Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Bengal’s new tourism ad was meant as a renewed push to put the state on the global tourism map. However, if you give a casual glance, you would have spotted the Eiffel Tower, Russia’s Saint Basil’s Cathedral, pyramids, and Rio’s Christ the Redeemer. What you might not have spotted is Bengal itself. Only the iconic Howrah Bridge makes a brief cameo – a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance. It has invited widespread ridicule online, with users asking the obvious question: Where is Bengal?
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The ad was released as Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari unveiled a new logo, along with a fresh brand identity, for Bengal tourism. He also announced a Rs 500-crore push to develop tourism infrastructure in the state – whose geography stretches from the mangroves in the Sundarbans to the snowy peaks of the Himalayas in the north.
“We have destroyed the tourism infrastructure in our state. Tourists pass through Darjeeling and Kalimpong in our state and travel to Sikkim. We are determined to change this,” Suvendu said at the event.
BENGAL’S TOURISM AD GETS TROLLED
The logo, along with the catchline – ‘West Bengal: Where India feels different’ – was released by Suvendu with much fanfare at the Dhono Dhanyo auditorium on Friday. The initiative is part of the BJP government’s move to do away with Mamata Banerjee’s famous ‘Biswa Bangla’ branding that was conceptualised to showcase Bengal’s cultural heritage.
However, the new tourism ad has not gone down well with the Bengali bhadralok. The ad, however, opens promisingly, showing a montage of the iconic Howrah Bridge.
And then, like a tourist wandering off from a group tour, it simply leaves the state. It takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of deserts, pyramids and other iconic destinations that are nowhere in Bengal.
Global landmarks and skyscrapers that have no diplomatic relationship with Digha or Darjeeling make guest appearances. The Victoria Memorial, famous Terracotta temples of Bishnupur, the Darjeeling toy train, etc, are nowhere to be seen.
WHERE IS BENGAL, USERS ASK
The irony was not lost on social media users. Leading the criticism was TMC MP Derek O’Brien. “Trash is a mild word for this communication,” he tweeted.
Former Bengal Governor Tathagata Roy called it a “stupid” and “amateurish video” and demanded that it be dropped immediately. “Why should scenes from Moscow, Egypt and Rio de Janeiro feature in a video on West Bengal?” Roy posted.
“This video does a disservice to the achievements of the BJP government of West Bengal. I suggest this be dropped immediately, and the person who visualised and created this be transferred to fisheries or some such department,” he further said.
One user summed up the criticism bluntly, “Where is Bengal?” Another posted, “Was the contract given to some Gujarat-based ad agency?”
Political analyst Mayukh Ranjan Ghosh quipped that the ad’s creative director deserved an Oscar. “When West Bengal has hills to sea, forests to cities, what was the point of giving free advertising to the Eiffel Tower and St Petersburg?” he said.
A section even compared it to how the Trinamool Congress promoted tourism in the state. “There was culture, character, sweetness and subtlety,” one user tweeted.
The tagline ‘Where India feels different’ also came under criticism. “Compare it with Kerala tourism’s ‘God’s own country‘. Or Rajasthan’s ‘Padharo Mhare Desh‘. Which is such a welcoming and warm tagline,” Joy, a political commentator, posted.
It remains to be seen how the BJP government reacts to the stinging criticism of the tourism ad that seems more like a trailer for ‘Around the world in 80 seconds’.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
