DentsuMB, the integrated communication agency from Dentsu India, has bagged the digital creative mandate for Social Alpha, a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology startups. As per the mandate, DentsuMB will develop the communication framework and create campaigns that showcase the initiatives across Social Alpha’s social media assets. The focus will be on the core mission of the brand, which is to create social, economic, and environmental impact through the power of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Indrajeet Mookherjee
Said Indrajeet Mookherjee, Managing Partner, DentsuMB: “We are honoured to partner with Social Alpha in their mission for bringing about change. It will be a unique journey given the nature of services that Social Alpha provides and the divergent startup sectors it works with. At the heart of Social Alpha, is a clearly defined purpose ‘of making a difference to the lives of millions’ and we hope to collaborate on bringing these beautiful stories of impact and change to a larger audience.”
Manoj Kumar
Added Manoj Kumar, CEO & Co-Founder, Social Alpha: “At Social Alpha, we work with innovators who are on a mission to solve some of the most complex challenges of humanity with entrepreneurial risk-taking. While we take extreme pride in what our startups do, we needed help in communicating the inspiring work of our portfolio companies with an intent to attract more innovators and enablers to this emerging sector.”
The Advertising Club has announced its annual Emvie awards. It will be held in Mumbai on March 25, 2022.
The Advertising Club received 1054 entries for Emvies this year. These entries were judged online by 189 senior media professionals across 46 categories.
Based on the aggregate scores assigned by the 189 media professionals, the Emvies Committee at the Ad Club shortlisted 270 case studies that will be presented from today (Feb 14) to Thursday, 24th February, 2022 in two sessions i.e. Morning Session from 10 am to 1 pm and Afternoon Session from 2 pm to 5 pm. The Round 11 will be judged by 170 senior marketing professionals and a couple of creative directors. Given the pandemic-led circumstances it is the first time the final round judging of case study presentation will be held online.
The awards is normally held in closed venues, but given the pandemic-led restrictions, it will be held in the open at the SeaSide Lawns at Hotel Taj Lands End, Bandra in Mumbai.
Blame Eularie Saldanha in Campaign India for triggering this article. It questioned if the brands would come on board platforms dedicated to porn? In the current era of targeted marketing, reaching larger audiences, breaking taboos and being woke overall, how ironic is it for mediums with such potential to be avoided by brands for advertising? I am not getting there, but many brands have been using creative clearly and cleverly full of double meaning. Creativity is used in the quest for attention-grabbing, shocking, and otherwise culturally misfit communication.
Pornographic sites may be one of the largest visited sites, but mostly, the audience wants to remain anonymous. The article also suggests that brands avoid pornographic mediums as they believe it would/can contravene the law. However, brands are open to cleverly including titillating objectifying messages to defend them as non-objectionable and straightforward.
Yes, yes, they, in that case, are not breaking any law. However, it is still not safe and can lead to controversies and negative brand impact. On the other side, it can help build up an immediate reaction, a totally anticipated buzz and controllable earned media.
Recently the real estate platform plastered the city with hoardings where the double-meaning was the strategy for attention-seeking. And most people may today see nothing wrong with this advertising, and at least they have not broken any law. The brand, in such cases, has taken a strategic open-eyed conscious decision to use the medium in the way they have- including the predominant yellow background. However, they have cleverly missed simple thoughts along with some provocative communication. Today in 2022, the campaign is seen as Traffic Halting humour! And is also called out for Vulgarity. So clearly, some love it, and some hate it.
Zomato, in 2017, did the debated and discredited MC BC campaign. Here the descriptors were the protection. Did it make Zomato a less favoured app? The answer would be a straight NO. Were they right in doing the campaign? Don’t know- but they were within their rights to do so. It was not something that was against prevailing ASCI guidelines. Was it a case of Dirt lies in the eyes of the thinker– the audience who read the campaign differently?
Sometimes it is all about relevance and the timing of the campaign. As we evolve and more openness creeps into society, the subject matter of such campaigns may not be called out for their content, hopefully losing the shock value. The operating world is Hopefully.
Double meaning campaigns may be as old as the advertising itself. Sometimes they seem witty and humorous, and often crossing the edge, they are deemed hugely offensive. It is always a tight rope walk for the brand.
