Prologue:In the mid-nineties, Coke, in India, was in deep trouble. Pepsi was way ahead of them in sales. Years ago, in the 70’s, Coke had been the leading soft drink in what was then a slow plodding, economically closed, “developing” third-world country. Then, the government had banned it. While Coke established itself as the leader in other third-world countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas, India was forgotten…Until the 90’s, when the Indian economy was opened to outsiders. One hot summer day, on his way to another South Asian country, the chief of Coke happened to stop over for a short time in India. By now, the Indian ban on Coke had been lifted. What the chief saw in India appalled him - Pepsi everywhere, no Coke!!
The Indian stopover was brief, but the chief was taken. Like countless foreigners who visited India through the centuries, he was determined to conquer the country. Coke’s India office did not know what hit them. There was a revamp and the conquest of India began in earnest. By mid-nineties, the chief was not satisfied with the results. He decided to send one of his personal proteges to lead Coke’s marketing efforts in India. The marketing head – an American – was sacked, and in his place was sent, an Indian who had caught the chief’s eye in the US. He was one of those young, well-educated, fire-in-the-belly Indian professionals who were making a name for themselves all over the US.
However, our story doesn’t start here. Our story begins sometime in the 70s, when Coke was not banned in India yet.
The First Letter:9th Sept, an year in late 70s
Hello Pri,
I am sorry about what happened in the canteen yesterday, with your bottle of Coke! I am not at fault, and I usually don’t apologize when the fault is not mine. But, we will be spending at least 2 more years in the same class till we finish our pre-university, and so I decided to write this letter, rather than risk leaving a bad impression. Believe me, it was a trick played by the boys. I was the victim of my own trick!
Let me explain. You might have seen us boys often fight over food and drinks in the college canteen. You see, when one of the boys buys food or drink, it belongs to the whole gang and everyone has a right to it. Recently, someone had left a half-finished plate of idlis on a table in our canteen, and I sat before the plate as if it were mine. As expected, the boys who came in after me, pounced on the plate, and wiped it clean. Imagine the look on their faces when I told them the idlis were not mine, but had been left by god-knows-who!
They played the same trick on me yesterday, with your bottle of coke! Please don’t be angry with the boys. When they saw a half-finished bottle apparently abandoned in the canteen, they got their chance for revenge. They hardly expected that you had just gone to wash your hands and would be back for it, just as I finished the last swig!
There, that’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Hope you don’t continue to think of us boys as uncivilized food and drink stealers.
Truthfully,
Vindoo
The Second Letter:12th Nov, the same year in late 70’s
Hi Vindoo,
Guess it’s my turn to write a letter to you now. I did not reply to your previous letter because I did not see a need to do so. Little did I expect then that one day, I would be writing to you to apologize – again with relation to Coke! Ah, well here goes…
Today, when I saw the shadow at the window of our college ladies recreation hall, I expected it to be Subbu. For days, we girls had wondered how the secrets we discussed in the ladies room found its way to you guys. Last week, Vandana saw Subbu lurking near the ladies room window. That is the reason I thought it was Subbu at our window this afternoon. We decided to teach him a nice little lesson, and with the bottle of Coke in my hand, we just knew what to do. The girls opened the window and I sprayed all the remaining Coke – at you!! Boy, were we surprised to catch you spying. We thought it served you right. Only later did we come to know that you had been searching for your pen, which had dropped out the window of our classroom, that’s about the ladies’ hall. Hope you don’t have any hard feelings.
Let me also apologize for ruining your new cloths. And, here’s wishing you a very happy birthday from my side.
Yours sincerely,
Pri
The Third Letter:15th Dec, the same year in late 70’s
Hello Pri,
Today is the third time Coke has played a part in our life.
In almost every fest and fair I have attended so far, I have played that “throw the ring” game and never got my ring to fall round any item on the table. Today was the first time one of my rings found its mark. And it had to be a BIG bottle of Coke, and that too, the same bottle on which you threw your ring almost simultaneously! Anyway, I am glad that happened. I really enjoyed spending time with you at the fair, sharing the Coke. Today I laughed more than I have ever laughed in life, and, I am the guy who laughs almost continuously with the boys!. Believe me, you are much better company than the boys – but don’t tell them that, please. They will kill me!
