MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • On the occasion of Big Bazaar's 10th anniversary, Mudra has created a new campaign where Big Bazaar claims to be 'Naye India Ka Bazaar'.

    10 years of ‘Naye India Ka Bazaar’

    Since heralding the birth of modern retail in India in 2001, Big Bazaar has adapted to varying consumption needs over the past decade. It has not only catered to the Indian consumer’s inherent search for value, but also attuned itself to his emerging aspirations. Big Bazaar’s offerings were amongst the first to address these dual needs.

     

    On the occasion of Big Bazaar’s 10th anniversary, the challenge was twofold. They had to narrate the brand journey and also recast Big Bazaar’s promise – “Iss se sasta or accha kahin nahin” with a new and relevant meaning. They  needed to craft a promise which would mark Big Bazaar’s commitment to continual evolution.

     

    India of today was different from that of 10 years ago, and so was Big Bazaar. There was an existing symbiotic relationship between the two, which became the inspiration for the new tagline and logo.The promise of continuously evolving and keeping pace with the consumers was captured through the new logo and tagline – “Naye India Ka Bazaar”. The word “Naya” connoted an embrace of modernity while “Bazaar” re-instated the brands belief in rootedness and Indian values

     

    The journey of Big Bazaar would then be captured in the same way.

     

    The reason is simple; they are changing with their consumers. And in this journey of 10 years they accept the mistakes of the past, because Big Bazaar believes, ‘only when we accept and acknowledge our mistakes’ can real improvement occur.

     

    They have expressed their willingness to evolve through one simple word – “sorry”. A bold stance for any advertiser. And they express our gratitude towards our consumers by saying – “Shukriya” – Thank You.

     

    Credits:

    Mudra India (West)

    Office Head: Arijit Ray

    CCO: Bobby Pawar

    Creative Copy: Anil Bhardwaj

    Creative Art: Vinayak Nayak, Ninad Gharat

    Films: Vishal Sane, Mahen Solanki

    Production House: Red Carpet Entertainment

    Director: Rajkumar Gupta

  • PepsiCo India has appointed Proximity India as its digital creative agency for its 7UP brand

    Proximity India wins digital duties for 7UP

    By A Correspondent

     

    Proximity India, the youngest agency of Proximity Worldwide, will handle all digital initiatives including social media for 7UP Brand. Proximity is globally aligned to BBDO Worldwide.

     

    Commenting on assigning Proximity the account Ruchira Jaitley, EVP- Marketing, PepsiCo India said: “Proximity India is a part of the PepsiCo agency team. Proximity has done work award winning work with PepsiCo in the past and we were delighted with the strong creative work and strategic thinking demonstrated by Proximity India.

     

    Proximity is amongst most awarded digital agencies globally, and we look forward to being able to draw upon their international networks for learnings from across the world.”

     

    Proximity India offers talented communications experts with skills across the full range of relationship, digital and direct marketing services. The agency is focused on providing solutions and initiatives that are designed to change individual consumer behaviour by creating “acts not ads”.

     

    Commenting on the win, Ajai Jhala, CEO, BBDO / Proximity said: “7UP is BBDO’s founding brand and winning the digital account in Proximity’s first year of operations makes it that much more special. We are really excited about this win and are looking forward to delivering truly interactive digital ideas.”

     

    Ranjeev Vij, VP & Head, Proximity India added: “We can’t be more thrilled than working on this iconic brand and look forward to collaborate on big ideas and amplify them in everything that is digital today.”

     

    Proximity India has offices in Mumbai and Delhi and has worked on campaigns like Aviva Life Insurance for its “Great Wall of Education” initiative. This initiative has helped collect over two million books for the underprivileged children and the brand managed to get over 1.5 lakh fans for on facebook. BBDO/Proximity has won many accolade and awards for this campaign including recent one at Asia Digital Media Awards 2011.

     

    Proximity also manage digital work for Nicorette for which they launched a social application to support smokers quit on Facebook and have managed to get over 1.25 lakh fans on Nicorette India fan page within a span of 4 months.

     

    In the past Proximity network worked closely with other BBDO clients in India. Their idea for Quaker’s ‘mission to make India heart healthy’ won several awards in India and internationally, including the PepsiCo ‘Performance with Purpose’ Award.

     

    Apart from 7UP, over last couple of months Proximity digital team has added clients like Nissan, Visa and Doublemint to its portfolio.

     

    Early next year, Proximity will launch their proprietary Digital Lab Initiative in India, which is a multi-faceted program, designed to drive digital thought leadership and to provide a significant added value service to its clients.

