MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • The categories cover a wide spectrum of verticals from auto, banking, media & entertainment, Telecom and FMCG among others

    IAA reveals 18 categories for leadership awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) India chapter today revealed the categories for the IAA Leadership Awards. Presented by Colors, these awards – scheduled to happen on February 2 in Mumbai – will bring together the disciplines of marketing, advertising and media for the first time under one roof.

     

    The categories are:

    Media Agency Head of the Year
    Creative Agency Head of the Year
    Marketer of the Year: Media & Entertainment
    Marketer of the Year: Banking
    Marketer of the Year: Insurance
    Marketer of the Year: Auto Passenger Vehicles
    Marketer of the Year: Auto Commercial vehicles
    Marketer of the Year: Household Products
    Marketer of the Year: FMCG – Food & Beverages
    Marketer of the Year: FMCG – Personal Care
    Marketer of the Year: FMCG – Consumer Durables
    Marketer of the Year: Telecom Products
    Marketer of the Year: Travel & Hospitality
    Best CEO
    News Anchor of the Year
    Media Person of the Year
    Editor of the Year
    Hall of Fame

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy

    Speaking about categories,  Srinivasan Swamy, President of International Advertising Association said, “The IAA Leadership Awards salutes the hard work put in by individuals to make a difference to the brands they work for. The categories have been selected to ensure that individuals from various sectors are covered.”

     

    To ensure that the recipients’ of the many awards are determined in a fair and just manner and to ensure the process is seen as transparent, IAA has appointed A C Nielsen to execute the nomination and voting process. Further Ernst & Young has been appointed to conduct audit and validate the entire process.

     

    Winners are to be decided in a two-stage selection process; the first will include nominations and shortlisting by seasoned marketing, media and advertising professionals and the second will be the final selection of winners by a voting process among the shortlisted nominees, by respective senior industry peers

     

  • This case involves more than the tragedy of one individual. The incident deals with the systematic failure of the state, the police and the aam aadmi at large… all the more reason the media needs to have access to the daily proceedings

    Anil Thakraney: Media needs access to rape trial

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    With due respect to the honourable magistrate who ordered in-camera trial of the Delhi gang rape and murder case, and to the judiciary in general, I have to say one is quite disappointed with the decision to keep the media out of the courtroom. Am sure the concerned magistrate had valid reasons for taking this decision, but the junta does have the right to be informed on the legal proceedings in this horrific case. Here we are, demanding transparency in all walks of life, and in the case of a crime that jolted the entire nation, there is a media blackout! It does appear rather odd.

     

    I suppose the in-camera trial decision was taken because of the likely overcrowding inside the court premises, and a possible ‘law and order’ problem. Well, it’s the job of the cops on duty to handle these issues. Sure, the Delhi cops can’t seem to be able to do much to help women in distress, but surely they can ensure discipline inside a courtroom. And in this case, there’s no question of ‘protecting’ the rape victim from prying eyes, as, sadly, the unfortunate girl has passed away. So these explanations don’t convince me much.

     

    Truth is, the public has every right to know the details of the arguments being put out by the prosecution and the defence lawyers, as also testimonies being filed by the various witnesses. We also need to be made aware of the remarks and observations by the judge. Not only because this trial means a lot to a whole lot of people, this case involves more than the tragedy of one individual. The incident deals with the systematic failure of the state, the police and the aam aadmi at large… all the more reason the media needs to have access to the daily proceedings. Media scrutiny will also ensure the case doesn’t slow down, as it usually happens in India.

     

    If there is a concern that news channel anchors will conduct their own ‘trial’ each evening based on the media reports (and this is quite possible), the magistrate can easily declare a ban on such frivolous discussions. But factual reports from inside the courtroom are important.

     

    Anyway, as I said earlier, this is simply my own point of view, and there’s no disrespect meant to the judiciary. Whatever happens, let’s just hope justice is awarded to the victim’s family as soon as possible.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Haha. Fun, sarcastic posters on movies nominated for the Oscar awards this year. Really wish someone did a similar exercise on the ‘100 Crore Club’ drivel that’s been winning awards at multiple Bollywood fests.