In India, we had campaigns like – LUX innerwear- Andar Ki Baath ai, Amul Macho- Toying hai, Teda hai par mera hai, Aquawhite- Roz Raat ko kartey ho, ZATAK and many more. Earlier, this was primarily restricted to Condoms, Perfumes, Deodrants and innerwear.
In the Campaign India article, Ashish Khazanchi, managing partner, Enormous Brand, speaks on porn sites as advertising media. It is also true for the double meaning campaigns. He says: “One would have to do it in a manner that is really clever and makes the audiences like the brand for its smartness. The potential for cringe remains huge, so the communication better is genuinely witty.”
Defining clearly smart and genuinely witty will always be subjective and open to debate. Every brand has to find its own coordinates for what will be permissible, legally unchallenged and ethically- culturally correct. While doing so, they should check it on the SMEAR index and be ready with an honourable escape. Zomato did it with their campaign– so did brand ManKind Pharma during Navratri– even when there was complete data-based strategic support.
The question still remains: who decides these edges and social acceptance. And is it right to throttle creativity by people hungry for media attention? The double meaning is also one of the ways of being witty and creative!
Publicis Groupe has announced the appointment of Amit Misra as Chief Executive Officer, MSL South East Asia, in addition to his current role as CEO, MSL South Asia. As part of his expanded responsibilities Amit will drive MSL’s growth in the South East Asia markets.
Misra, who has steered MSL India for more than eight years, will work to drive Publicis Groupe’s Power of One solutions in the South East Asian markets.
Speaking on the appointment, Amrita Randhawa, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Groupe South East Asia, said: “Amit has taken MSL to greater heights year on year in India and South Asia. Amit leading the mandate for two regions will further leverage the Publicis Groupe’s Power of One model, with MSL being a true powerhouse offering scale and depth of services to our clients. I have no doubt that MSL South East Asia will reach unprecedented heights with Amit’s leadership.”
Added Misra: “At MSL, we get together the best of technology, content, creativity and digital prowess to deliver transformative ideas for our clients. MSL’s journey in South Asia over the last few years has been enriching and exhilarating at the same time and I look forward to taking my learnings to the expanded role. This is a tremendous opportunity to create interesting synergies across geographies from the perspective of our clients and talent and I remain excited about our growth in Asia.”
Publicis Groupe has announced the appointment of Amaresh Godbole as CEO, Digital Technology Business, Publicis Groupe India. In this role, Godbole will be leading the group’s digital experience and technology agencies Digitas India and Indigo Consulting. He will also be responsible for scaling up the Publicis Commerce D2C offering.
The role will report into Anupriya Acharya, CEO Publicis Groupe South Asia and both Unny Radhakrishnan, CEO Digitas India and Jose Leon, MD, Indigo Consulting will work closely with Godbole. Prior to this, Godbole was Head of Creative and Capability at Google India, and he also has a history of over a decade with Publicis Groupe where his last role was CEO, Digitas India.
Said Acharya on the appointment: “The last two years have seen an acceleration in technology adoption and companies across sectors are grappling with the need to deliver more contemporary customer experiences and improve critical business processes. We have an opportunity to accelerate further our unique digital technology offerings in India and unlock new avenues, bringing in exponential growth for clients. In Amaresh, we have someone who deeply understands the Publicis way of working and also brings an outside-in view of technology trends and the wider industry from his time with Google.”
Added Godbole: “In Digitas, Indigo Consulting and the Publicis Commerce teams, the Groupe has formidable technology transformation offerings. I hope to use the unique vantage point this role offers to find synergies and reimagine our combined go-to-market strategy in light of emerging client segments and technology opportunities such as Web3 and D2C. The Groupe’s Power of One approach will ensure we can offer these capabilities to all Publicis Groupe clients in India. On a personal note, Publicis Groupe has been like a second home for me and I’m excited to be back amongst people I’ve known and respected for a long time.”
Rediffusion has announced the launch of its proprietorial strategic tool for brand equity analysis. The tool has been designed in-house, led by the agency’s Chief Strategic Officer, Navonil Chatterjee.
