Rashna
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The great Maggi con job: How their ads have been fooling you for years
Screengrab from a Maggi ad
For years Maggi fooled you into believing that you could cook. It also attempted to convince you that it takes only '2 minutes' to make. And it assured you that Maggi noodles, with or without MSG, was a square meal and could be substituted for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Honestly, nobody sane actually believed any of that, yet Maggi noodles was a staple diet of many. Maybe it was the intense craving you got when you inhaled the typical masala aroma or maybe it was the TV ads that made you hungry by just looking at the noodles cooking any place any time, but something about Maggi had a large part of India captivated or conned, whatever you prefer to call it.
Here is a look at the different Maggi ads over the years that promised things that could not possibly be completely true.
Since the 1980s, Maggi ads featured a mother feeding her children the noodles, giving the not-so-subtle message that it is 'fast to cook' for moms and 'good to eat' for kids.
There were also a group of kids singing aloud and dancing in typical 1990s style because they have to wait for only 2 minutes when they are hungry or when they are with friends because that's how long it takes to make Maggi noodles.
And if mothers and children did not convince you, there was superstar Amitabh Bachchan narrating heart-warming stories of how Maggi has touched the lives of ordinary Indians and telling youngsters that the best way to combat their big hunger after a big day is to eat a big pack of Maggi noodles.
Or Madhuri Dixit being the 'perfect' mom by dancing and playing football with her children to assure both them and the viewer that 'health can be enjoyable' because Maggi noodles are now made of oats and therefore it is the best breakfast for kids.
A Maggi mom also tried to assure families all over that one bowl of the noodles = 3 rotis + vegetables. Now who wouldn't want to believe that there is a better tasting alternative to the boring roti-sabzi routine!
'Maggi-mom' seems to be recurring trend because the brand also tried to convince all mothers that if they want to make their child feel special and make them happy, all they have to do is rustle up a bowl of Maggi in '2 minutes' because it is 'khushion ki reciepe' (recipe for happiness) after all.
That's not all, even young women can convince their protective moms that they are old enough to live independently if they pass the Maggi test - cook the noodles just like her. Because Maggi-making abilities is all the proof your mom needs to let you live alone.
http://www.firstpost.com/living/the...-have-been-fooling-you-for-years-2276688.html
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