MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • A look at how agencies worked in the days when some of today’s advertising stars may still have been in diapers. Tongue-in-cheek (but no less candid for that).

    The Anchor: 5 contrasts between independent agencies now and then

    By Ravikant Banka

     

    #1 Dost dost na raha, pyaar pyaar na raha

    Independent agencies used to be client’s friend; there used to be love in the air every time the brand manager met the account manager, discussing approvals over a beer. But these days, friendship is dictated by the retainer and the love is traded for a brief.

     

    #2 Do aankhen, baara haath

    Multitasking used to be the name of the game. The account manager was also the account planner. Servicing teams actually came up with creative ideas. And art directors doubled as copy editors to make the copy sensibly shorter while the copywriter had a say in the 20-odd fonts to choose from. Nowadays, each function is excruciatingly well-defined while people wear blinkers and do only what is “written in the job profile”.

     

    #3 Haath ki safaai

    Artworks were a manual, methodical and a sacred affair. It took weeks to assemble the final artwork that finally culminated on the way to the client meeting (only later would they realize that the type-sets had fallen off in all the chaos). The chaos remains the same, but the artworks are a matter of a few hours on the latest-to-the-day software, open for innumerable changes till the client is finally ready to fly to Dubai.

     

    #4 Stock mein hai kya?

    Visuals were ‘created’ by visualisers who either drew them or clicked them the way they wanted them to look. Today, stock images dictate our ideas and layouts.

     

    #5 Commission vs confusion

    Then: 15 percent commission, 85 percent confusion. Now: The commission is decreasing and …

     

    Ravikant Banka is a Mumbai-based adperson

     

  • Excellent Diwali ad by Tanishq. Indeed, this is the way to align your brand with a festival. A lesson for all advertisers who might be busy creating their own Diwali specials

    Debrief: Tanishq: Charming!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Excellent Diwali ad by Tanishq. Indeed, this is the way to align your brand with a festival. A lesson for all advertisers who might be busy creating their own Diwali specials.

     

    The commercial features a young couple, getting dressed to celebrate Diwali. The man says his pal has bought a Tanishq jewellery set for his own wife, and he asks his missus to pen a sweet message on the gift pack on the friend’s behalf. The lady seems to like the jewellery, but regrets that they can’t afford such expensive stuff. A very engaging interaction happens between the two, and it’s finally revealed that the man has actually bought the gift for his partner. Because, as he says, Diwali comes just once a year.

     

    Superlative work. A very, very slice-of-life situation, this sort of a discussion might be happening inside many Indian middle class households. The need to cut costs to save up for the rent, the EMIs and other spiralling expenses. Therefore empathy to this ad becomes strong. Also, the dialogue is simple but very life-like, very natural… full marks to the writer. And the TVC ends on an emotional high, the way it should happen in a festival ad. The surprised lady’s joyful expression is to die for.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aJ20jkZqS0[/youtube]

    Now compare this one to the rubbish TVC Tanishq put out last year with Mr and Mrs Bachchan Sr. Will remind you once again to throw the celebs out. And use real people in your ads.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 4. Grounded in realism, high on empathy.

     

     

  • Diwali is a festival of many cultural hues, and it’s a great opportunity to associate one’s brand with them for effective advertising.

    Anil Thakraney: How to make Diwali count

    By Anil Thakraney


    Diwali is upon us and a whole lot of advertisers must be gearing up to make the most of India’s biggest festival. And for the next fortnight the media will be flooded with Diwali special ads and offers. All very fine, but there’s a small problem: Most advertisers and their agencies create the usual, predictable ads, very few try to either explore the cultural facets of the fest or dig into the various joys it brings to people’s lives.

     

    Yesterday I reviewed the Tanishq Diwali ad in the Debrief section, where I felt that the advertiser had wonderfully synergized the festive mood with their own product. And this set me thinking. What must advertisers do to ensure they don’t end up with those stupid, generic ‘Happy Diwali’ ads? And headlines that scream the usual discounts and freebies? Is there some sort of a road map for making the most of this festival? Quite obviously there can’t be because this is a creative activity, so one gets limited only by one’s own imagination.