Said Dr Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director of Rediffusion: “Marketers often talk about a brand’s equity, but equity at times becomes a nebulous topic where everyone has a view, but beyond that subjective opinion, there is hardly anything substantive to back it. And even that equity is with respect to a certain time frame and in the context of a particular target group. Change the TG or the time-period, and the results, in all likelihood, should change. Given the fact that it is a bit of a black hole, Rediffusion is proud to launch TEA or The Equity Analyzer – our framework for evaluating a brand’s equity at a certain point of time, in the context of a certain TG. In fact, the model allows for comparisons of different brands’ equity within the same category and even across categories.”
Added Navonil Chatterjee: “The fundamental premise of TEA is that a brand’s equity is a function of the following key parameters of a brand’s Popularity, Uniqueness, Respect and Personal Appropriateness. Basically, how popular, or well known or salient the brand is, how unique or different it is, how well respected it is and what personal meaning, connection, usefulness or appropriateness it has for the consumer or TG.”
Speaking on TEA, Diwan Arun Nanda, Chairman, Rediffusion said: “The world is moving to performance marketing, metrics and measurement. And why should brands be left behind in that journey towards an objective understanding of them vis-à-vis facts, figures and primary data? Rediffusion’s TEA is a great tool which will give the agency a far more robust strategic understanding of brands and their competitors. Marketers too will be able to consult it for their own understanding and fine-tuning of their marketing efforts.”
Havas Group has planted its flag in The Sandbox, opening up new opportunities for brands and talent. It now owns a plot of virtual land in The Sandbox video game where it plans to inaugurate its first virtual Village (the 69th Havas Village).
Said Yannick Bolloré, Chairman & CEO, Havas Group: “The metaverse provides a wealth of new media and new opportunities for the communications sector and for brands. Whether the aim is to create original and meaningful experiences, reach out to new target audiences, or simply reinforce an existing bond, the possibilities are practically endless. Havas Group can count on a cutting-edge team of metaverse experts to lead this new venture and expertly guide brands into and around these virtual worlds. Our new Havas Village will be a ‘meta-flagship’ for the Group, drawing all our engaged communities together in an enriched extension of our bricks-and-mortar Villages.”
Added Céline Merle-Beral, Global Chief HR Officer, Havas Group: “With Havas now a player in The Sandbox, we are banking on the metaverse because we are convinced of its potential in terms of accessing creative and innovative profiles, with highly sought-after skills ranging from tech to data. In doing so, the Group is enhancing its employer brand, offering an enriched candidate experience, and breaking new ground in our campus management strategy. The metaverse is a fantastic opportunity for us to attract tomorrow’s top talent.”
Lintas Live has won the Global Integrated Communications mandate for Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), Nigeria.
On the appointment, of Lintas Live, Dinesh Rathi, Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone, said, “We are excited to partner with Lintas Live, an agency that mirrors our passion. Lintas Live not only demonstrated a keen understanding of our brand environment, but also showcased a cogent perspective on approaching the brand asks. We have aggressive plans for positioning LFZ as the most compelling destination for foreign direct investments into Nigeria, and we needed an equally agile partner and global network to help us achieve our aspirations.”
Added Ameer Ismail, President, Lintas Live, commenting on the partnership “We are ecstatic with this win. Lagos Free Zone is the first private free trade Zone in Nigeria, and we are honoured to partner the brand in its communications journey in India and globally. There are a lot of synergies that we share with Lagos Free Zone. Constant innovation, an agile approach to business and customer-centric solutions are at the heart of their brand promise, much like the Lintas Live ethos. This mandate is very prestigious for us, and we are committed to make this alliance a huge success.”
Motion Content Group of GroupM, in Collaboration with Film Critics Guild and Vistas Media Capital has come up the 4th edition of Critics’ Choice Awards to honour the talent in web series, short films and feature films.
Said Anupama Chopra, Chairperson Film Critics Guild: “We are thrilled to announce the feature film nominees for the fourth edition of the Indian Critics’ Choice Awards. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the level of artistry and storytelling has not faltered. These awards are a celebration of that indomitable spirit of Indian cinema.”