     

    Link: http://www.theshiznit.co.uk/feature/if-2013s-oscar-nominated-movie-posters-told-the-truth.php

     

  • Advertisers at L’Oreal, Nokia, Samsung, M&M and Vodafone jostling for ad spots on popular comedy programmes

    Advertisers serious about backing comedy

    By Vijaya Rathore

     

    Laugh and the viewers -and advertisers – laugh with you. That’s a formula working like a charm for broadcasters who are riding on the increasing popularity of comedy programming.

     

    And with a record 151 million people watching comedy shows on Hindi general entertainment channels in the first 10 months of 2012 -as per data from TAM Media – marketers at Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal, Nokia, Samsung, M&M and Vodafone are jostling for ad spots on a variety of standups and sitcoms on Hindi, English and even regional entertainment channels.

     

    Popular shows like Comedy Circus now sell on a par with primetime soaps, pulling in as much as Rs 2.5 lakh for a 10-second spot. The year-old Comedy Central channel, which has 150 advertisers on board, is developing local content and is expanding its network beyond the top seven cities of the country.

     

    According to TAM data sourced from a broadcaster, the comedy genre was the second-largest contributor to ratings, after action/thrillers between week 49 and week 52 in six metros. Among English programmes, half of the top 10 shows were comedies in seven metros in this period.

     

    These include comedies like Everybody Loves Raymond, Last Man Standing and How I met your Mother.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network, a part of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, is working on producing Prime Nights, a stand-up comedy property. The company is currently engaged in discussions with sponsors. “We will do onground events and televise them in order to reach out to a larger audience,” says Tarun Katial, CEO, RBNL, which has a joint venture with BIG Studios. Says Abraham Koshy, professor at IIM-A: “The audience may enjoy seeing others’ sorrows on national TV, but such programmes may not be popular in terms of brand association. Brands prefer to associate with happiness.”

     

    “Every brand wants to get associated with comedy,” adds Rohit Gupta, president network sales, MSM India, which has channels like Sony Entertainment, SET Max and SAB TV in its bouquet.

     

    SAB TV is a Hindi channel focused entirely on comedy, and Sony TV has Comedy Circus, a reality-based stand-up comedy show that is one of its most popular programmes. Comedy Central, the English entertainment TV channel owned by Viacom18 Media, which completes a year this week, has done “exceptionally well”, according to business head Ferzad Palia. “The channel is expected to break even much ahead of the original business plan on the back of strong advertising and subscription revenues,” adds Mr Palia without sharing financial details.

     

    Endemol India, which was the one of the first production houses to bring in stand-up comedy shows on Indian television about eight years back, is experimenting with formats such as comedy panel game shows and sitcoms.

     

    “We plan to bring in new formats to India in line with the international markets that have popular comedy game shows and sitcoms. Talks are on with broadcasters,” says Deepak Dhar, chief executive, Endemol India, adding, “This is a staple diet for Indian audience.” Endemol boasts of shows such as Bigg Boss, Laughter Challenge, Fear Factor – Khatron Ke Khiladi, Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star, Wipeout and Chottey Miyaan.

     

    Advertisers for their part have a sound reason for associating with the comedy genre.

     

    “When consumers are watching content in a good or happy state of mind, the message is clearly more effective. Comedy shows are often watched by families which helps a lot of brands get the message across in the right way to the right set of audience,” says Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president at Canon India. TAM data indicates that comedies are most popular with kids (between 4 and 14), the 15-24, 35-44 and 45-54 age brackets, which pretty much covers most of the Indian demographic.

     

    According to media planners, comedy attracts advertisers from automobile makers to financial services providers and from shampoo brands to telecom companies.

     

    According to Hiren Pandit, managing partner with media-buying agency Group M, brands that use the humour element in their advertising prefer to ride on comedy. “However, brands cannot survive purely on the back of one genre and should plan the media mix diligently,” he adds.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

     

     

  • The multi-agency pitch included GroupM, Madison, Aegis and IPL.

    Havas to handle media duties for Voltas

    By A Correspondent

     

    Voltas has entrusted its media planning and buying responsibilities to the newly rebranded Havas Media, with digital at the core, in a multi-agency pitch including GroupM, Madison, Aegis and IPG.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Pradeep Bakshi, Chief Operating Officer, UBBG, Voltas, said, “We are happy to announce that Havas Media has been appointed as our Media Agency for our Room AC and other Unitary Products business. During the multi-agency pitch we were impressed by their capability to look beyond seasonality and traditional media. Their understanding of the category from a regional perspective was also very accurate. We look forward to working closely with them in our next phase of growth in the coming years.”

