MxMIndia

Category: ADVERTISING

  • The Anchor: Dhunji Wadia on 5 reasons why it’s gr8 2B an A-Lister

    On Tuesday evening I was delighted to receive an A-List invitation from Campaign India. The function was at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai and I had a grand time traversing through the Bandra Fair crowds as I made my way to the event. It was not a long journey in terms of distance, but getting there took a couple of hours.

     

    I have spent a long time in advertising now, where one has seen a lot, and learnt more than a little – most of it, probably too late. This was a great time to reflect on ‘What’s behind an A-Lister’.

     

    In any field of work, you might as well be the best you can be. There’s no point be a D-Lister or being further down the alphabet track. So also in Advertising, being an A-Lister says a lot.

     

    #1 People Pay Attention To Your Work

    It’s a great way to prove that your work makes people pay attention – which is very important in our business. If the work doesn’t get noticed, then we’re not doing our job.

     

    #2 Brick-By-Brick

    In addition to recognizing the work that is happening Right Here, Right Now – it also is a good measure of the effort that has gone in brick-by-brick – throughout the years.

     

    #3 Awards and Rewards

    Awards are a great way to demonstrate that our work gets noticed. Having said that, the greatest reward is seeing effective results delivered from our programmes for our brands. That’s what happens when agency and client are working together.

     

    #4 The Final Grade

    Through school and college there is consciousness on the scores and grades that one gets. But this is real life – it is the final grade that counts.

     

    #5 Above All – Teamwork

    At the end of the day, being an A-Lister means you are part of a team that has worked together. Throughout the decades, teamwork has always been an important part of the working culture inside the ad agency. Your team makes you look good. They are truly the people behind the making of an A-Lister.

     

    Epilogue

    Like many others in this profession, I have had the good fortune to parlay a minimal talent into a long career. So thank God for advertising which tolerated me for all these years, or else I would probably have written this as the world’s first MBA guitarist, playing in one of Mumbai’s nightclubs. And thanks to the industry, the Campaign India A-List and my beloved team for the recognition.

     

    Dhunji S Wadia is President, Everest Brand Solutions

  • FirstRand Bank (FRB), South Africa has called for a creative, media and PR pitch. Industry sources close to the development have confirmed the news to MxM India.

    FirstRand Bank calls for creative, media and PR pitch

    By Shubhangi Mehta

    FirstRand Bank (FRB) has called for a creative, media and PR pitch. The overall account size is estimated to be around Rs 10 crore.

    FirstRand Bank India is a branch of FirstRand Banking Group South Africa. FirstRand Bank, a pre-eminent financial services group in Africa is the first bank from the African continent to be granted a full scale commercial banking license in India. FirstRand has commenced its banking operations in India since April 2009 and currently has one branch set up in Mumbai.

    With a history dating back to 1838, FirstRand is a fully integrated financial services group and one of the big four South African retail, commercial and investment banks. Through its ownerships of brands like First National Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Momentum and Wesbank, the group operates in almost every area of the financial services arena.

    The group has representation elsewhere in Africa, including Nigeria, as well as the United Kingdom, Dubai, Australia and China, and now more recently in India.As part of its international expansion strategy, FirstRand has identified India as a key market for future economic growth and set up its Representative Office in Mumbai, India in January 2008. A year later, it received its banking license, becoming the first South African bank to open a branch in India. FirstRand India currently has an office in Mumbai.

  • Sunday MiD DAY gives readers a “Double Vaat” experience for Bigg Boss 5 promotion.

    Double masthead for Bigg Boss innovation

    By A Correspondent

    SundayMiD DAYon October 2 had two mastheads, one each on the front page and the back page, each delivering Vodafone presents Bigg Boss 5’s theme of “Double Vaat”.

