Google and Facebook can only point you in the direction of an online purchase.

But Amazon is the place to fulfil it - at least a large chunk.

So, what happens when Amazon becomes an advertising platform?

In case you haven't noticed, there are now 'Sponsored Products' on Amazon.

And those ads are paid for by companies

The digital equivalent of in-store advertising in the real world.

You've walked into the store and you're about to pick up your favorite brand of noodles, when you see the competition making an attractive offer.

And you switch.

That's exactly how it works on the Amazon store.

Just when you're about to purchase, you get alternatives.

And marketers have been looking at this pretty closely - because it goes beyond intent to the actual transaction.

So does it make sense to allocate marketing budgets at that precise point and influence the customer? It's already earning Amazon huge revenues -  over $20 billion in 2020  

The interesting part is revenue comes from both, advertising and the sale.

And that's what the competition fears.

Right now, they just have to grin and bear it, while Amazon's advertising business mops up marketing spends as well!

An octopus tugs at your heartstrings

The tentacles reach out and grab you.

But not in the way you expect it to.

My Octopus Teacher is a documentary on Netflix. 

For Indians, the word documentary is equated to dreary. Documentaries from the Films Division of the government played out in all theatres in the 70s and 80s. Black & white and boring.

Sleep-inducing and even though they lasted for around for 10-12 minutes, it felt like hours had passed.

And when the main feature film came on, there were audible sighs of relief.

I don't want to spoil this wonderful film for you.

It is meditative and contemplative of the bonds we should build with nature. As opposed to a complete lack of it in our urban, tech-infused existence.

The emphasis in our lives is placed on how quickly, how easily and how much we  accumulate -  wealth, status or privilege.

It's films like this which show us what we can aspire to. And how it can be fulfilling for the soul.

Simply by revisiting the clichés about what 'wild' creatures really are. 

We talk of migrating to other planets when we've not explored the oceans in our backyard.

It's more profound than we can imagine

Here's something to chew on

In the 90s, it was part of a movie villain's menacing buildup. 

Singapore acted to make chewing gum illegal around the same time after it gummed up doors on the subway. People left remnants everywhere, including park benches, but now, it isn't the nuisance it once was.

So have we moved on? 

Since 2007, ever since the iPhone was launched, the market for chewing gum has shrunk every year.

It's no longer cool to sit in college canteens and move jaws mechanically while feigning disinterest in pretty girls.

Amazing how it reduced humans to bovine status.

Cows chewed cud. They brought up the stuff from their many stomachs and then ruminated over it for hours.

How it got adopted by a couple of generations as the essence of a casual attitude will remain a mystery.

After the smartphone launched, people have been more active with scrolling thumbs than masticating mouths. Plus, it tends to come in the way of clear conversations.

Wrigley's has introduced new flavors including sugar-free variants. But the downward trajectory continues.

Covid seems to have accelerated the slide.

Stuck at home, mouth hygiene has languished, much like party wear.

For those who've scraped it off shoes, it's good riddance.

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