     

    However, here are some things to look out for, and these are only a few pointers, there’s a lot more that can be done.

     

    No advertiser ever attempts to use the key message of Diwali: The victory of good over evil. Are they worried about treading too close to religion? They don’t need to be, this can be handled in a religion-neutral way, because it’s the universal truth. I can visualize interesting work with this particular route.

     

    Diwali is that time of the year when desi family members travel miles to be together. (This is the reason why airlines jack up their rates big-time.) And this leads to a lot of bonding/secrets sharing/new discoveries within the family. While Bollywood does exploit this, it’s rare to find it in advertising.

     

    Some people gamble on Diwali night, it’s a cultural thingy. Again, this never finds place in our ads. Wonder why, when such engaging situations can be created using this as a backdrop.

     

    Most people wear brand new clothes on the big night. Funnily, I have rarely witnessed anyone using this theme, not even fashion and accessory brands!

     

    I can go on but I guess you get the drift. There’s no point releasing ads that look like clones of each other, no brand really benefits in the process. Diwali is a festival of many cultural hues, and it’s a great opportunity to associate one’s brand with them for effective advertising.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Like many other James Bond fans, I too am eagerly awaiting the release of Skyfall, the latest in the Bond series. But we must look out for it for another reason: The movie has pushed the envelope on product placement, many big brands find their place in the film. Would be interesting to watch how they tackle this, because Bollywood invariably screws up product placement. Here’s more in The Guardian:

     

    Link: http://m.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/oct/23/skyfall-marketing-james-bond?cat=film&type=article

     

  • Comstrat offers an excellent opportunity for students to work on a live case and build an interface with senior advertisers, marketers and academia

    Draftfcb Ulka Comstrat 2012 – grand finale on Dec 22

    By A Correspondent

     

    DraftFCB+Ulka’s Comstrat, now in its seventeenth year, is the first ever case-study competition in the area of marketing communications, organized in association with K J Somaiya Institute of Management. The exciting youth oriented brand case study this year, Burn, has been provided by Coca-Cola India. The Case Study can be accessed at http://www.draftfcbulkacomstrat.com/index.html

     

    Comstrat, Communication Strategy in short, is a reflection of the strong tradition of strategy-based advertising that has been practiced by Draftfcb+Ulka over its 50 year life span. Comstrat is conducted in the area of advertising and communication strategy based on a real life marketing situation, on a live brand.

     

    Comstrat offers an excellent opportunity for students to work on a live case and build an interface with senior advertisers, marketers and academia, and over the years several management institutes and renowned companies across various industries have participated.

     

    Here is what Kinjal Medh, Chief Operating Officer, Cogito Consulting and a long time jury member of Comstrat had to say, “The first ever case-study competition in the area of communication strategy, Draftfcb Ulka Comstrat has been a huge success with increasing participation and stronger competition every year from India’s leading B-schools. Students relish the opportunity to spar with real life communication challenges and the industry benefits from inspiring out-of-the-box solutions from fresh young minds.”

     

    The past years have seen keen participation from management institutes across the country, and enthusiastic support from the industry. Some of the past year cases have been Hutchison Max(1997), Tata Indica (1998), Cadburys Bournvita(2000), Marico Parachute (2001), Philips (2003), Indian Oil Corporation (2004), Colgate Cibaca (2006), Hero Honda Pleasure (2007), Tata Sky (2008), Titan Octave (2009), Nokia C3 (2010) and Bru World Cafe (2011). Past winners include IIM Calcutta, MICA, Bajaj, NMIMS, KJ Somiaya, IIT Bombay SOM etc. This year the finale is to be held on 22 December at K J Somiaya’s Management Centre Auditorium. Be there to cheer the six finalists.