  • Good, clean commercial from the makers of Nutrine Mahalacto. The main appeal lies in the fact that they have made a very routine announcement appear interesting.

    Debrief: Cute, cool and sweet

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Good, clean commercial from the makers of Nutrine Mahalacto. The candy is now 20 percent bigger in size, and this needed to be communicated in the new TVC. Frankly speaking, it’s a rather boring offer, but to their credit they have managed to make it sound like fun.

     

    Animation has been used to make the Nutrine Mahalacto candy bar come alive as a spunky little character. The candy spots a goblet of milk on the dining table, and using a straw as a pole vault, it dives in. It then gobbles down the milk and becomes bigger in size.

     

    Not an award-winner by any stretch of imagination. It’s a simple story, but it’s been cutely told, the animation is cool too and most importantly: the kids will enjoy it. They are the target audience for the brand, and so that’s all that matters. To me, the main appeal lies in the fact that they have made a very routine announcement appear interesting.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 3. Good animation.

  • Salt Brand Solutions is on a roll with two new businesses in its kitty; Bombay Stock exchange and RTL, a television channel yet to be launched

    Salt Brand Solutions wins creative mandate for BSE

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Small agencies are here to talk big, Salt Brand Solutions, the agency founded by adland stalwarts Mahesh Chauhan and Minakshi Achan earlier this, is proving the same. After winning the Kaya Skin Clinic biz earlier this year and the reality channel from RBNL and RTL more recently, it has now won the creative mandates for Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

     

    BSE Limited, the oldest stock exchange in Asia now popularly known as the BSE, was established as “The Native Share & Stock Brokers’ Association” in 1875. Over the past 135 years, BSE has facilitated the growth of the Indian corporate sector by providing it with an efficient capital raising platform.

     

  • TV debates? Better spend the time watching a reality show. A porn star any day for me over a narcissistic, gassy TV anchor

    Anil Thakraney: The TV gas chamber

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It’s been a long time since I watched a TV debate. Because I found, much after a lot of torturous viewing, that it’s a huge waste of time. Might as well watch Bigg Boss 5. It’s far more interesting, at least the participants are fresh faces and they look glam too.

     

    Here are some reasons why TV debates suck big time on our news channels.

     

    1. The same dull and sleepy faces. The same spokespersons of various political parties hop from studio to studio each night. Each a big bore, and each clueless about his/her leader’s real agenda. And compelled to support any idiotic dictate from their bosses. If you are glued to your idiot box when people like Abhishek Singhvi, Chandan Mitra and that lady from BJP pontificate each evening, you badly need a life.

     

    2. Because news channel editors and their assistants are too lazy to make an effort to discover new voices, we are stuck with the same ‘experts’ each evening. Suhel Seth, Shobhaa De, Prahlad Kakkar, etc, are now telling us how to decode every news item. From terrorism to FDI in retail to the Kingfisher mess to harassment of women. In such a vast nation, is it so difficult to find new voices? And more importantly, voices of people we can trust and respect?

     

    3. The entire concept is fraudulent. Because the anchors deliberately pick people with extremely polarised views, the debate becomes an exchange of gas. Like a school boys’ discussion. No one ever concedes that the other guy may be making a valid point, even if he/she feels so. That admission will appear to be a sign of ‘surrender’ on a TV debate. So the participants keep yelping at one another rather than talking to one other. I particularly avoid watching debates on theBhopalgas tragedy. Because gassing levels shoot through the chimney on those days.

     

    4. The anchors, who are supposed to be neutral, almost always throw in their two bits, thus adulterating the show by injecting their own agendas and biases into the discussion. This murders the concept of a debate, reducing it to a charade. I have often noticed that the much celebrated, award winning anchors lose their patience with guest speakers whose views they don’t approve of. You call this a debate? I call it nautanki.

     

    Like I said, better spend the time watching a reality show. A porn star any day for me over a narcissistic, gassy TV anchor.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Everyone is appreciating Mr and Mrs Aamir Khan for going public with their surrogate baby. There is even talk of making the couple spokespersons for surrogate parenthood. Well, methinks we are giving the couple too much importance out here.

    Aamirbhai had NO option but to reveal the truth in the media. How else could he have explained the presence of a bachcha in the house, with missus having shown no signs of pregnancy? Trust some people to jump at making virtue out of necessity.

     

    Anil Thakraney is a Mumbai-based columnist and commentator and is a former adman and editor. He is Editor-at-Large, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are his own.

