Jamshed Tata would never have approved of this advertisement

Call it a colonial hangover, call it a mass inferiority complex among a large section of Indians, call it whatever you want. The advertising industry is capitalising on the need of an Indian to not just blindly copy the West but to be as much of  a "sahib" as he can be. Last summer, a Swedish friend of mine asked me why an ad on a bus panel for a housing project showed a White family, instead of an Indian one and when I told him that it was because this would entice more Indians to buy a home there, he was appalled and condemned what he justifiably called racism. You expect this kind of behaviour in India, no doubt, but when a Tata company indulges in it, you can't help but note the irony!

At the turn of the 19th to 20th century, Jamshed Tata, was denied entry into the Watson's Hotel in Bombay, because he wasn't a European. So, the Father of Indian Industry decided to build the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay, which is now one of the most prestigious hotels in the world and an icon of the Indian hospitality industry. The Tatas fought racism from the Anglo-Scottish business lobby in India and rose to become the pride of the nation.

So, why on earth do we have this new Tata SUV ad, where some loser in England is driving the vehicle and claiming to be a secret agent? Do the Tatas need to do this? With their legacy? Please see the ad below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnsvL8xBybE