'Advertising is the tax you pay for not being remarkable' is an oft repeated quote, but despite the negative connotation to it, it is definitely a tried and tested way of scaling your audience.

Since my move back to my home town of Bangalore a few months ago, I have resumed my habit of listening to the good old radio now and then. If you are in Bangalore tomorrow, I recommend you listen to my all time favourite RJ, Darius Sunawala, chat up the stalwarts of Bangalore like Nandan Nilekani and Rahul Dravid tomorrow evening starting 6pm on Fever 104.

In the last couple of weeks, Roy, an up-coming Bollywood movie, has been doing a good job promoting its music, especially this one song called 'Sooraj Dooba Hain' on pretty much all stations that play Bollywood music.

When I first heard the song, I thought it was quite average. No reason to pump up the volume like I do for other songs that I like. But the RJs praising it and getting people on air to talk about why they like it has definitely played a big part in me growing to like it over time. Perhaps the lack of something better that's new as well has played its part, allowing all the advertising efforts to pay off.

It is possible to have a fantastic ad campaign and garner a lot of attention through it, but unless the product you are advertising stands up to your claims by being plausibly better than the competition, all of it is in vain. The attention garnered through the campaign will fritter away the moment the audience realises that there are more suitable options in the market.

While advertising is a tax you pay for not being remarkable, it is definitely the way to gain popularity among the audience. When the audience is ambivalent enough about the category you're in to not be too picky, then advertising with the right creatives at the right moments will tip the balance in your favour, like it did for me with Sooraj Dooba Hain.