MAM
Admen in the US exploit toilets as advertising media
MUMBAI: The loo as an advertising medium? It has not been exploited in India apart from being used as a canvas for cheap erotic art or graffiti. Of course, public toilets in India, be it in airports or railway stations or bus depots are nothing but cesspools of excreta or urine scents. Hence, they don’t lend themselves for use as an advertising medium. However, there is money to be made if some organisation chooses to use loos for ads.
In the US, toilet advertising is growing rapidly. The Indoor Billboard Advertising Association disclosed last week that toilet advertising rose 14.3 per cent as 185,000 spaces carried ads for clients. Even large national advertisers like TNT and Perrier have climbed on to the commode wave and are running campaigns.
A specialised loo advertising agency has also cropped up called Flush Media. Its rationale for existence is the 15 minutes a day that individuals spend staring at loo stall doors when relieving themselves. The pioneer of this advertising genre is a company called Zoom Media.
The agencies have been making a hard pitch as loos offer great demographic segmented ad opportunities. Ladies washrooms can be used to plug products to women; gents to gents. Ladies washrooms in opera houses can be used to target high ticket items to classy women while cheaper products can be pushed through ladies loos in public places.
Additionally, loos ideally lend themselves to humorous opportunities. For example, a media buying agency can create an ad which says “Don’t let your ad bucks go to waste…come to *** Agency and we will add scents to your dollar….”
Are Indian companies listening?
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