    Bigg Boss 5 which is being telecast on Colors, part of the Viacom18 group, is hosted by Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt, two actors known for their fun and personas, enhancing the concept of ‘Double Vaat’ even further. To make its readers experience the theme, SundayMiD DAYhas devised an innovation of designing the masthead and impact jacket for Viacom18 on the front page and on the back page of SundayMiD DAY. So a reader will be able to read SundayMiD DAYin a regular manner on the front page as well as in an upside-down manner on the back page, creating some confusion and giving them the experience of ‘Double Vaat’.

    Mr Manajit Ghoshal, MD & CEOMiD DAYInfomedia Limited said, “MiD DAYbelieves in delivering the best to all its readers and clients. Innovations like these help us send clutter-free messages to our readers and it adds great value to the proposition that the advertiser wants to communicate. For all such innovations carried out across years, we have won many accolades and appreciated by one and all across the globe.”

    Mr Rajesh Iyer, Director-Marketing, Colors, said “Bigg Boss is Colors’ flagship show, and this season, with the theme being Double Vaat, this innovative association with MiD DAY will be really fruitful for us. Providing readers with the newspaper in reversible format is bound to create curiosity among them.”

  • DeBrief: It’s raining MCPs!

    [youtube width=”300″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9XOvpyFm8E[/youtube]What’s with male deodorant brands? Why are all of them based on the idea of insulting women by projecting them as mindless sex objects? What sort of male chauvinist pigs do they target? Do the MCPs constitute such a vast populace? To be honest, I am left quite flummoxed by the advertising in this category.

     

    I suppose Axe started it all but their ads are at least a little more tasteful. The bad copycats have used this route with the one-point agenda of treating women as sex slaves to beastly men. The latest brand to join this flesh party is Killer.

     

    I watched three commercials. In one, the killer dude has just finished a sex romp with a very pleased girl. He then proudly tells her the next romp is with the girl’s sister. And the pleased lass looks even more pleased to hear that! In another ad, he effortlessly picks up two girls from the streets, and no, they aren’t hookers. And in the third one, the killer picks up a sexy chick from a laundromat. Simply by talking dirty.

     

    Completely pathetic advertising. Makes you want to reach for the barf bag. Additionally, if all male deo brands have the same positioning, where’s the brand differential? How will I recall Killer at the retail outlet if all deo ads look like clones of each other? So, not only is the advertising repugnant, it’s also senseless from the marketing point of view.

     

    PS: At this rate, I may quit using deos altogether! Meet me at your own peril, man.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1-5): -5

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief will appear twice a week- Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  • After the first exposure, you will reach out for the zap button on the remote control. Because it’s laboured, un-engaging and witless.

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: Good strategy, poor creative

    There’s a new commercial on air for Parker Pens. And it stars brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The creative thought is this: ‘What the world calls a pen’. And it’s a correct one. Because as we all know, pens as a category is on a fast decline on the product life cycle chart. There will come a time when the pen will become a historical product, much like the typewriter. So it makes sense to make the brand synonymous with the product, to own the category, and thus at least be a leader for as long as the product survives. I completely agree with this strategy.

     

    But the creative fails to leave a mark. Bachchan is seen sitting inside what looks like a hotel lobby. And he’s got the whole range of Parkers spread out on the table. What is he, a pen seller? That’s not explained. Suddenly, a firang arrives and asks if he can borrow a pen. But instead of lending him one, Big B begins educating the gent on how Parker is pronounced in various nations. Exasperated, the man asks for a Parker, which is immediately handed to him.

     

    Boring creative. After the first exposure, you will reach out for the zap button on the remote control. Because it’s laboured, un-engaging and witless. While I like the idea of getting the brand to be the hero, so that consumers ask for it at retail outlets, sadly the commercial is very dry. And no, Bachchan has no role to play out here… he’s forced in, as he usually is in ads.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 2. For a sound strategy.

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief will appear twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  • While I understand the desperate need for a lifestyle approach to paints advertising, there is a crying need for originality in this category.

    Anil Thakraney’s Debrief: Dulux lacks colour

    Dulux has come out with a bad copy of the Asian Paints idea. While I understand the desperate need for a lifestyle approach to paints advertising, since the functional route won’t work in this category, there is a crying need for originality in this category. Because that’s the only way to induce brand connect for paints.