Added Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia: “Despite the pandemic, 2021 witnessed incredible output with breakthrough performances. We at Critics’ Choice Awards believe that we truly are at the forefront in identifying and felicitating creators and their craft for the fabulous work put in. It is important to recognize talent and award them for their best efforts. We are delighted to present the nominations for the outstanding work done in 2021. We would like to thank filmmakers, directors, writers, and artists, who have worked extremely hard to give us compelling movies amid unprecedented competition.”
Chai Garam Chai. Tea is my favourite hot drink. It rejuvenates and recharges. It helps you stay awake and it comes in all possible formats. So much so that you can often define how you want your tea. It can be strong- in truckers’ language – 100 KM tea- or the silver service tea with a touch of milk. You could have it with sugar, sugar-free, with Jaggery, salt or even butter. There is Tapri-waali chai people swear by and some prefer the cutting khullad tea at the station. Everyone has their own favourites. And while we are at chai- let me suggest you read the Khyaalon Ki Tapri , a collection of poetry by Meraj Hasan ‘Meem’ best enjoyed over a cup of cutting chai.
I love a well-made tea; however, I have toned down my consumption with age. My weakness for tea is well known among friends and relatives. but the whole family knows my weakness for tea. I love strong tea, where the tea leaves have been allowed to boil for some time in the water that has mashed Ginger pieces. In the last three decades, I moved from Taj to Bagh Bakri to Brooke Bond Red Label and settled for Society Masala tea. Each has its own taste.
The tea category in past has done some great advertising that I can watch repeatedly. All about awakening the body-mind and soul, initiation or re-building of relationships and more.
However, I was a bit surprised at the lack of advertising by tea brands during this election. Even though the election states are major tea consuming markets.
Were the brands playing safe? Not that I am aware of some ground-level activation.
I see Anoop Nautiyal and Abhilash Khandekar lamenting on Twitter about the low voting percentage in my native state- Uttarakhand. And, I think that tea brands have missed an opportunity there.
My respect for tea brand advertising started from the Lipton Tiger tea time– the kadakchai– and the tiger in the woods. At that time, I did not know how ads were filmed, and this one was as kadak (macho) as a tea brand could get.
Tata Tea The True Awakening.
Tata Tea took on elections and corruption in a big way. One of the few commercials that one can watch again and again. And the best part, they still make sense and are relevant to the situation.
The one ad was about the voter asking the candidate for his qualification- and the brand suggesting ‘subah Utho Nahi Jago’ left its mark. Then the brand took the subject to a new situation like the Airport, where ‘Yeh mahashay Nahi jaantey yeh Kaun hai’ brought a smile to the faces of the audience, appreciating the thought.
And I do think that some of us could have, if possible, shared this SOOCH BADLO ad by the brand in this election. If not the tea brand, the state of Uttarakhand does need such communication. It could have helped awaken the sleeping voters.
https://youtu.be/vuH3a1QAIek
Abhi Alarm Baja Nahi Hai ad by Tata Tea openly challenged and took the subject head-on. The national situation at that time provided a perfect context for the call for action. However, one must say that nothing has really changed, and the ad still remains relevant for the category, contextually and conceptually.
And, of course, the brand’s simple response to the Chai-paani call was equally relevant. I am not sure how much the situation has changed in this context. However, if I am to believe what I read and hear. In that case, Chai Paani is still in the system, and the communication is relevant.
BROOKE BOND- BONDING TOGETHER
Brooke Bond has been a brand that took on the idea of reconciliation and fair judgement, ethical values and awakening of a different type. The Brooke Bond Prejudice ad was one such example.
Brooke Bond did the Father and Son Khumb ad a few years back. It was a simple storyline with much simpler non-intrusive product brand integration that touched you emotionally.
Brooke Bond took the ‘Swaad Apnepan ka’ to a new level of acceptance of live-in couples. A subject that was still much taboo at that time.
Brooke Bond Red label extended the game of these relationships with their secularism ad- between neighbours from a different community. The resistance, the hesitation and the final tipping were well captured. And then they another ad along similar lines of two friends with varying restrictions of communities- ‘Swaad Apnepan ka- Maa Ko Sorry Bol Dungs’.
Wagh Bakri Relationship
Wagh Bakri tea took on husband-wife relationships to a new level of explanation and adjustments. Both the ads are well made for their time, and well, even at the cost of repeating myself – they are still relevant.