Hey Pri! You know, three is my favorite number, and I always sit up and take notice when it comes into my life. We have had three incidents, seemingly accidental, with the bottle of Coke. Perhaps, destiny, or god, or the bottle of Coke wants us to be better friends than we are now? What do you think? I definitely want to get to know you better. Why don’t we meet sometime? What do you think of that Pakodi Corner in Malleshwaram, huh? I don’t know if you have heard of the place, but they make the best pakodi bhel that I have ever tasted, anywhere. I think we could share more laughs over pakodi bhel and Coke. You can’t miss the place, it’s right there on 15th Cross. Tell me yes, and I will meet you there any day, any time that you decide. Waiting for your “yes”…
Sincerely,
Vindoo
PS: If it’s going to be a “no”, please don’t tell anyone else in the college that I asked you out. You know how badly they can tease in our college! I am sure I won’t like it when you are the subject of their teasing.
The Fourth Letter:6th April, the next year
Dear Vindoo,
This is going to be a short note. I was just listening to “Coke Your Choice” on radio, and got thinking about you. I am sure you are doing that too.
I am soo very very sorry! I know you were teasing me rather cruelly, but that was no reason for me to empty my bottle of Coke over your head. I felt soo very very bad after I came home. It was the way you just sat there calmly smiling at me, after I had poured all that Coke on you! I think I might have felt better if you had gotten angry, or slapped me, or something…
Vindoo, we have been such close friends for so many months now, and I have lost count of the number of Cokes we have shared. Almost everyone in college is talking about us, but we have always told them that we are just friends (like the movie stars do!). Vindoo, you know what’s in my heart and I know what’s in yours. Hey! I love you, da. I love you soo very very very MUCH!
Yours,
Pri
The Fifth Letter:6th April, the same year, the very same time
Dear Pri,
This is going to be a short one. I was just listening to “Coke Your Choice” on radio and remembered you.
Listen, I am sorry for teasing you like that today. I very much deserved your Coke on my head. May be other guys will think I am crazy, but I liked what you did! I like it when a girl is strong enough to show what she will take from a guy, and what she won’t. I like it when she’s assertive in communicating her displeasure like that, with spirit! In fact, I love your spirit, as much as I love you! Believe me, it’s true – I love you. Hope I didn’t shock you or something…
Yours truly,
Vindoo
The Sixth Letter:3rd July, the next year
Vindoo Darling!
How are you? I miss you so much, and I have cried soo very very much! I cry almost everyday, but you don’t worry. I will be alright. When I have finished my degree here in Bombay, I will come right back to Bangalore, and we will be together again.
Poor you! You must be soo anxious to know what happened, why I left Bangalore so suddenly, without even a goodbye to anyone. You remember Suji’s party last month? You surreptitiously took a swig from a bottle of Coke, and then placed it on one of the corner tables for me. I stole up to the table, and finished it. That was when we thought, my father came to take me home, right? Actually, my father had come a few minutes earlier, and noticed what we did with that Coke. Boy, was there an inquiry when I went home! I tried to bluff my way out of it, but it was of no use. I wondered if I should tell them (truthfully!) that Coke is so much much more sweeter when you have tasted it first, but decided that wouldn’t be wise. Finally, I had to confess that I love you (so very very much). Mom slapped me across the face (don’t be angry with her!), and they decided to send me to my aunt’s place, here in Bombay. I have already managed to get a seat in one of the leading colleges here. It’s better than any art college in Bangalore, so my degree is taken care of.
But, hey! I miss you so MUCH! I miss so many things – our girls and boys, and their pranks, Pakodi, the Coke we shared, the way our friends teased saying our kids would drink Coke instead of milk and eat Pakodi bhel instead of baby food. Above all, I miss you! I really miss you so very very much!
Okay da, I will end this letter here. There is so much more to tell you, but I am not able to write it all, right now. Don’t worry about me. I will be okay. Let us keep exchanging letters through Suji. Let us concentrate on our studies. Once our degree is done, nobody can keep us separated. You can expect another more detailed letter from me soon, perhaps tomorrow, or may be I will write it this evening. You keep writing too, okay? Bye and take care, please.
Missing you so very very very MUCH,
Your MISS Pri
The Seventh Letter:An year later
Hey Pri!
Did you read the newspapers today? They are banning Coke in India. I don’t believe it!! How can they do this to us? I don’t think I can share any other soft drink with you when we are together. What will our children drink?! He he!