     

    Event Details:

    2pm, December 22nd, 2011

    Venue: K.J.Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, Vidyanagar, Vidyavihar (East), Mumbai-400077

    http://www.draftfcbulkacomstrat.com/index.html

  • For that one day, we were all New Yorkers and New Jerseywallahs, as the world came together on Twitter and FB to bond with those affected by Sandy

    Anil Thakraney: Sandy goes social

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Sandy did sound like a scorned woman, and she did bring the US East Coast to a halt. Thankfully, her fury was short lived, and cities and towns in the region are already back to near normalcy. However, thanks to her popularity on the social media, for that one day, we were all New Yorkers and New Jerseywallahs, as the world came together on Twitter and FB to bond with those affected by Sandy. The social media also helped local residents stay in touch with their near and dear ones across the world. I personally know of a few Indians who stayed connected with their NRI family members on Twitter. And that’s such a wonderful thing.

     

    Compare this with what usually happens. I often tear my hair out over the posts many people put out. Utter rubbish goes on in the social media, and I have come precariously close to disconnecting my account. This is what I call social media abuse. People continuously posting drivel about what they are thinking, where they are lounging, the song on their lips, the dinner menu and the usual quotes from those dead and long gone. I often feel this abuse will one day be the death of this hot new medium. And I hope folks understand this before it’s too late. Because, as Sandy showed, the social media can play a very important role in a crisis.

     

    Just imagine the likely scenario if Twitter and FB were around during the 9/11 attacks. Or if they were as popular as they are now, when 26/11 happened in Mumbai. The furious networking would probably have helped locate the victims faster, and this could have helped save some lives. Not to speak of the emotional succour the social media offers when a person is facing trouble. You will experience its awesome power when (god forbid!) the next ‘shock & awe’ campaign breaks out.

     

    I sincerely hope people realize the importance of the social media and quit screwing this space. No one wants to know what you plan to eat for dinner. Repeat, no one. And if your ‘friends’ are showing some interest, it’s either because they have a hidden agenda or they simply want to indulge you. The sooner you get this, the better.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Hee hee hee. I love this idea. LG, for their ‘lifelike’ monitors, conducted an experiment inside an elevator with hilarious results. What an outstanding product demonstration, it makes an otherwise cold product come alive. However, I would slip in a word of caution: If someone suffered a heart attack in the process, no one would be laughing at this stunt. And it could bring the brand a great deal of misery.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXMxuNNlE8[/youtube]

     

     

  • With no creative spark, these ads have zero chance of being noticed. Especially given the pre-Diwali clutter on television.

    Debrief: eBay: Yawn Bay

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Maha thakela campaign from eBay. Both the communication strategy and the creative suck. There is a series of TVCs on air, essentially selling best deals and safe shopping. Isn’t that an obvious strategy for an online marketing portal? Flipkart and others have already been making the same promise. So there’s nothing new here.

     

    Given that the strategy is weak, it’s now left to the execution to save the show. And this one’s a disaster. Basically the ads consist of boring discussions between the believers and the cynics. Someone wants the latest phone but wants the price to drop. Another one isn’t sure if it’s a good idea to purchase shoes online. And you can easily predict the rest.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iwtMFwfhBk[/youtube]

    This is really boring stuff. The conversations are dull and unengaging, the treatment is the same old problem/solution approach, and it’s spelt out literally. With no creative spark, these ads, I’m afraid, have zero chance of being noticed. Especially given the pre-Diwali clutter on television. Flipkart has the ditto same approach, but that one single creative leap, of kids behaving like adults, helps them smash the clutter through cute advertising. eBay hasn’t taken any leap, so their ads will wither away.

     

    To be fair to the ad agency, I strongly suspect the ultra safe-playing client is at fault here. Neither have they come up with a refreshing brief, nor have they allowed their agency to experiment. Net result? Well, check the rating.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 0. Poor strategy. Poor creative.

     

  • MPG India, the media planning and buying network of Havas Media, has announced the appointment of Kavita Vohra as Associate Vice President Investments.

