The Power Of One

If you are an old man reading this, do you remember what your goals were as a youngster? If you are an older woman, what did you want out of life as a younger woman in a fast city or a quiet village where you grew up?
Most of you will remember being conditioned very consciously to want a job, a house, a wife, kids and a good life at the very least on the outside. For women, it was just marriage and kids, maybe a job but no big deal. Things changed of course and slowly there was more emphasis on women’s careers, equal rights, and being equal in terms of finances with a man. However, for both men and women, the deep conditioning over centuries is sometimes hard to shake.  The pressure of looking good to the society and keeping the inner dreams locked because the community was more important than the individual and having individualistic views, dreams, passions weren’t the top choice to the society that we were part of.

Advertising and art has had a longstanding effect on people; in fact it mirrors the society and vice-versa.  Watching these ads seems to restore the importance placed on an individual and not the individual necessarily working or living on the terms of a society.
Jabong’s latest ad with the tag line “Be You” is a golden example of being the crowd but being independent or being what one is most comfortable being. The ideology is beautifully captured by showing a group of friends just hanging out without anyone really being the focus of the ad but each of them portraying a kind of comfort, independence, strength and connection to oneself.
 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0NT4G821vE]
 
Another one that kind of works in the same vein is this Intel Hp ad where the youngster breaks rules about working from an office focusing on the outcome and the individual’s capabilities rather than his method of work. Again a nod to having styles that don’t necessarily fit into the regular work space.
 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if1SBuLacac&hd=1]
 
This next one is an ode to all the runners literally and runners in life to keep doing it. It took one person to make marathon look real even though he died while running it. Bringing back the power of “One” in full swing.
 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxunzQQNgQM&feature=youtu.be&hd=1]