ll decide =)
Not offensive. But what a mighty waste of 10 minutes!
“Humko Mulit se pyar hai, humko Mulit se pyar hai!” You’re right Anna, the best thing about the ad is that it reminds me of the Absolut short. I don’t think this video even compares but it was pretty decent. I especially liked the nod to British colonial influence with the cricket dude.
Its my first comment! I’ve been reading the blog for a while, and spent the last year or so trying to think up a clever alias and witty response to mark my first comment…but I’ve given up. So that was it…well that, and great job with Sepia! I love the posts and reading the comments is entertaining to say the least. I’ve also become quite quite infatuated (okay, that might be too strong a word, but still…) with all you Mutineers- you all seem like very intelligent, hilarious, and awesome people!
Welcome, Shivani. Thrilled to have you de-lurk. 🙂
just plain “dumb.”
Kind of off-topic, but regarding Tanqueray Rangpur: I was really EXCITED when I read about it on a food/drink site (chowhound) recently, but after checking Tanqueray’s site, I see they’re not listing it as one of their products anymore. Can anyone confirm that it’s been discontinued? What’s with these nefarious alcohol marketers who invent something seemingly luscious to get us hooked, then stop making the damn stuff! I want me some lime-infused gin!
dunno about the website – but rangpur gin has been around for a while now no – in england that is
think the whole ad campaign is because they are only now introducing it in amrika