     

    Anita Nayyar

    “We are delighted to have Voltas as a part of our portfolio yet once again. It was a very tough but a ‘well-organized’ pitch with practically all the leading agencies in the fray. I am delighted that we have been able to demonstrate our capabilities through our insights and category understanding. I believe our extremely focused and well integrated effort made us win the business. While it is a great brand to be associated with, more importantly, they are a wonderful client to work with. This prestigious win is yet another very important milestone in Havas Media India’s ambitious growth plans,” said Anita Nayyar, CEO Havas Media, India and South Asia.

     

  • Axis Bank launches new campaign, 'Zindagi ke highway pe koi akele nahin badhta'

    Banking on the highway of life

    By A Correspondent

     

    Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, has announced the launch of its new campaign ‘Zindagi ke highway pe koi akele nahin badhta’ that aims to drive home the message that progress and subsequent success is mutual.

     

    The campaign designed by Lowe Lintas features Axis Bank’s Brand Philosophy ‘While we keep progressing in our lives, there always is someone else progressing along with us, so let’s Progress Together’. The campaign highlights Axis Bank’s credentials as a customer centric bank and a partner in progress who walks with its customers on the highway of life – hence the tag line Zindagi ke highway pe koi akele nahin badhta.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the campaign, R K Bammi, Executive Director – Retail Banking, Axis Bank said, “The new film takes our brand positioning of  Badhti ka naam zindagi… or Progress On…  ahead. We understand that Progress always has a ripple effect. When one person progresses, others around him progress too. This insight is captured in our new TVC that clearly demonstrates the circle of progress and how you touch lives of others even when you do not know them.”

     

    Explaining this new phase in Axis Bank’s communication journey, Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas said, “Last year we crafted ‘Badhti ka naam zindagi’ to define the fundamental philosophy for Axis Bank. The task this year was to continue building this sentiment on a larger canvass. What better than changing the frame of reference from what it means for one individual, to what it means in the context of the entire community we live in? The fact is that when you progress, others benefit too. And hence no one really progresses alone. When you move up, others do too. We hope the execution will make our audience have this joyful realization about how we are connected with each other.”

     

  • The Violence On Women (VOW) drive will have two segments: gender sensitization seminars for content creators and multi-media advertising campaign against 'eve-teasing

    IAA takes a gender sensitization VOW

    By A Correspondent

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy

    Srinivasan K Swamy President of the India Chapter of International Advertising Association (IAA) announced the ‘IAA Gender Sensitization Drive’, which seeks to fundamentally change the deep-rooted bias against women. The drive, termed the ‘VOW’ or ‘Violence on Women’, involves industry members “taking a vow to get rid of this scourge in our society”.

     

    The initiative consists of two segments.

     

     

    1 Gender sensitization seminars for content creators

    The first part of the drive would be to hold a series of seminars across five cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune, to sensitize content writers in film and TV, story writers in print media and in advertising, to guard against typifying women and on other gender nuances, and create focused awareness about the right way to project women across media. The seminars are to be addressed by a galaxy of experts in the field and also leading lights of the communications industry. The first one is already scheduled in Mumbai on February 16 which the IAA hopes will be inaugurated by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath.

     

    Kaushik Roy, Chairman, IAA Public Service Committee, said, “There has been four-fold increase in ad revenues. Advertising remains a buoyant sector despite a flat growth year. There has been 144 percent growth in C&S homes and time spent on advertisements has risen to 96 mins/day according to IRS. Now, this shows what impact advertising can or does have on society. Today many ads tell what women should wear or look like. The personal category, cosmetic, beauty and hair etc have 23,000 spots per day. It is thus necessary to sensitize advertisers and content creators about how to project women.”

     

    2 Multimedia advertising campaign against ‘eve-teasing’

    The second initiative is a national advertising campaign that will use the creative resources of the communications industry and the strength of media linkages to address behavioural patterns in a manner that would benefit women. ‘Eve-teasing’ has been identified as the critical issue that needs to be addressed. Mr Swamy said, “Eve-teasing is seen as the mother of most evils affecting women. Today’s eve teaser is tomorrow’s molester, and could be a future rapist. It is necessary to nip this in the bud.” He further added, “Research and experience of experts in the field like UNFPA and leading NGOs like Laadli have also suggested this subject as the critical one to address.”