     

  • The much-awaited Effie Awards will recognize the best and most effective advertising of the year

    It’s the Effies tonight

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    The stage is set for Effie Awards 2011 which will be held at Race Course, Mahalaxmi in Mumbai, tonight. The awards are much respected and coveted as they recognize effective advertising – ie, an award for advertising that has worked in the market. The client of the year and agency of the year are the Effies most watched for.

     

    The Effies 2011 were different even in judging as there were four sessions altogether, three in round one including one in Delhi which was for the first time and then round two. It is learnt that there were 60 judges in round one and 20 in round two and out of this number 75 per cent comprised the clients’ side who were involved in judging. The plan is now to take Effies case studies, a popular segment, toDelhinext year.

     

    Ajay Kakar, Chairman Effie 2011 Committee and CMO – Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group, on what the fraternity should expect from the Effies tonight, said, “The judges have cast their votes. When 60 luminaries from the advertising and marketing fraternities put their collective minds together to evaluate the work that has worked in the market place, you can expect nothing short of the ‘best among the best’ to gain its rightful recognition.”

     

    Work that has rightfully left its mark in the sands of 2010-11 will be unveiled at the gala awards night.

     

    “Effie 2011 has a host of records/firsts, to its credit be it the number of entries received (300), the number of judges (60), the number of clients in the jury, the judging in Delhi and the number of agencies (20) that contributed to the short listed entries. I am sure we can expect a few more pleasant surprises at the awards night,” concluded Mr Kakar.

     

    Also read:

    All set for Effies on Dec 14

    http://www.mxmindia.com/2011/11/edging-towards-effies/

  • Anil Nair on 6 things to keep in mind when hiring at mid-level in an advertising agency

    The Anchor: 6 things to remember when hiring mid-levels in an agency

    By Anil Nair

     

    I believe that these qualities are required at any level in our profession. While at senior level one would look at few more qualities and at junior there would be some less expectation, but largely these qualities are what I look for in an advertising professional.

     

    #1 Imagination: There has to be an ability to look beyond the obvious. Imagination is not just required for creatives but it’s a requirement for the industry. Our job poses challenges every day and if one is content to follow the prescribed method then there can be no growth. One has to have a rich and interesting imagination to build compelling communication.

     

    #2 Hunger: It is not just hunger to scale to the next level in the hierarchy. There has to be hunger for knowledge, insight and for better work. When a person believes that his appetite is satiated, that’s practically the end of his career. There has to be hunger to take things to the next level in all aspects of life.

     

    #3 Perspective: This is a rare quality among many people today. There is a tendency to follow things as they are given. Being perceptive helps in thinking beyond the obvious which is a requirement for everyone, be it creative, servicing or planning. This will be an important tool to help in growing the business.

     

    #4 Clarity: Whatever the point of view, if one has coherence in thought it will take a mid-level person to greater strengths. They are involved in building a communication platform for the client and there is a need to have logic and clarity in thinking to help the clients do better.

     

    #5 Emotional stability: By this I mean there has to be strength of character and ability to handle situation under duress. There is pressure from the person you report to, people whom you look up to and people who report in to you. I have seen many people crack under pressure and many times good talent become an emotional wreck. Again this is a rare quality and difficult to find in today’s times.

     

    #6 Anticipation skill: In this profession, if you do things now it will only lead to crushing you. You need to keep an eye on the ‘next’ and this can be developed by way of knowledge and interactivity with the industry. This is a complex world with cut-throat competition and the need is for the ability to anticipate and be prepared to face it.

     

    Anil Nair is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Law & Kenneth.

  • Young Guns 2011 announces the winners – India nets 3 bronze; 2 for Leo Burnett and 1 for Happy Creative.

    Leo Burnett bag two Young Guns bronzes

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    The winners for Young Gun Awards 2011 have been announced. Leo Burnett was awarded 2 Bronze Bullets and 2 Finalists, Happy Creative awarded one Bronze Bullet and Ogilvy&Mather managed 1 finalist, from India.

     

    Leo Burnett India has been awarded Bronze for Tide “Fold a Stain” Campaign in Art Direction categorty, team Ganesh Nayak, Amod Dani and a Bronze for Bajaj Irons “Fold Aide Box” Packaging in Design category,team Nadine Pereira, Zainab Karachiwala, Payal Juthani, Anirban Sanyal. Heinz “Sketchup” managed to be in the finalist category, team, Ganesh Nayak, Amod Dani.

