Blinkit and Bystander Effect

Hi friends,

If you’ve heard about any quick commerce companies from India like blinkit, zepto, and instamart and god knows how many more. 

You know they are fighting on billboards. 

Especially in the smog of Delhi.

Some are hilarious. Some are cool. Some are worth noting. 

Below are some.

How would you advertise a 10-minute delivery app? (think about it for a second.)

Show a guy on a bike with a stopwatch?. Maybe throw in some "fastest delivery" nonsense with happy customers? yes?

Blinkit: “Let's make them feel something they already know."

Picture this: You're driving through Delhi. Traffic's insane. You see a bright yellow billboard with just four words:

"Doodh mangoge, doodh denge."

Your brain instantly fires up. That's the Bollywood dialogue. The one from every 2002 cricket match commentary. The one your uncle quotes at family dinners.

But here's where it gets brilliant.

The original line? "Doodh mangoge, kheer denge. Kashmir mangoge toh cheer denge." (Ask for milk, get pudding. Ask for Kashmir, we'll tear you apart.)

Heavy. Political. Intense.

Blinkit stripped all that away. Made it stupidly simple:

"Ask for milk, we'll deliver milk."

No drama. No politics. Just pure promise.

Then Zomato (coz why not): "Kheer mangoge, kheer denge."

Suddenly, the whole industry was riffing on the same cultural reference. Free advertising. Viral moment. Cultural conversation.

LinkedIn influencers tried their own version. This is one of mine.

But the real magic wasn't the headline.

It was that Blinkit didn't translate this into English for some fancy awards show. They kept it Hinglish. Raw. Exactly how people actually talk.

And then there's the condom billboard.

"Someone from South Delhi ordered 9,940 condoms in 2023. Deserves a standing ovation."

Holy shit, someone's living their best life. lol.

The result? Millions of social media impressions. Every Indian thought their city was that city. Memes everywhere. Free publicity.

But notice what they didn't say:

"Fastest condom delivery." "Discreet packaging guaranteed." "Shop with confidence."

They trusted you to get it. That confidence is more persuasive than any benefit list.

Takeaway? Stop trying to sound like a corporation. Talk like your customers talk. Reference what they already know. And when everyone's trying to look perfect, be the one bold enough to show up messy.

The other day I was on my bike, on my way back home for lunch from the company. 

I saw a guy who had fallen down with his scooty on the side of the road; he most probably slipped. 

But I didn’t stop. Why?

"Surely there are people near him so someone will help for sure. Someone more qualified. Someone else."

That's the bystander effect.

The more people present, the less likely anyone helps.

In 1964, Kitty Genovese was murdered in New York. 38 people witnessed it. Nobody called the police.

Psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latané were horrified. They ran experiments.

Here's what they found:

Someone pretends to have a seizure over an intercom. When you think you're the only one hearing it? 100% of people help.

Add one other person? 85% help.

Five other people? Only 31% help.

The pattern is crystal clear: More witnesses = less action.

Why? Three reasons:

Diffusion of responsibility. "I'm just 1 of 5,000 email subscribers. My one response doesn't matter."

Evaluation apprehension. "What if I comment and look stupid in front of everyone?"

Pluralistic ignorance. "Nobody else is responding. Maybe this isn't actually urgent."

And here's the brutal truth for your business:

That email you sent to 10,000 subscribers? It performs worse than the same email sent to 100 people.

Not because the copy got worse. Because everyone thinks someone else will click the link.

Amazon knows this. "Only 2 left in stock, order soon."

They're not being helpful. They're making you the only person who can save this deal. No more hiding in the crowd.

Netflix does it too. "Continue watching or we'll remove this from your list."

Not "hey, want to watch more?" But "YOU are about to lose YOUR progress."

Suddenly it's personal. Suddenly it's your responsibility.

Here's how to use this ethically:

Instead of: "Help us reach 100 donors this month!" Try: "We're at 99 donors. Will you be number 100?"

Instead of: "We'd love your feedback!" Try: "I'm personally asking you, [Name], because your opinion matters to this decision."

The key? Make it impossible for people to think someone else will handle it.

Because the uncomfortable truth is the bigger your audience, the less each person feels personally responsible.

Test it. Watch what happens.

Talk soon,

Alen