     

    A national contest will be run inviting entries from creative people all over the country on how to tackle this issue through effective communication. The entries for this contest will be judged by the best creative minds in the communications industry, and a jury consisting of leaders from a cross-section of society and NGOs will then select the winning campaign from the shortlist. The IAA will fund the production of this winning entry, and will use its strong media linkages to run a high-decibel and high-power campaign on all newspapers and TV channels across the country. The call for entries should begin in 10 days.

     

    Mr Roy said, “You will realize that in a period of about three months we will have a concentrated burst of positive attention on the importance of women’s issues. We believe that such an initiative conducted by the entire communications industry led by the IAA will have a very salutary effect on the burning issues confronting women today.”

     

    Pradeep Guha

    Pradeep Guha, IAA Regional Director (Asia Pacific), said, “This is yet another instance of the IAA taking the lead and showing how the power of communications can be used for a good cause. This will go a long way in sensitizing people on a very important issue.”

     

    Mr Swamy told MxM India, “Even at our agency (RK Swamy BBDO) we are cautious that our ads do not typify women. Clients should also be aware that resorting to such things will not boost sales.”

     

  • DDB Health & Lifestyle along with NFDC has launched ‘Mitti’, an anthem for the National Population Register

    DDB, NFDC go back to roots for govt film

    By A Correspondent

     

    DDB Health & Lifestyle along with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), a Government of India enterprise, has launched the ‘Mitti’ anthem for The National Population Register, on behalf of the Office of the Registrar General, India.

     

    Brief: Make people aware about NPR, its importance and process through which every resident of India feels motivated to get his/her identity validated.

     

    Objective: Create awareness about the National Population Register. Establish the relevance of participating in the National Population Register amongst the residents of the country.

     

    Challenge: India is a population of over 1.2 billion hailing from 28 states and 7 union territories. Our various cultures, traditions and languages make us different from each other in more ways than one. This makes communication a challenging task. This challenge was further magnified for the National Population Register where the aim was to create a single register that amassed information about all the residents of the second most populous country in the world – India.

     

    Brand Idea: My Identity, My Pride

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtEUIvs3Q_8[/youtube]

    Creative thought: The need was to identify a common sentiment, a sentiment that would inspire all equally to become a part of the National Population Register. A sentiment that would bind us all like leaves, branches and fruits of a tree. We found the answer in our root – our Mitti (soil).

     

    The Mitti film is a call to individuals to embrace their identity stemming from the soil. It is a call to unite and participate with pride in the nation’s attempt to create a single register about all the residents of India – the National Population Register.

     

    The film does this by capturing people from various walks of life in various moods. The highlights of the film include Mitti reaching out to people, people’s celebration of patriotism and a cultural extravaganza that serves as an ultimate visual feast. All this weaved together by a symphony of melodies from different regions that takes the viewer to an emotional high of “Mitti se hi shaan, Mitti se hi pehchaan!”

     

    “We have been commissioned by the Ministry to spearhead this campaign, where DDB Mudra has handled the creative execution in close association with NFDC. Managing the campaign on behalf of NPR is a step forward in NFDC’s endeavor to function as a 360 degrees agency for government clients”, said Nina Lath Gupta, Managing Director and Producer, NFDC (National Film Development Corporation).

     

    Soumitra Sen

    Soumitra Sen, President, DDB Health & Lifestyle, said, “Advertising professionals often have to wait a lifetime to get an opportunity to work on a campaign that will shape behavior and impact humankind for generations to come. The DDB Mudra Group feels proud of the opportunity to work with the GOI project, the National Population Register closely with NFDC. This has resulted in the first creative communication capsule based on the theme of the umbilical cord like relationship that we all have subliminally with our soil. We are working on the next phases of the campaign to motivate all Indian residents to register.”