     

    Dulux’s new commercial says ‘Apna Rang Chhalakne Do’. It features actors Shahid Kapur and Boman Irani. Irani is finicky about the red colour he wants, and is seen giving hell to his painter on the exact shade. Suddenly, Kapur waltzes into his house, with Irani’s daughter in his arms, wearing what is called a ‘Rascal red’ tee. This follows a sequence of some very trite banter between the characters, till we are told Kapur is a doctor! Wow, we are impressed!

     

    Not only does the ad immediately remind you of the Asian Paints ‘Mera wala blue’ campaign, the execution is so dull, boring and well, colourless, it puts you off despite the presence of movie actors. The conversation is forced, the humour contrived. In short, the commercial is a dud any which way you look at it.

     

    The least Dulux ought to have done was to come up with a more interesting tribute to Asian Paints.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): A BIG ZERO. In Rascal red.

     

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief will appear twice a week – Tuesdays and Thursdays.

  • Anil Thakraney’s ad reviews now on MxMIndia.com. Every Tuesday and Thursday.

    Introducing: DeBrief: Anil Thakraney’s ad reviews

    Adman-turned-journalist Anil Thakraney reviews ad creatives for MxMIndia.com. You may love them or hate them, but you simply can’t ignore them… all written in an inimitable style.

    The reviews will appear 104 times a year. Every Tuesday and Thursday.

    If you’d like him to review your creatives, just email us at editor[at]mxmindia.com with the subject ‘Debrief’

    Meanwhile, please feel free to comment on the ads as well as the reviews… here’s your chance! 

     

    Volkswagen Jetta: India is shining. But reader… please buzz off!

    The Volkswagen guys were back recently with another kick arse print media innovation. Which basically meant buying out the front page of the daily newspapers, thus rodgering the readability. (Who cares for the reader, anyway?)

    This time it was for their brand new premium gaadi, Jetta. The newspaper arrived shining, quite literally. The front page was printed on a glossy, steely, mirror-like paper. The message: ‘Time for Volkswagen. Time for the all-new Jetta’. You will recall in the past Volkswagen has put out a ‘speaking’ newspaper. On another occasion they got proprietors to dig large holes inside their newspapers. (Who cares for the reader, anyway?)

    Yes, as in the past, the latest gimmick worked. Jetta got noticed and instantly became the talk of the town. Also, I suspect the high-gloss, snazzy, over-the-top page would have, in particular, appealed to the small and medium level businessmen. Who have all the bucks but are likely to be low on taste. In other words, the key target market for Jetta.

    And yes, the readability went for a toss because of the mirror work. (Who cares for the reader, anyway?)

    Rating: Since I am not a Jetta buyer (I am into Tata Nano): &%@% &^#!

     

  • Airtel’s idea has caught on with the so-called Gen Next, and the internet is buzzing with it. A total winner, to put it simply.

    Anil Thakraney’s DeBrief: Very cool stuff!

    I regard ‘Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai’ an outstanding idea. Because of its simplicity, its honesty, its spirit, and most importantly because of the advertiser’s sharp understanding of today’s youth. Airtel’s idea has caught on with the so-called Gen Next, and the internet is buzzing with it. A total winner, to put it simply.

     

    And I eagerly awaited the next stage of the campaign, and was curious to know how they’d take this concept forward. It’s a tricky one. We have often seen in the past that the mother ad is launched with a bang, but it eventually ends up as dull 15 second edits. And I must say Airtel doesn’t disappoint, the new short films, highlighting various features, look like chips of the ol’ block.

     

    I watched two ads. In one, some friends get together and make frantic car race sounds on their mobile phone, in an attempt to mislead their pal into thinking they’re at the F1 race. The dude obviously gets very pissed off on being left out. The other one is funnier. A bunch of guys arrive inside a parking lot to find the windshield of their car smashed. The worried owner asks he pal to call the cops, but the kanjoos chap gives the police station a missed call! This ad sells the night-time calls plan.

