History of Biscuits - Britannia

Sweet or salty. Soft or crunchy. Simple or exotic. Everybody loves munching on biscuits, but do they know how biscuits began?

The history of biscuits can be traced back to a recipe created by the Roman chef Apicius, in which "a thick paste of fine wheat flour was boiled and spread out on a plate. When it had dried and hardened it was cut up and then fried until crisp, then served with honey and pepper."

The word 'Biscuit' is derived from the Latin words 'Bis' (meaning 'twice') and 'Coctus' (meaning cooked or baked). The word 'Biscotti' is also the generic term for cookies in Italian. Back then, biscuits were unleavened, hard and thin wafers which, because of their low water content, were ideal food to store.

As people started to explore the globe, biscuits became the ideal travelling food since they stayed fresh for long periods. The seafaring age, thus, witnessed the boom of biscuits when these were sealed in airtight containers to last for months at a time. Hard track biscuits (earliest version of the biscotti and present-day crackers) were part of the staple diet of English and American sailors for many centuries. In fact, the countries which led this seafaring charge, such as those in Western Europe, are the ones where biscuits are most popular even today. Biscotti is said to have been a favourite of Christopher Columbus who discovered America!

Making good biscuits is quite an art, and history bears testimony to that. During the 17th and 18th Centuries in Europe, baking was a carefully controlled profession, managed through a series of 'guilds' or professional associations. To become a baker, one had to complete years of apprenticeship - working through the ranks of apprentice, journeyman, and finally master baker. Not only this, the amount and quality of biscuits baked were also carefully monitored.

The English, Scotch and Dutch immigrants originally brought the first cookies to the United States and they were called teacakes. They were often flavoured with nothing more than the finest butter, sometimes with the addition of a few drops of rose water. Cookies in America were also called by such names as "jumbles", "plunkets" and "cry babies".

As technology improved during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the price of sugar and flour dropped. Chemical leavening agents, such as baking soda, became available and a profusion of cookie recipes occurred. This led to the development of manufactured cookies.

Interestingly, as time has passed and despite more varieties becoming available, the essential ingredients of biscuits haven't changed - like 'soft' wheat flour (which contains less protein than the flour used to bake bread) sugar, and fats, such as butter and oil. Today, though they are known by different names the world over, people agree on one thing - nothing beats the biscuit!

Some interesting facts on the origin of other forms of biscuits:
The recipe for oval shaped cookies (that are also known as boudoir biscuits, sponge biscuits, sponge fingers, Naples biscuits and Savoy biscuits) has changed little in 900 years and dates back to the house of Savoy in the 11th century France. Peter the Great of Russia seems to have enjoyed an oval-shaped cookie called "lady fingers" when visiting Louis XV of France.

The macaroon - a small round cookie with crisp crust and a soft interior - seems to have originated in an Italian monastery in 1792 during the French Revolution.

SPRING-uhr-lee, have been traditional Christmas cookies in Austria and Bavaria for centuries. They are made from a simple egg, flour and sugar dough and are usually rectangular in shape. These cookies are made with a leavening agent called ammonium carbonate and baking ammonia.

The inspiration for fortune cookies dates back to the 12th and 13th Centuries, when Chinese soldiers slipped rice paper messages into moon cakes to help co-ordinate their defence against Mongolian invaders.


Courtesy:Britannia

Durex ad - Cheeni Kum

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Cheeni Kum - less sugar, but more brands

Cheeni KumWhen it comes to promotions, movie makers are not averse to taking bets on in-film ads. And when the man involved is ad agency Lowe’s Creative Head Balki, one expects to see a film donned with brands. Movies are seen as a cultural reflection of our society and promotions through association of brands, commodities, games, contests and blogs enhance the viewership and revenues.

We are not discussing the review or box office performance of Big B-Tabu starrer ‘Cheeni Kum’, but how it has joined list of movies which have integrated the movie with promoting brands. Since movies are promoted with a target audience, similarly marketing strategies of companies can be decided catering to that select group.

The trend of in-film advertising has been for a while in Indian movies now. Shahrukh Khan’s Don with Tag Heuer & Louis Philippe, Dhoom-2 with Coca-Cola and Guru with Hero Cycles and Blackberry have seen good successes. It was first noticed in a big way in Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein with in-film placements of Coca-Cola, Pass Pass and Hero Cycles. Films are also being increasingly marketed on portals and FM radio.