     

     

    Credits

    Chairman & CCO – Sonal Dabral

    President – Soumitra Sen

    Office Head – Urvashi Guha

    Account Management – Durba Gogia, Subhendu Kumar

    Account Planning – Jeffrey Jose

    Group Creative Director – Ravinder Siwach

    Creative Director – Saritha Shivshankar, Partha Majee

    Director – Lloyd Baptista, 7 Films

     

  • The promise addresses the consumers' biggest worry, that of poor response on claims filed, so the strategy is sound. However, there's a problem: The six-hour factor gets lost in all this writing business

    Debrief: L&T Health Insurance: There’s an elephant in the room!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Must say ‘Likh ke doge kya?’ is an interesting idea L&T Health Insurance has come up with. It’s based on a good consumer insight; we all like to talk big and loose, but when asked to put that on paper, we flee. Based on this theme, L&T Health Insurance promises to respond to your claims within six hours, or they are happy to be penalised.

     

    There are a few commercials on air, the one I saw features three situations. Mom tells kid that if he eats spinach, he’ll come first in class. The bratty kid wants that promise in writing. A couple of uncles snigger at a young punk, saying he’ll never become an engineer. The dude demands that comment be put on paper. A lady wants her husband to take her on an exotic holiday, promising she’d never ask for anything again. Of course, the man wants that commitment in writing. Arrives the L&T Health Insurance man with the ‘six-hour response’ promise.

     

    It’s a decent effort, and the ads are fun to watch. The promise addresses the consumers’ biggest worry, that of poor response on claims filed, so the strategy is sound. However, there’s a problem: The six-hour factor gets lost in all this writing business. In fact, I would have developed the entire campaign based on the six-hour deal, and that would have made the communication focused and stronger. While ‘Likh ke doge kya?’ brings in its own uniqueness, they have ignored the elephant sitting in the room: SIX HOURS. Tch, tch, tch.

     

    Also, must say the L&T Health Insurance chaps have very, very cunningly covered their backsides. The claim is they shall RESPOND within six hours, and not settle your claim. And that response could well be: ‘Aap kataar mein hain’! 🙂

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yPwFUxPzng[/youtube]

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): 2.5 Good consumer insight but key promise overlooked. 

     

  • As the GroupM South Asia CEO assumes the Maxus Global CEO role, MxMIndia speaks to a cross-section of associates, including some from competition

    The Importance of Being Vikram Sakhuja

     

    By Johnson Napier

    With inputs from Ananya Saha

     

    It may be the calling of a lifetime but as Vikram Sakhuja gets ready to shoulder new responsibilities as Global CEO of Maxus, he leaves behind a legacy at Group M that’s not going to be easy to match. Apart from influencing the team and colleagues to take on bigger challenges at the workplace, Mr Sakhuja has ensured that that the four media agencies under Group M umbrella continue to dish out excellence in whatever manner possible. The results are for all to see as the Group collectively has soared to great heights over the past few years and has become a hot favourite with several clients as well.

     

    On the eve of a farewell the team at Group M is hosting for him, MxMIndia spoke to a few industry captains who have worked or interacted closely with Mr Sakhuja maverick to gather their perspective on his contribution to Group M and towards the industry.

     

    CLIENT:

    Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group – Financial Services

    What does one say about Vikram? He is an omnipresent shadow. And what i mean by omnipresent is that he is there all the time but in his perfect humility and understated personality. He is not overpowering or overbearing but always there wherever you need him, wherever you need him. So as a client, i can say he is an omnipresent shadow, a very reassuring person to have to have access to and he will be there.

     

    As an industryperson, he is a very rounded person because he has the rare experience of agency, client and media. He is not a theoretical preacher but he has been on all sides and knows the practical side of clients and clients’ business. It gives him an unparalleled edge. The biggest thing i have noticed about him that he has managed to create culture at Group M, which reflects his personality of understated people who just do their best. Typically, advertising is about talking about your own self and talking about your own work. Here, his personality is of being understated and letting his work speak for himself and he has managed to permeate that culture across all Group M companies. Today, if you look at the Group M leadership belt, you find the same welcome personality across the agencies and people.

     

    What he has achieved is unparalleled  Look at the way Group M agencies are ruling not on size but on recognition also. On one end it is Mindshare and at the other, it is Maxus. Whichever horse won the race, it was Group M or Vikram.

