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Amrit Dhillon

A politician on the campaign trail swaggers into a tea shop, surrounded by flunkies. As the young tea shop owner prepares a cup of tea, he asks the smug politician: 'What are your educational qualifications? What's your work experience? What roads and schools have you built?'
Irritated, the politician, who simply wants his vote, asks: 'What is this? A job interview?'
The tea shop owner replies: 'Yes, for the job of running the country.'
Aimed at awakening young Indians from their apathy about corruption and other social evils, this is a television advertisement for tea with a difference.
Tata Tea recently launched a campaign that goes beyond the usual depiction of tea as something that wakes you up in the morning.
The  adverts are designed to galvanise young Indians into questioning society and sparking  change.
Sushant Dash, a manager at Tata Tea in Calcutta, said: 'We're trying to trigger more awareness,  whether it's asking a politician the right questions or turning off the tap to conserve water. We want our brand to be linked in people's minds with social responsibility.'
The ads are aimed at young Indians because more than half of India's 1.1 billion people are under 25, and they are expected be the primary agents of change.
Over the next few months, the adverts will tackle different subjects. One will show a corrupt civil servant about to accept a wad of cash under the table, before suddenly remembering that a  closed-circuit camera is watching him. He hurriedly pushes away the money.
The purpose is to suggest that CCTVs could be one solution to corruption. Another ad suggests a  pot-holed road should be named after the contractor who built it.
Mr Dash hopes the adverts will shake people out of their apathy and promote a 'social awakening'.
Anjali Mehta, a maths undergraduate in New Delhi, was intrigued by the tea shop commercial.
'Instead of moaning about corrupt politicians, maybe it's our duty as citizens to be more careful about who we vote for. I think it's a clever concept,' she said.



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Wake up and smell the tea - ads aim to rouse apathetic Indians