Wagh Bakri also had a series of three films – Doosto Waali Chai, Sister Waali Chai and Papa Waali chai. Each picking on one relationship and linking it to the collective sharing of tea. There was also one National integration film– with tea as the link- but it was too soft for kadak tea lovers.
Not everyone’s cup of tea.
Yes, I miss this contextually purpose-led communication by the brands. Can these not be redesigned and calibrated? Why do brands move out of such excellent associations? Must every proposition be killed after some time? Does it compulsorily become stale? Or do we creatively fail to inject the newly evolved context to deliver equally impactful communication?
The above three brands are examples of finding a nice space- which is relevant and strongly associated with the category- and then they seem to have moved on.
Creative Equals, a UK-based non-profit global inclusion consultancy, has launched #CreativeComeback in India. With successful editions in London and New York, the programme starts with Mumbai to help women, non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals, who’ve taken a career break come back into the workforce. This two-week bootcamp aims to destigmatize career gaps and turn them into an advantage by retraining this creative talent. In association with D&AD as training partners and Diageo, a brand committed to gender equality, the mission is to #BreakTheBias in advertising creative departments of art, copy and design. DDB Mudra Group will provide mentoring support and potential job opportunities to participants at the end of the program.
Said Deepika Warrier, CMO Diageo India: “At Diageo, inclusion and diversity is central to our purpose of celebrating life, every day, everywhere and we’re committed to creating a working culture in which our people feel like they belong and can bring their authentic selves to work. Today for example, 22% of Diageo India’s overall workforce (as against 7.5% in 2015), 4 of 8 executives in the Excom are women. In our brand & creative side, over 45% of our content work has been led, directed or portrayed by women creators, and over 10% of our work by creators on the gender identity spectrum. We will continue this focus on gender equality and equity throughout the globe, specifically at the creative table, as we know gender equality makes for better, more representative advertising. We know women ‘are 11 times more likely to not work after COVID job loss,’ (The Times Of India, 2021) & also step out during certain life stages and then find it difficult to hit their stride when they return. This is particularly true of the creative industry sector. Creative Comeback helps the industry #BreakTheBias by changing the view on CV gaps to being ‘gifts’. We know when women take a career break, their life experiences bring them back with a deeper perspective.”
Speaking about how Creative Equals’ mission and actions resonate with their own, Aditya Kanthy, CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group added: “A lot of the work we have been doing at the DDB Mudra Group aligns perfectly with Creative Equals’ mission. Through the Phyllis India Project we are training women to take on leadership roles and lead creative mandates for the company and the industry. Over 20 women, some of whom are our most talented creative voices, have been through this project. Similarly, the Open Pride initiative is directed at promoting a fair representation of the LGBTQIA+ community at DDB, and also in the creative work we produce. DDB Transit is India’s first internship program for trans individuals, that we have been supporting since last year.”
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has announced guidelines for virtual digital asset advertising.
The guidelines will be applicable to all advertisements released or published on or after the April 1, 2022. Advertisers and media owners must also ensure that all earlier advertisements must not appear in the public domain unless they comply with the guidelines, post the April 15.
Subhash Kamath
Said Subhash Kamath, Chairman of ASCI: “We had several rounds of discussion with the government, finance sector regulators, and industry stakeholders before framing these guidelines. Advertising of virtual digital assets and services needs specific guidance, considering that this is a new and as yet an emerging way of investing. Hence, there is a need to make consumers aware of the risks and ask them to proceed with caution”.
These guidelines interpret, for virtual digital assets, Chapter 1 of the ASCI code, particularly clauses 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5. that require ads to be truthful, and not mislead consumers by implication, ambiguity, exaggeration or omission, and are not framed in a way that abuses their trust or exploits their lack of knowledge.
It is important to note that these guidelines do not amount to any legal recognition or endorsement of the industry or the sector, as that is a matter of government policy. ASCI only provides self-regulation for content of ads that are permitted by law.