When I heard the news, I just HAD to write to you… Don’t worry darling, when I have finished my engineering, I will definitely try for a job in the US. In the US of A, we can drink all the Coke we want! Okay?
And hey, do you notice that we are writing less often these days? I am wondering if we are drifting apart or something. I hope not! Let’s write more often, okay? Missing you…
Yours,
Vindoo
Well, Pri replied immediately to that letter. But the next letter they exchanged was six months later. Slowly but surely, they drifted apart. And it was reflected in their letters too – the “missing you”s and “I love you”s gradually decreased in number and frequency. So did the number and frequency of their letters. She wrote to him when she got her degree, but did not mention anything about coming back to Bangalore. He did not remind her either. He did not write to her when he finished his engineering, but he did write before going to the US for the first time. He asked if they could meet at the Bombay airport, where he was taking a connecting plane to New York. She agreed, but later had to cancel the meeting as something important came up on her job. While waiting for the connecting plane at Bombay, Vindoo remembered the days they had spent together, years ago, almost faded from memory. He smiled, rather wryly, when he realized that he wasn’t all that disappointed when she couldn’t meet him at the airport. They exchanged one or two letters after that, and then, lost touch. Both of them were too busy – and successful – in their chosen careers to have time for mail friends. There was no email then, as we know it today. And, from experience, I can say this: even with email, it can be TOUGH to maintain long-distance relationships. Poor Pri and Vindoo only had snail mail. No wonder they lost touch!
Back to the 90’s, the days of email!! One morning, Sridhar, a VP in a Bombay ad agency, wrote to one of his more brilliant executives.
The Eighth Letter:From: Sridhar Shetty
To: Priyanka
Subject: For Immediate Attention! (Congrats!!)
Date: 12th April, 1995
Priority: High
Hello Priyanka,
I am sure it will please you to know that amidst very tough competition, we have got Coke! And needless to say, your presentations were instrumental in our winning this account. Thanks and congrats!
You will be more pleased to know that you have been promoted. I know, convention says your boss Madhu should give you promotion news, but I could not resist being the first to tell you. You are now incharge of our Coke account. YES! You can believe it – you are the head of our Coke account!
Madhu will help you hand over all your current assignments to others. Henceforth, you will report to me directly. Please start making preparations. As agreed before, our team will be working out the preliminary strategies with the guys from Coke over the weekend. You will be meeting the new marketing head of Coke India, Govind Acharya.
All the best to you! It is a measure of the confidence the management has in your abilities, that such a critical account has been placed in your charge. I am sure you will make a great success of yourself, our agency and Coke, of course.
With warm regards.
Sridhar
Epilogue:When Ms. Priyanka read about meeting the new marketing head of Coke, she could hardly concentrate on the rest of the mail!
The meeting with Coke went off smoothly. Executives from both companies left with high motivation and a sense of purpose. What happened next is history! How Coke slowly but surely increased their market share at the cost of Pepsi, the creativity that took advertising in India to new heights, the inside agency stories that could rival even Cold-war spy stories, and other details of what became known as the Cola Wars, can be read about in countless magazine articles and business school case studies.
On the day that Coke’s sales surpassed Pepsi, Mr. Govind Acharya, the head of Coke marketing was promoted as the Chief of Coke India, Ms. Priyanka was promoted to VP in her ad agency. Nobody was surprised when on the same day, Govind and Priyanka announced that they were going to get married. Everyone knew it had been love at first sight when they met, during that first weekend strategy meeting to conquer India! But then, they did not know the full version of the story of Coke in India. They did not know that before Coke was banned in India, Priyanka and Govind were known in pre-university college as Pri and Vindoo!
This year's Booker Prize winning novel, The White Tiger, by Indian writer Aravind Adiga, starts off in an unusual format - as a letter or series of letters from a small-time Indian entrepreneur, addressed to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China. The premise is that Balram Halwai, the Bangalore-based entrepreneur, hears on the radio about the Premier's impending visit to India, to learn about how India produces so many entrepreneurs, the one thing in which China has not surpassed India, and he takes it upon himself to educate the Premier. Based on the mood and tone of the first few pages, you'd expect to read the story of how a person becomes one of the millions of successful entrepreneurs in India, who have propelled the country into being the second fastest growing economy in the world. A story narrated with wit, sarcasm and dark humor. And that is what you get.
Posts
