1 crore of a single brand Motorcycle is the most joyous occasion for any manufacturer. It marks their proficiency in understanding market demand and delivering the consumer-friendly product. When I say “Consumer friendly” I am referring to the huge number of people who still buy the Pulsar 150 for their daily commute. Pulsar 150 sells for Bajaj but it is somehow keeping the company from continuing their innovation cycle, by this time, we should have been driving the next generation of Pulsar 150, anyways that's a topic for another time. Today we are focusing on how disappointing the new Pulsar Ad is. The new Advertisement celebrates the Pulsar brand hitting 1 crore mark by featuring a city full of Pulsars. In the city, there is no normal way of doing things if you’re riding a Pulsar, you have to get your coffee off a roof, you will have to park your bike, halfway through a Stoppie and you have to slide your bike through the underpass because apparently, all the bridges in the city are just 6 feet tall. In my opinion, all of this makes the whole city nothing but unlivable.
I am here ranting about this topic because instead of thanking the thousands of stunt riders who have spent a ridiculous amount of hours in the saddle of an actual Pulsar, Bajaj chooses to create a corporate advertisement. The company could have gone to literally any stunt ground and have found a number of bikers, still proudly performing, on their Pulsar. I know that non-famous riders are not conventionally supposed to be in the advertisements of Motorcycle, but this isn’t a normal commercial. It’s a sales milestone which couldn’t have been completed by the consumers whom the company has so easily excluded from the video.
This is not an issue with just the Bajaj but with everyone, that the role of the final rider, the role of us, is hardly ever appreciated. No advertisement shows the raw unfiltered interview or the showcase of the actual rider, using the bike, because deep down the company knows that their product is not perfect and this, they refuse to accept or show. It is a futile effort, to showcase the bike under the disguise of perfectionism and God level craftsmanship, there is no perfect bike. It is fine because as long as the bike looks good, runs good and is easier to maintain, no one really cares. No, the Apache RR 310 is not a “Pure Racecraft” bike, neither the Dominar is “Hyper-Cruiser”, with its 13.5-litre fuel tank and 35 HP, honestly it’s an “OK” touring bike.
What all of the above does leaves the company praising about only the good regarding their product while the owners are left with mixed feelings about it. I know that’s how the corporate works; nobody shows the reality behind their product but with the ever-increasing consumer base, it is inevitable that more than a single people start questioning about the authenticity of the brand.
The 1 Crore mark could have been an excellent opportunity for Bajaj to break out as a pro-consumer brand, by including not LED headlights or stylish graphics but consumer-focused after sales service with their next product. It is also the fault of media for not including the voice of people in their opinions. Almost no one talks about the after sale service and the quality of service provided to the customers.
Indian Motorcycling is evolving and the riding is as great as ever, but the other side of the coin which involves maintenance of bikes shouldn’t be ignored. Just like at the time of a bike launch, every media channel showcases it, the same should be the treatment of a service center which honestly serves its customers on a daily basis.
By: Yetnesh Dubey