    MPG India appoints Kavita Vohra to head buying for North

    By A Correspondent

     

    MPG India, the media planning and buying network of Havas Media, has announced the appointment of Kavita Vohra as Associate Vice President Investments, MPG India.

     

    Ms Vohra’s mandate will include heading buying for MPG Delhi with additional responsibility of Bangalore and Kolkatta. She joins with an experience of over 10 years in media planning and buying, having worked with several key accounts across categories.

     

    Commenting on the appointment Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media, India & South Asia said, “MPG India has always been a growth leader in the region as we continue to expand our footprint and offerings to our clients. Kavita’s appointment will further strengthen our buying offering.”

     

    Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, MPG India said, “We are very happy to have Kavita with us. Her strong understanding of the planning function makes her an ideal candidate for heading the buying function.”
    “We are confident that with her wide and varied experience she will be able to bring in significant value to all our clients”, added Uday Mohan, Executive Director-North, MPG India, whom she will report into.

     

    Starting her career at Lodestar working on Whirlpool, Ms Vohra moved to Cheil Communications and handled Hyundai and Samsung. Thereafter, her role involved TV buying for Nokia Mobiles at Group M, followed by buying for Nestle and a host of other clients at Zenith Optimedia. Commenting on her move, she said, “Heading the buying arm of MPG Delhi is a natural progression towards handling a bigger and more challenging portfolio of clients. I look forward to working with the team as the journey ahead surely looks very exciting.”

     

  • Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Mumbai, became the first Indian agency to win Gold at the IPA Effectiveness Awards in London, for the Cadbury Dairy Milk 'Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye' campaign.

    Sweet win for O&M at IPA Effectiveness Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Mumbai, became the first Indian agency to win Gold at the IPA Effectiveness Awards in London. The award was won for Cadbury Dairy Milk’s 7-year-long ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ campaign in India. Launched in 2005, this campaign has led to Cadbury Dairy Milk increasing its business manifold, and has also contributed to increased revenues and profits for the company, Cadbury India Limited. This case also won a special award for ‘Best Use of Insight’.

     

    The IPA, organiser of the IPA Effectiveness Awards, is the professional body for advertising, media and marketing communication agencies in the United Kingdom. Since their launch in the UK in 1980, the IPA Effectiveness Awards are recognized by agencies and clients as the industry’s most rigorous award scheme, because entrants have to prove their communications strategies have worked in hard business terms.

     

    The rigorous judging process includes each entry being judged by two panels before it is considered worthy of an award – an industry panel and a client panel. The Industry panel decides the shortlist (by making sure that each shortlisted paper fulfils the requirement of clearly demonstrating a return on marketing investment). The Client panel then attributes each shortlisted paper a Gold, Silver or Bronze Award and allocates the special prizes.

     

    The year 2012 has seen a total of 65 entries for the awards of which 35 entries made it to the shortlist. Ogilvy’s winning entry was India’s only shortlisted entry at the awards.

     

    Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather South Asia, and also the brain behind the ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ campaign, said, “I am totally delighted that we have won India’s first ever Gold at one of the most rigorous effectiveness awards in the world – the IPA. And that too for Cadbury. As I have always said in the past, great work comes out of great partnerships. A big salute to you, Cadbury India. And heartiest, heartiest congratulations to my young colleagues at Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai.”

     

    Chandramouli Venkatesan, Director, India Snacking & AP Developing Markets – Chocolate Lead, said, “It is a matter of great pride that Cadbury Dairy Milk is the first ever gold winner from India. It is a testimony to the exceptional advertising the brand has done over a long time. Special kudos to our partners Ogilvy India for being such an outstanding brand steward.”

     

    Kawal Shoor, Head of Planning for Ogilvy Advertising Mumbai, and also co-author of the entry, was present at the gala ceremony held at the London Hilton Park Lane Hotel. Beaming with joy, he said, “This is unprecedented. Only time will tell what this means for us, and Indian advertising, but right now we’re over the moon. We have always loved and stood by our work, and knew it was world class, but to now get acknowledged as that, by arguably the most renowned and sceptical set of judges, ahead of other strong campaigns from around the world… across categories… Wow! And then to win another one for insights… perfect!”

