25 crore of Thayir Sadam

There was a different kind of caped crusader which greeted everyone this morning. Jayalalithaa in all her largesse and modesty had taken out full front page ads in papers not just in the capital, but across various cities. The campaign has been released on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu by the DIPR, and has been carried across all editions of The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Business Standard, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Asian Age, Financial Express, Hindu Business Line, Mint and Business Standard and The Statesman and The Telegraph in West Bengal.

The jacket ads extol Puratchi Thalavi Jayalalithaa’s achievements in the last year. And have cost a measly Rs 25 crore just for today’s ads and advertorials (as per the figure reported by Firstpost and NDTV). While we understand the need to publicise the achievements of her government, is there a possibility that she’s also currying editorial favour through her generous contributions to the various publication’s marketing departments?

Jayalalithaa’s not alone. Our government had also spent approximately Rs 30 crore on advertisements on the birth and death anniversaries of Rajiv and Indira Gandhi from 2009 to 2011. Read –