The aroma of change?
Aaaack! One alphabet is missing in the above hoarding; its supposed to read “Coffee Swami”. Swalpa adjust maadi, folks. He’s the new mascot for the Coffee Board of India.
I recall those days around the end ’80’s and early ’90’s when the Coffee Board ruled supreme over the land as far as coffee procurement, marketing and distribution of Coffee. Then came the winds of change with the government giving a free hand to the growers themselves to sell their produce.
Now the Coffee Board is re-inventing itself to meet the demands of the marketplace. They have come out – belatedly, methinks – with a mascot i.e Coffee Swami – to promote themselves. Whether this new concoction will beat the Barista’s and the Coffee Day’s at their game and get the yuppies to switch is yet to be seen.
Well, “Swim” in coffee will also do for all the caffeine fiends ;-)
great story…swin in the coffee!!
;-)
Ravi, being an ex-Bangalorean, I just love your blog.
BTW, it is a *letter* of the alphabet that is missing from the hoarding, not the alphabet itself!
Ravi, sorry to be nit-picking. but, i think you are referring to the missing “i” in Swami. However, if you look closely, the “i” has got covered by the blue pole to which the hoarding is tied.
@Mysore & Rajesh: I was a coffee addict myself…tapering off slowly, though.
@Lal & Raag: Guys, I stand corrected. Yes, it is a letter of the alphabet! And yes, I MADE the mistake while taking the pic. The ‘I’ in swami is very much there in the hoarding..my EYE was not focussing properly! ;)
yes, it’s coffee time for setting the EYE…
;-)
Will the Tea growers have to come up with a similar mascot?
@ Rajesh: You bet!
@ R.A Levin: Maybe something will come up. But in the meanwhile, the Tea Board guys are advertising on TV with a couple or more spots showing differences between coffee and tea drinkers. I hope you’ve seen this?
For a moment,I thought the message in the hoarding read “Coffee Swamp”.
I like the mascot. I think it’s cute. Reminds me of the Maharaja of Air India. A typical desi kind of mascot. :)
I like the mascot. I think it’s cute. Reminds me of the Maharaja of Air India. A typical desi kind of mascot. :)
Differences between coffee and tea drinkers? I haven’t seen this.