The latest flick, ‘Cheeni Kum’ saw embedded advertising being done effectively. The movie’s theme ‘Sugar Free romance’ has been associated with brand Sugar Free, which has been very strategically placed in the movie. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched its new promotional campaign ‘Jeete Raho’ through the movie.

Name of restaurant ‘Spice 6’ in the movie which the lead actor owns is incidentally part of Catch Spices, whose spices and ketchup is depicted in the movie. Also Airtel’s ringtone is used throughout the film, along with laptop brand Sony Vaio and condom brand Durex, got to make noticeable appearances in the film.

Such promotional campaigns are being done globally too. The movie producer gains as it gets to earn money from these campaigns without going much away from the main theme and screenplay. On the other hand the advertiser’s fortune is directly linked to the fortune of the movie.

But the future holds good only if the movies continue to attract audiences with quality cinema and advertisers do not use it as too much of a promotional media such that the genre of the movie is ignored........

Courtesy:India Inc

Rasna Ad Through the years

The branding culture in India


".......Brand battles became spicy with the print war in Mumbai and yes, the month of Jesus Christ saw pink becoming the rage with Hutch dropping orange for good and fashion gurus anointing it the colour of the season. With more than 50% of the population in the “youth” category and over 50 million mobiles beeping aro-und the country, communication turned “youthful”.

Did all this impact advertising? If yes, how? Let’s look back at the ads of 2005. There were ads that came, spoke and conquered, while there were those that simply dropped off the radar. The list below is not exhaustive; we have selected 10 ads—five that did their job well, and five that didn’t.

SBI and SBI Life (O&M)

Whether it’s the bank or the insurance product, SBI made a great effort to break free from the PSU advertising model it had followed for decades. The SBI Bank campaign was an instant hit as it conveyed the service superiority through situations that were hilarious. The SBI Life ad conveyed the proposition of “financial freedom in old age” beautifully through the husband presenting his wife with a diamond ring in 2004. In 2005 it was bang on target with the “Happy Birthday Chhotu” ad that drove home the point that growing old does not mean retiring from fun and enjoyment. So you can continue to be “Chhotu” even at the age of 70!

Surf Excel (Lowe)

In a category as humdrum as detergents, brands have played the “white” card in all its various hues. The Surf “Daag achche hai” ad stood out by putting real life kids in a real life situation. It just goes to show how times have changed— from attacking “daag” with all the ammo in the bag, here’s an effort to actually pamper it.

FasTrack (Lowe)

The ad was aimed at making FasTrack a fashion statement for the campus youth. I think it was one of the first to rightly capture the behaviour of the youth and use it effectively in its communication.

According to Bijou Kurien, CEO, Watches Division, Titan, “Sales of FasTrack watches (April-July 2005) increased six times compared to the correspon-ding period last year. And we have run out of stock at the company and retail level.” Now this is what I call effective advertising.

Jeevansathi.com (FCB-Ulka)

Traditionally matrimonial portals spent bulk of their money in online advertising and co-branding efforts. The year 2005 saw matrimonial portals becoming big spenders in mass media. Ads of Times Matri and Jeevansathi.com, focusing on the net-savvy screenagers, were bang on. Jeevansathi.com communicated “don’t marry the worst mistake of your life” in a way that tickled the funny bone. In a subtle way, it questioned the arranged marriage system still prevalent in India........"

Vicco - Vajradanti

And as the ramblings go

Vajradanti Vanjradanti Vicco Vajradanti
Toothpowder, Toothpaste
Ayurvedic Jadibootiyon se bana sampoorna swadeshi
Toothpowder, Toothpaste..

Regularly featured during Chitrahaar or Chitramala air-time

Vicco Turmeric Ad

Starring Sangeeta Bijlani, wife of Mohammed Azharuddin, Indian Cricketer.

Date of Birth
9 July 1965, Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

Sangeeta Bijlani is remembered for her TV commercials for Vicco Tumeric Ayurvedic Cream, though she did a fairly large number of print and ramp appearances.

Born on July 9, 1965 in Bombay in a Sindhi-speaking household, her dad's name is Motilal, and she has a brother named Sunil.