     

    KV Sridhar aka Pops said, “it’s always good when young people are recognised since it is an assurance not just for the present but for a great future as well. We are happy that Leo Burnett worldwide has also won YoungGuns 2011 Network of the Year which proves that it is the agency encouraging the youth”.

     

    Ogilvy & Mather’s Anupama Sirsalewal, finalist for Unbearably Sour, Gun, Snake, Gullotine in the Illustration Campaigns category.

     

    Happy creative has been awarded Bronze Bullet.

     

    Agency Tally for India is as follows:

    Leo Burnett:                2 Bronzes + 2 Finalists

    Happy Creative:           1 Bronze

    Ogilvy:                             1 Finalist

  • The global media spends account is up for review @ Unilever

    It’s pitch time for Unilever media spends in India (and elsewhere in the world)

    By A Correspondent

     

    Life’s a pitch. Ah, well, for the new bossman at Mindshare India Ravi Rao, it’s going to be a hyperactive January as he takes charge after a week’s break later this month.

     

    For, Unilever has reportedly announced a global review of its media account. This is barely two years after it did one.

     

    MxMIndia does not have any official word from Hindustan Unilever, but media reports suggest that the review will include media buying and planning and will start next month.

     

    Unilever has apparently asked all incumbents to pitch. But there are a few more, and that’s the catch. According to Advertising Age figures, Unilever spent USD 6.62 billion on worldwide measured media in 2010.

     

    The pitch is said to include a review of the way spends will be conducted in India too. Please see the following reports which also carry Unilever statements:

    Ad Age report: http://adage.com/article/agency-news/unilever-puts-global-media-account-play/231536/

    Campaign Asia report: http://www.campaignasia.com/Article/284405,unilever-calls-us465-billion-global-media-review.aspx

  • Anil Thakraney finds the new Tata Docomo ad peppy, alive and full of masti

    Tata Docomo: Old idea, fresh play

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Tata Docomo has done one rather smart thingie. Instead of using Bollywood stars to connect with the whole of India (their appeal down south is always suspect), they have created two commercials specifically tailored for the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu consumers. Using the local movie stars: Ram Charan Tej and Vijay. This should help immensely in building a bond with the locals.

     

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNiUp0b0c4U[/youtube]

    The commercials are however not based on a new concept. It’s the same old ‘always stay connected’ idea. In the TVC, the film star, who’s the protagonist, laughs when his neighbour, a young lad, hits a girl with a water balloon. The girl in turn calls and energizes her tens of pals to seek ‘revenge’. This follows hordes of people chasing our hero till he gets hit by many balloons. Not only is the idea not fresh, it seems to have been inspired by Airtel’s ‘Har ek friend zaroori hota hai’. In short, too much deja vu out here.

     

    Having said that, must confess the execution is peppy and alive, and full of masti. It is also the sort of script that, I imagine, will appeal to the southern audiences, so good show on that front. Neat job done by the ad filmmaker.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2.5. The marks go for good treatment

  • It's the oft-asked question, whose answer is obvious, as creative and marketing honchos tell us

    What’s more important? Creativity or Effectiveness? Or both?

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6dEI6D_rcI[/youtube]

    Regardless of how ‘simple’ the end product may seem, creating advertisements for a brand has never been child’s play. It’s a task which only a creative mind can understand. And the complexities have grown over the years. When we spoke about campaigns 20 years ago, expectations were not as high as they are today.

     

    Today, it is the age of numerous and congregating media. While advertisers have many opportunities to reach to their desired audiences, the muddle can cause them to lose out. A beautifully executed campaign may not make its audience reach for their wallets, while an average one, creatively speaking, may end up garnering better results.

     

    What is the most important element, then, for the campaign of today? Is it creativity? Or effectiveness? Or a magic mix of both?

     

    MxMIndia posed the question to practitioners – people who create the campaign and people for whom the campaign is created.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odmcmnWjK10&feature=fvst[/youtube]

    Abhijit Avasthi, NCD, Ogilvy&Mather, said, “We only believe in creating effective communication. According to me people who separate the two cannot be called creative. If we look at the past 3-4 years’ trend, most of the campaigns that win at the Abbys are the ones winning at the Effies as well. A brand communication is complete only when it is an effective creative.”

     

    According to Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group – Financial Services, “What is the use of a knife that does not cut, or a gun that cannot fire? Similarly there is no use for a creative which isn’t effective. Such a creative work is only meant for Jehangir Art Gallery and not product promotion. According to me each and every creative needs to be effective and only then does it fulfil its very purpose”.