Manisha Kapoor
Added Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, ASCI: “We have seen a spate of advertising for virtual digital assets which could compromise consumer interest in the absence of some guardrails. Use of celebrities and high decibel advertising would attract consumers to these offerings, without full disclosure of the risks. Given that this is, as of now, an unregulated space, it is even more important for advertising to be upfront regarding the risks associated with these products. Globally, this is an emerging technology and products in the virtual digital asset industry have seen significant volatility. We believe with these guidelines, advertisements would be fairer and more transparent.
All advertising for virtual digital assets and services needs to follow the following guidelines:
(1.1) All ads for VDA products and VDA exchanges, or featuring VDAs, must carry the following disclaimer.
“Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.”
Such a disclaimer must be made in the following manner so that it is PROMINENT and UNMISSABLE by an average consumer:
(a) In print or static, equal to at least 1/5th of the advertising space at the bottom of the advertisement in an easy-to-read font, against a plain background, and to the maximum font size afforded by the space.
(b) In video, the disclaimer should be placed at the end of the advertisement against a plain background. A voice over must accompany the disclaimer in text. The voiceover should be at a normal speaking pace and must not be hurried. In the case of long format video of over two minutes, the said disclaimer should be repeated at the beginning and at the end of the video. The disclaimer must remain on screen for a minimum of five seconds.
(c) In audio, the disclaimer must be spoken at the end of the advertisement. The voiceover should be at a normal speaking pace and must not be hurried. In the case of long format audio of over 90 seconds, the said disclaimer should be repeated at the beginning and at the end of the audio.
(d) In social media posts, such a disclaimer must be carried in both- the caption as well as any picture or video attachments. The disclaimer within the caption must be placed upfront at the beginning of the post. Where social media posts. or advertisements have restrictions on text in the static picture, the disclaimer must be carried upfront in the caption before the fold.
(e) In disappearing stories or posts unaccompanied by text, the said disclaimer will need to be voiced at the end of the story in the manner laid out in points (a) or (b) above. If the video is 15 seconds or lesser, then the disclaimer may be carried in a prominent and visible manner as an overlay.
(f) In formats where there is a limit on characters, the following shortened disclaimer must be used “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and risky” followed by a link to the full disclaimer.
(g) The disclaimer must be made in the dominant language of the advertisement
(h) In addition to the above, all disclaimers must meet the minimum requirements laid down in the ASCI guidelines for disclaimers.
(2) The words “currency”, “securities”, “custodian” and “depositories” may not be used in advertisements of VDA products or services as consumers associate these terms with regulated products.
(3) The information contained in advertisements shall not contradict the information or warnings that the regulated entities provide to customers in the marketing of VDA products from time to time.
(4) Advertisements that provide information on the cost or profitability of VDA products shall contain clear, accurate, sufficient and updated information. For example, “zero cost” will need to include all costs that the consumer might reasonably associate with the offer or transaction.
(5) Information on past performance shall not be provided in any partial or biased manner. Returns for periods of less than 12 months shall not be included.
(6) Every advertisement for VDA products must clearly give out the name of the advertiser and provide an easy way to contact them (phone number or email). This information should be presented in a manner that is easily understood by the average consumer.
(7) No advertisement for VDA products or exchanges may show a minor, or someone who appears to be a minor, directly dealing with the product, or talking about the product
(8) No advertisement may show that VDA products or VDA trading could be a solution to money problems, personality problems or other such drawbacks.
(9) No advertisement shall contain statements that promise or guarantee future increase in profits.
(10) No advertisement may show that understanding VDA products is so easy that consumers do not have to think twice about investing. Nothing in the ad should downplay the risks associated with the category.
(11) VDA products may not be compared to any other asset class which is regulated.
(12) Since this is a risky category, celebrities or prominent personalities who appear in VDA advertisements must take special care to ensure that they have done their due diligence about the statements and claims made in the advertisement, so as not to mislead consumers.
Blame Eularie Saldanha in Campaign India for triggering this article. It questioned if the brands would come on board platforms dedicated to porn? In the current era of targeted marketing, reaching larger audiences, breaking taboos and being woke overall, how ironic is it for mediums with such potential to be avoided by brands for advertising? I am not getting there, but many brands have been using creative clearly and cleverly full of double meaning. Creativity is used in the quest for attention-grabbing, shocking, and otherwise culturally misfit communication.