Sangeeta became popular when she was crowned Miss India in 1980, taking over the title from Bollywood actress Swaroop Sampat, and then on to also achieve the National Custome Award at Miss Universe in the same year. The following she was succeeded by Ruchita Kumar.

Needless to state, she received a number of Bollywood movie offers, which included Tridev, Hatimtai, Hathyar, Jurm, Vishnu Devaa amongst others. When Tridev ratings soared at the Box Office, so did hers, especially after her song 'Raat Bar Jhaam Se Jhaam Takrayega...". She acted in a total of 16 movies, but was unable to establish herself as a Bollywood leading lady.

She was romantically linked to a number of co-stars and directors. She was the reason Salman Khan broke off with his girlfriend, Shaheen - only to later ditch Sangeeta for Somy Ali.

After completing Nirbhay in 1996, she met the soft-spoken and dashing Hyderbabd-based cricketer, Mohammed Azharuddin, who was so smitten with her, that he divorced his wife, and married Sangeeta. Her Islamic name is Ayesha Azhar, and she has two step-sons from Azhar's previous marriage.

Their marriage, though intact, has gone through considerable challenges when Azhar's life finances came under close scrutiny after match fixing charges were brought against a number of cricketers, and as a result their residence on Hill Road, Bandra, was raided by authorities.

Nothwithstanding the above, Azhar and Sangeeta are still together and have financed a company called Azhar Sangeeta Management Services.

Courtesy IMDB

Dhara Ad - Jalebi

We first saw Parzaan Dastur in a commercial about Dhara oil, where he wanted to leave home because his family did not love him.

But we fell in love with him when he played the silent Sikh boy in Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Today, Parzaan looks very different from his KKHH days, when he was seven years old. Now aged 15, Parzaan will be seen in this Friday's release, Parzania.

Parzaan got his first ad because of an aunt, who knew some people in the advertising field. She recommended his name and that's how he bagged his first ad for Dhara. Then aged four, he started his 'career' of appearing in movies and lending his voice in ads.

KKHH was his first film, but there was no need to audition for the boy. He was dressed up like a Sikh and was asked to interact with his parents while his pictures were being clicked. Next, he landed the role in the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer.


Ask him about working with SRK and Parzaan says, "It was a wonderful experience. He was very kind. Kajol was very friendly. They would play with us between shots. I did not have any scenes with Salman Khan, so I did not get a chance to interact with him. But I clicked pictures with him."

Shah Rukh, incidentally, happens to be Parzaan's favourite star.

"We shot for about 20 days," Parzaan adds. "We were in a cordoned area and there were many indoor and outdoor games for children. We could roam around and play whenever we were not shooting. This was done for the children, as we were all far away from home, in Ooty."

Parzaan worked with Parzania director Rahul Dholakia for the first time in Kehtaa Hai Dil Baar Baar. So the comfort level for Parzania was established because the two knew each other very well.

"Even when I made mistakes, he would correct me nicely," he says.

So was it coincidence that Parzaan's name matched the film title so well? "I was very happy to know that the movie is based on my real name!" He exclaims. "I was really excited, as the story is also very different from what I have done before. It is based on a real life incident."



Talking about the film, he says, "Even though Parzania is serious, I don't have many serious scenes. Most of the seriousness comes after my role is over. I play a 10-year-old boy, who is very happy. Suddenly when the riots break, my parents (Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika) lose me. Then, they begin their search for me."



"There are some riot scenes in which I am involved. But those scenes were not traumatising," Parzaan continues. "I was running between violence, fire and riots, but I could cope with the scenes."



"Working with great actors like Naseeruddin and Sarika was excellent. You can learn a lot from them. They inspire you to do better. They treated me like their son off camera as well."

Naseer would also help him when he made mistakes. He would guide him on how to do a scene.

The riot scenes were the most difficult for him, as he had to run barefoot through fires. "When I was told I had to run across fire, I thought they were kidding. Then, I realised that I actually had to do it, and I got scared. I was just 12 years old then. But it went well. Only, I injured my toe very badly during a stampede scene."

While actors are usually nervous about their Friday releases, Parzaan feels nervousness of a different kind. "My board exams are coming up, and I am very tensed. But I want this film to do well as everyone has put in a lot of effort," he says.

So will he become an actor when he grows up? "I am learning to play the piano now. I have given some exams from Trinity College. Someday, I will become a music composer," he signs off.

Courtesy Rediff Movies