     

    COMPETITION:

    Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison World

    I’ve known Vikram Sakhuja for quite some time now first as a client at P&G and Coca Cola and then at Star India and later Group M. I see Vikram as a true-blue professional with high professional integrity and commitment to do a good, objective and honest job at hand. Also, he has performed well as a leader at Group M and his promotion is richly deserved. His promotion in fact is a cause of pride for all of us in the media industry and also India Inc. because he is an outstanding example of someone from within our industry who has been chosen to be a global head and that too operate out of India.

     

    Ambika Srivastava, Chairperson, VivaKi Exchange India

    I’ve known Vikram Sakhuja since his brand management days when he was with Coca Cola. He was very sharp and clear and was always able to ask the right questions. It’s a fundamental want but some people do not ask the right questions especially at forums. What I’ve noticed with Vikram is that he is always focused and asks the right questions. That is what enables him to articulate and address issues in the right manner.

     

    As for his stint at Group M, I personally feel that he has done a great job especially during the last 2-3 years when the economy was going through a tough phase. His appointment as global CEO of Maxus is indeed an achievement; he would be a great role model for the younger generation. I am indeed pleased that Indian talent has been recognised; it was indeed waiting to happen.

     

    MEDIA HOUSE:

    Bhaskar Das, Group CEO, Zee News (cluster)

    From what I’ve seen of Vikram Sakhuja, he is truly an inspirational leader as he is known to lead by example whether on the intellectual or managerial front. Of the many qualities that he possesses the one I think he is good at is keeping his eye on the future and seeking out cutting-edge development in the business and media space. He has a good understanding of business theories and the way it needs to undergo constant evolution for its own betterment. Our industry is such that it is undergoing continuous evolution due to acceleration in technological development and global practices. For a media buying house to be successful needs to have a good thought leadership in place and that is what Vikram Sakhuja has excelled in abundantly.

     

    During his stint, I think Group M has achieved greater heights and much of that has been possible due to his dynamic thought leadership skills. He has even created leaders out of his organisation in the time that he was at Group M. It is a matter of pride that an Indian has managed to get a global mandate, which signifies the importance being paid to Indian talent and also India being the epicentre of intellectual and managerial ability.

     

    (Dr Bhaskar Das was until recently President, Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd)

     

    COLLEAGUE:

    Ajit Varghese, Managing Director South Asia – Maxus and Motivator

    Vikram has been a client, a boss and great leader for me in the last decade. His biggest strength is depth of knowledge, ability to dig deep into issues and ability to focus on issue in hand than the people involved. To me his biggest contribution to GroupM is his ability to choreograph the strengths of 15-17 units heads and not letting competition have anything easy.

     

     


  • Draftfcb Ulka has announced the appointment of Trishay Kotwal as Creative Director

    Draftfcb Ulka appoints Trishay Kotwal as CD

    By A Correspondent

     

    Draftfcb Ulka has announced the appointment of Trishay Kotwal as Creative Director.

     

    Mr Kotwal started off at Grey Worldwide as a trainee after completing his post-graduation in Mass Communication from The Delhi School of Communication. In a career spanning a decade he has worked in Delhi and Mumbai, with Enterprise Nexus, Alok Nanda and Company, Rediffusion Y & R and McCann Erickson; he has worked on leading flagship accounts such as Arrow, Taj Hotels, L’Oreal Paris, Marico and General Motors.

     

    Mr Kotwal said, “I am excited to work on Draftfcb Ulka’s portfolio of clients. It’s a very interesting mix and both Kartik and Chax are people I’ve wanted to work with for a while now. I look forward to some great opportunities here.”

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Kartik Smetacek, Group Creative Director, Draftfcb Ulka said, “Trishay is a very talented writer and a valuable addition to the team. He will be handling an important set of accounts, and we look forward to some great work from him.”

     

  • I strongly believe movies and ads have a very limited role to play in influencing social behavior. Think about this: If movies could affect people, we would have been a nation of a billion noble citizens, as films almost always tell us that good wins over evil

    Anil Thakraney: Movies & ads don’t create rapists

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I was watching Justice Verma’s press conference with both, enthusiasm and amusement. Enthusiasm, obviously because we were all keen to know what the committee had in store for desi women. And I was amused because the Justice and his team members reminded me of my strict school principal and teachers. A whole lot of nice theoretical lessons being belted out, with no road map on implementation. This is India for you. A nation of great thinkers and ideators, but a nation of very poor executors. Anyway, let’s see how the recommendations play out on the ground, though I suspect we shall see very little real change.