     

    Navin Talreja, Head of Ogilvy & Mather – Mumbai, had said, “This is absolutely fantastic! We strongly believe that our wins happen only because of the faith that clients show in us, and are invariably a result of a process of co-creation with clients. Cadbury has been one such relationship that we have enjoyed for over 60 years.”

     

  • Former Cheil VP to help make Yuvraj Agarwal-headed Realm Media into a full-service agency

    Realm Media appoints Ankur Bose as President

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ankur Bose

    Realm Media is moving towards becoming a full service agency by 2013. To accelerate this change for the agency, Realm has got on board Ankur Bose, who will spearhead Realm Media’s transition to a full-service media, communication and entertainment content company. He will also bring to use years of experience of mentoring and working with large teams to help Realm in setting up and training the existing team to deliver on his core expertise areas of consumer activation, shopper marketing, events & promotions, rural marketing etc.

     

     

    Yuvraj Agarwal

    Said Yuvraj Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO, Indraksh Media, the holding company of Realm Media: “We believe in chasing excellence, not success. Ankur brings with him, the same ideology and mindset. We are certain, with his varied skill-set and experience of leading large agency operations, our goals will be met sooner.”

     

    With over 15 years of experience, Mr Bose’s last stint was at Cheil Worldwide as Vice President – Southwest Asia where he was responsible for activation, retail, OOH, digital, advertising for non-Samsung accounts and new business acquisition. On his appointment, he said: “Realm’s progressive thinking, aggressive approach and Yuvraj’s clarity in vision towards creating a media conglomerate is what convinced me to be part of this group. I will focus in growing Realm Media as a 360-degree media agency and with time convert it into a full-service advertising agency”

     

  • The saddest thing about 1984 is that there was no private news channel at the time. Because of which, unlike in the case of the Gujarat riots, most of the rioting wasn't caught on film. And this helped the goons escape very easily

    Anil Thakraney: 1984’s real tragedy

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I was too young in 1984 to fully comprehend the injustice that happened in this country after PM Indira Gandhi was gunned down. I have just two distinct memories. One, that Mrs Gandhi died on the eve of my birthday, thus sending my party plans for a toss (unforgivable, I say!). I sat at home and sulked all day. Two, that good ol’ DD took its sweet time to announce Mrs G’s death. The puppet channel was obviously waiting for a nod from the Congress netas.

     

    The massive anti-Sikh riots that followed will always be the biggest blot on this nation’s history. Makes our heads hang in shame. The bigger tragedy, of course, is that the criminals were not prosecuted, in fact, they weren’t even caught. Just like the Gujarat riots of 2002, it’s hard to believe that the State had no direct role to play in the carnage. And DD did in 1984 what it does best: Be the mouthpiece of the government.

     

    It’s appalling to watch so many Sikhs demanding justice even 28 years later! Long after many of the family members of the victims, and the culprits, are dead and gone. What can be more embarrassing for a nation? Which then brings me to the point: The saddest thing about 1984 is that there was no private news channel at the time. Because of which, unlike in the case of the Gujarat riots, most of the rioting wasn’t caught on film. And this helped the goons escape very easily.

     

    Many of us have issues with the way our news channels go about their business, and I regularly pick holes in their modus operandi. Sure, a lot of improvement needs to be made in their functioning. But 1984 is a poignant reminder of the very important role they play in this fractured nation. I am quite certain that had there been private television at the time, a number of the Sikh killers would be behind bars today, even if the government of the day had come to their aid.

