Awesome Assam- Really Wild or simply docile: PeeCee’s comical journey from Quantico to Kaziranga!
March 5: The Awesome Assam Campaign has been in deep waters since its inception and it will not be wrong to say that the logo as well as the tagline was nothing more than just mere repetition of some stereotypical, bogged down ideologies that cries out for an alteration yet no one really cares. Rhyming the word 'Awesome' with 'Assam' and coming out with a not-so-awesome 'Awesome Assam' tagline, using the same old Rhino from Kaziranga with a sunset at the backdrop, a theme you will find for other travel firms on Google was nothing but a hastily done campaign that fails to attract people who know less about the region.
And, even before people could recover from the trauma of an unattractive campaign, rumours are in that an in-flight magazine has come out with yet another Assam tourism campaign which allegedly looks something like the one here below:
"Naturally Wild: Kyunki Yeh Assam Hai"? Like seriosly?As this picture started making rounds on various social media platforms, the writer tried to delve deeper into the authenticity of this report but to her dismay, the only website that has come out with this circular, prior to others, was a website called The News Mill. After this, the campaign started inviting much criticism from all sections of people on social media platforms.
One glance at the picture, I have to admit, the graphic artist still needs a lot of practice, although my doubts still persist on the credibility of this add. But, this is an undeniable fact that had Assam tourism come out with a strong and solid campaign right from the beginning, it would not have become a source of laughable entity for all sections of society at present. How can a campaign which fails to connect with the people of Assam itself be expected to attract tourists from outside Assam?
Coming to the tagline, 'Awesome Assam', Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "We have kept the tag line catchy so that it gives maximum appeal to people outside the state about Assam's uniqueness in terms of its tourism potential. Branding Assam tourism is essential if we want to develop this sector. We have earmarked Rs 15 Crore only for our tourism publicity activities outside the state." This statement makes people wonder how catchy is the tagline 'Awesome Assam' just because it somehow seems to rhyme with each other. (Like, Rs. 15 crore for this?)
Since the campaign itself has made itself so ridiculous and comical right from the very beginning, it does not take much for people to believe every funny circulation pertaining to the campaign, whether or not the circular really took place. At some point of time, it would do justice to the people of Assam if the concerned authorities came up to either clarify the rumor or improvise the campaign at large.
From 'Quantico' to 'Kaziranga', I do not think Priyanka Chopra is loving this journey after such a 'double-meaning tagline! Until then, let Assam be wild because, well, it's Assam!
–By Shweta Raj Kanwar
shweta@thenortheasttoday.com
Opinions expressed in the article are the writer's own and TNT-The Northeast Today may not hold the same views
