"Coincidences are spiritual puns," said essayist G.K. Chesterton. Wonder what he would have had to say about two recent commercials that bear an uncanny resemblance to each other. The concept for Slice, the mango-flavoured soft drink from Pepsico India and Alukkas jewellery from the Joy Alukkas Group, a well-known retail jewellery chain in Kerala, are amazingly similar.

The Slice commercial shows a little girl crying as a small boy harasses her by throwing water at her. The boy enjoys the girl's discomfort. The next panel shows a slightly older girl, but still in tears, this time because the boy (also older) has taken away her bicycle tyres. Next panel (the two are a bit older now) shows him hanging the girl's school bag over a lake and reducing her to tears again. The final panel shows the two, now a young couple, laughing over Slice. As the girl sips the last few dregs from the Slice bottle, she notices a diamond ring in it, from the boy. The VO draws a connect between the simple taste of mango Slice and the simple moments of joy in life. The ad ends with the girl again in tears, this time tears of joy, with the super saying, "Simple joys ka ras". ... more