     

    Just for the memories and the wrongs of 1984, just this one time, I am happy to overlook all their foibles. Am glad that our often hysterical, rabble-rousing and judgmental news channels are busy in this nation. The aam janata badly needs them. Perhaps they are their only hope for justice.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Air New Zealand has taken in-flight entertainment to a new level. They’ve totally sexed up the boring air safety announcement video. And it’s a smart promotional move by the makers of the upcoming flick, The Hobbit, which is all about elves, gnomes and dwarfs. Good one! Over to our very thakela Air India.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qUKwF076Q0[/youtube]

     

     

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia will bring you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad

    AdStrat: Scarecrow rides on the magic of Swaha for Rupa Thermocot

    Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications

     

    Name of the campaign/ Ad:  Swaha for Rupa Thermocot

     

    The Brief: Besides the functional benefit of the product, also to up the cool quotient of the brand.

     

    Research insights: In a category cluttered with functional messaging, Thermocot, the thermal wear brand from the house of Rupa, has launched a new TVC to make the most of winter, which is just around the corner. While most competitors have always positioned themselves on the functional benefit of the product, i.e. great warmth, Thermocot has gone a step ahead and positioned itself as a fashion and lifestyle brand, which not only gives warmth but also makes the wearer look ‘hot’.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiUKCf8Sz8U[/youtube]

    The thought process behind the creative: The film is based on an audio track, which is sung like a Sanskrit chant. The idea is to create an audio mnemonic using the word ‘Swaha’ in a whole new context. Girls going ‘weak at the knees’ looking at the guy is a category code. The out-and-out Indian track slapped against images straight out of Parisian streets, helps the film stand out in the clutter.  What also adds to the film’s appeal is the way it explores female stereotypes – both lyrically and visually.

     

    Media vehicles chosen: TVC.

     

    Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad:  To get the look of the film right was critical. The twilight lighting and various background and foreground flare techniques employed by Ayananka Bose, the multi-award-winning DOP of Kites, helped in giving the film a distinct look.

     

    What is the differentiating factor about the ad? Be it Tata Sky’s Life Jhingalala or Pond’s Googly Woogly Wooksh, an audio mnemonic helps in making the communication sticky. Here Scarecrow looked at Sanskrit – the great Indian language, on the verge of extinction today, to derive their own audio property – Swaha.

     

  • Srinivasan K Swamy, popularly known as Sundar Swamy, Chairman RK SWAMY BBDO was unanimously elected President of the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) for the year 2012-13

    Sundar Swamy is President, IAA India chapter

    By A Correspondent

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy

    Srinivasan K Swamy, popularly known as Sundar Swamy, Chairman RK SWAMY BBDO was unanimously elected President of the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) for the year 2012-13 at the annual general meeting on November 2. An industry veteran, Mr Swamy was till recently the Chairman of Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations. He was also past president of Advertising Agencies Association of India for three years between 2004 and 2007. Kaushik Roy, President, Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications, Reliance Industries, who was IAA President for the last couple of years.

     

    Mr Swamy said, “In today’s global economy, associations like the IAA play a pivotal role in building cross- cultural bridges, and in ensuring a seamless transition of ideas and interests across the world”.

     

    He added that since the IAA represented marketers, agencies and the media it had a very important role to play in developing the communication industry in the country and across the globe.

     

    Mr Swamy said that apart from the Olive Crown awards and the other regular activities that the IAA conducts, he would make a concerted effort to spread the activities of the India Chapter to different parts of the country. Another thrust area would be to get mid-sized agencies and media houses to get further involved in the activities of the IAA so that they could benefit from the involvement and participation.

     

    Kunal Lalani of Crayons Advertising was elected Vice President, Monica Tata from Turner as Hon. Secretary and Jaideep Gandhi of Jaya Advertising was elected Hon. Treasurer. The Managing Committee members elected are Avinash Pandey, M.G.Parameswaran, Neeraj Roy, Raj Nayak and Sam Balsara and the new Committee also co-opted Ramesh Narayan, Shreyams Kumar, Arunabh Das Shrama, Abhisek Karnani, Manish Advani and Neville Taraporewala as its members.