     

    The IPA/Gunn Report published in June 2011 examines the link between creativity and effectiveness. The original 2010 report had analyzed 257 campaigns over a period of ten years (1998-2008). The 2011 version of the report has been expanded to examine 435 campaigns over 16 years, from 1994 to 2010. The main aim of the report was to examine both effectiveness (a campaign’s ability to drive business like sales, profit and loyalty) and its efficiency for campaigns that have been awarded for their creativity and those that have not been.

     

    Some of the findings of the report include: creatively-awarded campaigns were seven times more efficient than non-awarded ones; between 2003 and 2010 creatively-awarded campaigns were 12 times more efficient; there is a pronounced time trend – creatively awarded campaigns are becoming more efficient over time, while non-awarded campaigns are becoming less so; the much greater ‘buzz’ effects of creatively-awarded campaigns appears to be why they are becoming more effective: in the multichannel world creativity is becoming more closely associated with buzz, leaving non-awarded campaigns struggling.

     

    Agnello Dias of Taproot said, “It is effectiveness that plays a key role. If the effectiveness is backed by a great creative it’s icing on the cake but if a particular campaign is effective for a brand then even mediocre creative can be accepted”.

     

    KV (Pops) Sridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett India, said, “One cannot really separate creativity and effectiveness in a brand communication. Both of them are two sides of the same coin. If one of these two elements is missing then it does not fulfil the purpose of an advertisement for a brand. There has to be an insight, entertainment, cut-through idea and it must break barriers. Hence it is impossible to choose between creativity and effectiveness. A creative is created for effectiveness of the brand.”

     

    Abraham Alapatt, Head – Brand & Corporate Communication at Future Generali India, said, “Neither the client nor the ad agency, have the luxury any longer, to choose one over the other. Given the growing media clutter, it is now more critical than ever to be creative and different to stand out and get noticed by customer prospects. I qualify ‘creative’ by using a phrase used by the Effie organizers – creative ‘work that works’ for real customers, in the marketplace. So put differently, both clients who are facing increasing competition, media clutter and tight budgets and agencies that are operating with these client constraints are now being called on to deliver marketing communication (which I don’t call advertising) that actively amplifies, complements and makes a tangible difference to the client’s pre-determined marketing efforts”.

     

    The debate may well rage on, but the market reality is that effective communication is the child of a creative mind. Both creativity and effectiveness are, thus, essential when creating communication for a brand.

  • It's very clear by now that, drunk on the TV media's fan-like support, members of the team have become arrogant and Dubya-like in their attitude. The 'my way or the highway' deal. How healthy is that approach for democracy, we all know quite well.

    Anil Thakraney: Cut the Anna crusade

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    It is fashionable to credit the social media for Team Anna’s stupendous run. They have managed to hilao the government big-time, and it is often said their oxygen is the support provided by tweeters and facebookers. I totally disagree.

     

    The real fuel for Anna’s campaign comes from the television media. It is they who, in their childlike enthusiasm, have converted the saint from Ralegaon Siddhi into a god-like cult figure. And quite frankly, I am not surprised. It’s our TV media’s belief that any story that generates ratings must be given liberal play, even if it demolishes every tenet of good journalism. From no angle can you justify the role played by the assorted news channels as crusaders and poster boys for Team Anna. When the social media does that, it becomes understandable. Because the virtual world consists of individuals fed up of corruption… dudes who don’t really comprehend the complexities of the Lokpal bill, and are basically venting steam. That’s fine. But for professional journalists to become recruitment agents for Anna is simply an appalling situation.

     

    Anyway, what’s done is done. Team Anna is threatening Hunger Strike Part 2, this time from the ‘salubrious’ Mumbai. At least this time around the news channels must respect the principles of journalism and desist from going over-the-top on the coverage. Because it’s very clear by now that, drunk on the TV media’s fan-like support, members of the team have become arrogant and Dubya-like in their attitude. The ‘my way or the highway’ deal. How healthy is that approach for democracy, we all know quite well.

     

    Bottom-line: Let Team Anna fight its own battles. Report the story, like any other story, and no more. There are other interesting ways to get good ratings. Try village horror stories. At least they don’t threaten Indian democracy.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Wieden + Kennedy’s London office has found a charming way to wish you this season. The agency has set up a window outside their office, from where passers-by can take part in the celebrations. Lovely idea.

     

    Link: http://achoirofyou.com/