     

    However, I am glad that in the 360 degree approach taken by the committee to protect Indian women, the use of ‘item songs’ in Bollywood flicks and the ‘objectification’ of women in advertising was left out of the menu. These two issues have been discussed to death on TV chat shows, post the Delhi gang rape, so I was expecting the committee to issue an edict on these too. Happy they ignored the heated telly debates.

     

    This is because I strongly believe movies and ads have a very limited role to play in influencing social behavior. Think about this: If movies could affect people, we would have been a nation of a billion noble citizens, as films almost always tell us that good wins over evil. Clearly, no one believes that after the butter popcorn is done. By the same logic, item songs and semi-nude hotties can’t be contributing to rape. Cinema is an entertainment medium, and that’s how it’s viewed by the masses. Today’s blockbuster is tomorrow’s cheap, street DVD.

     

    Ditto for ads. TV commercials and press ads have been featuring beautiful women for years and years. And these gals attract attention to the product, and that’s all they do, nothing more, nothing less. Nobody wants to buy from ugly people. Again, if ads were contributing to rapes, the all pervasive nature of this medium would have turned millions of us men into rapists and molesters. And that’s not happened.

     

    The problem of crimes against women and children finds its roots in two factors: The way sons are brought up in India. And a weak law enforcement machinery. These are the things that need to be sorted out. And am happy the Verma committee mainly focused on them. Meanwhile, please let’s continue with the beauties in cinema and ads. Without them, the nation will become a very boring place.

     

    ***

     

    PS: The memorable Lance Armstrong/Nike ad. And to think it was an anti-doping commercial! Must say the words have turned out to be quite prophetic. There should be a case study done on how the champ’s confession damages Nike, the brand, because of their powerful association.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIl5RxhLZ5U[/youtube]

     

  • The agency has devised a crowdsourcing campaign using Shah Rukh Khan, where existing owners and prospective buyers of the i10 can write a script for the next i10 TVC

    Crowdsourcing is Innocean’s theme for Hyundai i10

    By A Correspondent

     

    With growing competitiveness and a need to refresh the communication for Hyundai i10 Hyundai mandated its agency Innocean Worldwide India to conceptualize a new campaign for the brand in line with its dominant presence in the compact segment. For 2013, Innocean thought about energizing the entire targeted base with a bait to get them thinking about the car. Not only was the intent about creating an energy field around the brand Hyundai i10 but also to make the entire universe of prospective car buyers a part of the communication engagement. The agency has devised the a crowd sourcing campaign using Shah Rukh Khan, where all prospective buyers of i10 and its existing owners get to write a script for the next i10 TVC. If selected the contestant gets to act with SRK in the TVC for i10.

     

    Saurabh Dasgupta ECD at Innocean Worldwide India said, “The challenge for us lay in the defining the contours of this campaign to elicit a high level of response and stay true to the brand values of Hyundai i10. Yet at the heart of it all the communication intent is simple: imbibe the brand’s virtues, craft a script and full your acting dreams with SRK!”

     

    The TVC in the first phase of the campaign has an agitated SRK asking the fumbling director for his lines and then turning to the audience asking them to write in with their scripts. This campaign utilises the digital platform extensively to close the participation loop. In the words of B Sridhar Group Director, Media & Digital Services at Innocean, “The campaign has given us a rather good sized canvas to draw a digitally integrated communication effort that’s all pervasive.” A micro-site enables all participants to upload their scripts as text, video or even audio files. There is the regular snail mail too. A single response number with ‘missed call’ facility enables an IVR driven interaction wherein the scripts can be recorded by the contestants.

     

    “It’s a rather exciting idea we have thought of and it’s a composite one which looks at all aspects of communication and engagement touchpoints,” said Vivek Srivastava, Jt MD of Innocean. “The integration of diverse media apertures is one of the strengths of this endeavour and showcases our team’s technological capabilities alongside the dexterity with the advertising craft,” he added.

     

    The campaign in this phase will run for six weeks seeking the consumers’ participation and thereafter return with the crowd-sourced id featuring the Hyundai i10, SRK and the winner.