Welcome to the age of recalcitrant elite and the super-imposing governments. One has to take it upon themselves to challenge authority to further public debate and keep the conversation alive. It will eventually manifest itself into various results. We have obviously heard the oft-repeated phrase, ‘all publicity is good publicity.’ Nothing defines it better than a ‘BAN’. An official penal sanction spikes curiosity. The human mechanism works on the concept of ‘Reaching Out’, to be in the know. Especially today when we’ve been granted the power to hold the world in our hands, to access information freely. What with the advent of Twitter; a revolution in real time news transmission, Reddit, Quora; the indefinite question bank, Tumblr, Facebook and more that might probably already be climbing up the popularity ladder, there is nothing and no one beyond the grasp of the world wide web. Even a deliberate attempt to shy away from being caught up in the mania is a futile attempt, since everything is online. Everyone is online. On that very premise, the recent wave of bans doing round in India have not only incensed common sentiment, but ascertained one irrefutable fact, ‘BANS SELL’, whether it be a story or a product. Radical change or ideas have always unsettled established norms. Although Public Relations almost necessarily works on positive reference, there are instances where one might run into ideological differences over publicity content. This is a common phenomenon in fields where innovation is your only credibility. There is no name but the one you create for yourself. For all the adverts, promotional schemes, songs, videos, documentaries, movies, books and the like banned in the interest of the ‘public’, there exists a hallowed place on the internet where it’s survived by millions of people who whisper and acknowledge its existence merely because it’s out of their reach. The thrill of the chase makes for good part-time sport too. Although the idea behind successful corporate communication is positive reinforcement through a series of strategies to bolster growth in a specific direction, a little steer in a different direction adds valuable experience and verticals. However, the public memory is short lived. It needs to be stimulated, shaken, stirred and pulled out of its daily lull especially when provided with mediums galore, devoid of direct confrontation, behind the guarded safety of their phones, tablets and computer systems. It’s another level of human interaction, a genre of publicity schemes where the target audience is the biggest promoter and reaps benefits for all involved. An objective third party with a personal interest is an asset that should be tapped via outreach programs. A ban outrages, encourages and challenges defined roles. It needs to be seen whether the stakeholders support the wave of the public in a tailored manner or crumble to the pressure of rules. Industry experts will always say, ‘It’s another gift in disguise’. Even if the content becomes inaccessible, the interest it generates galvanises the process of publicity, sometime making the idea larger than itself. It’s almost a snowball effect. Usually, the intention is not to provoke, which is why the gamble should be a calculated risk. A war of opinions is best fought on assumed premises or issues already burning to find platform. The win lies in the genius of expression. The BBC documentary Storyville:‘India’s Daughter’ has been banned, criticised, argued back and forth on grounds of credibility, deliberate propaganda motives and a million other reasons one cannot even begin to fathom. The result is all the same, we’re fighting to get our hands on the footage. To know. To join the conversation. The government has inadvertently made it every Indian’s solemn duty to watch it and be their own judge on the matter. After all, nothing sells better than a BAN
