Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Much of economics and all of advertising rests on understanding human aspirations. After all it is the desire for 'better' that products and services seek to satisfy. The indicators of what constitutes aspiration and the role models that represent their achievement are useful guideposts for studying the canvas of aspirations.
Objects of desire
Some of you may recall that Mazda had years ago, launched a car to compete against Porsche. Technically, it was probably comparable, but it was not aspirational, and the retaliatory Porsche ad said it all: "Let's face it, you didn't grow up dreaming about someday driving a Mazda." Possession as an aspiration is common. But there is a deeper aspect of aspiration which is much more personal. It is echoed in the question every child has been asked: "What do you want to become when you grow up?" The answers have varied over time, and influenced by the immediacy of history. Some want to be pilots. Others wanted to drive racing cars. Immediately after the Kargil victory, boys probably wanted to become soldiers. All include thrills and admiration, though.
Being good. Doing well.
The thrills come from the job content, the respect from upholding the right values. Values such as honesty, celebrated in the recent Tata Namak TVC celebrating honesty, that ends with the housewife saying: "Hamne desh ka namak khaaya hai." But wait... in the HT-Cfore study (see HT 29/07/2012) 70% of 13-18 year olds think "its ok to be dishonest to succeed in life" Clearly mummy and the kids are not on the same value-page.
This business of 'success', is also related to how you define it. Royal Stag refers to the need achieve more; even successful people ask: "have I made it large?" On the other hand, a raft of ads represent the young man's aspiration to be a sex addict. In the Fair & Lovely Max Fairness ad Virat Kohli tells a youngster how to look good and in the Fastrack ads, demonstrates what one can do in the cockpit (and other places). And of course all deo ads (Axe, Adiction, etc) promise to turn you into Keith Richards.
Being your own man...
Another aspiration is 'being the man others want to be like'. People aspired to be Rajesh Khanna - the ultimate romantic. They wanted to be Shammi Kapoor - the rebel. And they wanted to be Amitabh Bachchan in 'Muqqadar ka Sikandar' - the man who climbs out of an anonymous nowhere. Who seldom exercises his power because he didn't need to. Like Akshay Kumar in the Thums Up TVC where he accepts the challenge of a bunch of 'biker-kids' to race against him, only to stay back and ask the girl, "Bachhe to gaye...aur aap?" But things change. Today the Thums Up drinker is himself the 'bachha' who needs his adrenalin rush and wants to do something toofani.
...or woman.
Participants in beauty pageants say the most amusing things. Aishwarya Rai (Miss World 1994) had said her ambition was to become an architect but after winning the title, concentrated on displaying her own anatomical architecture. Priyanka Chopra said she "plans to be a clinical physiologist" but in fact this little piggy went to the movies. Clearly, applying their brains was not a criterion; witness now the epidemic of vacuous new starlets. The hold that films have on our collective aspirational spectrum is boundless. However, to tell mothers about the anti-polio vaccine, we call up a certain Mr.Bachchan. To carry the Olympic torch in London, likewise. When we need a voiceover for the Lead India campaign, we call up... you know who. I fear India's entire public health, sports and CSR initiatives may come to a grinding halt when he decides to retire.
Instant response
The key thing about aspiration today is that it cannot wait. That's why there's only one Saina who's trained for years. That's why we want corruption to go away one week after we wear our 'Mai bhi Anna' cap. If we don't get it pronto, we will just take the fast track and move on. And share our 2-minute stories on air.