     

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqHoFTx0tI[/youtube]

     

    I like these ads. Not only because they are humourous, but also because the approach is kick-arse. The friends don’t do positive deeds in the ads, in fact they react negatively to their buddies. And still, they are zaroori! Brilliant thought. This little twist makes the ads charming to watch.

     

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4.5. Keep ’em coming!

     

     

    Anil Thakraney’s ad review column DeBrief appears twice a week.

  • Games 24×7 have awarded their creative mandates to Leo Burnett India. The win is an outcome of a multi-agency pitch.

    Leo Burnett wins creative mandates for Games 24×7

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Leo Burnett has bagged the creative mandates for Games 24×7, an online gaming site.

    Mr Kalyan Kumar, CMO Games 24×7.com, said, “The business was awarded to Leo Burnett due to the great insight they had. We were not really keen on hiring a big agency but Leo Burnett was so strong in their preparation and work even when it came to the pitch presentation that we were totally convinced to hire them.”

    When it comes to working with a proper creative agency this is the first time that Games 24×7 has provided an agency with its creative mandates.

    The win is an outcome of a multi agency pitch which took place a month ago.

    Games24x7.com was founded to bring to India the fun and excitement of on-line, multi-player competitive games of skill that can be enjoyed 24×7. Their unique knock out tournament format allows our players to match wits in fast paced competitions where winners earn actual cash prizes.

    Games24x7 tournaments can be joined by anyone who sets up a valid account from home, an internet café or any other location with internet access. Their games focus less on manual dexterity and more on mental challenge, while at the same time requiring quick reaction and decision-making.

  • StreetSmart helps create buzz for Disney original movie ‘Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension’

    StreetSmart buzz for Disney movie

    By A Correspondent

    Disney Channel’s Emmy Award winning global hit series ‘Phineas and Ferb’, recently scaled another peak with a new TV movie inspired by the series. The movie made its debut on Sunday, September 25 on Disney Channel.

    StreetSmart was given the mandate to plan and execute the OOH campaign to create the needed buzz and awareness for the television premiere. The campaign was executed in Mumbai and started on 14th Sep.

    Disney Channel wanted to build a dominating visibility and high level of awareness for the upcoming movie telecast. To achieve this impact, it was important that the outdoor campaign was well planned and targeted the family and kids audience to achieve the desired impact and eyeballs.

    To achieve this objective, Streetsmart meticulously planned the entire campaign roll out to ensure that the priority zones are well covered. The other important touch points across the city were also identified and impactful media vehicles were deployed to create the desired visibility.

    A mix of large format billboards and backlit bus shelters were used for the campaign.

    The strategy used by Streetsmart was to identify the top TG heavy zones in the city and create media corridors in these zones using a series of backlit bus shelters spaced at regular intervals coupled with core billboards at key touch points to create impact along with the reach. This ensured high level of visibility and OTS for the brand. It also optimized the campaign visibility, minimizing spillover in lesser priority areas.

    The well designed layout and attractive visuals used in the creative multiplied the impact and noticibility of the campaign manifold. For the bus shelters, Streetsmart used a combination of three different visuals which highlighted the three main characters of the movie – Phineas, Ferb and Agent Perry. As the series is already popular amongst the TG, it was very easy for them to connect with the communication.

    This campaign was a part of a 360 degree activity planned by Disney Channel for the premiere.

    Mr Anirudha Pawar, Group Account Director, StreetSmart said: “Phineas and Ferb are extremely popular with kids and the movie with several viewership records globally was highly anticipated in India as well. OOH was an integral part of this launch and we were mandated to deliver a well planned campaign to convey the message across to the TG. Through well defined priority zones in the city we targeted key TG at regular intervals using media corridors and maintained TOM for the upcoming premiere. Gauging from the degree of response received for the campaign, I am sure our efforts paid off. Team Streetsmart thanks Disney Channel for keeping the faith in us. ”

    This is the third campaign executed by Streetsmart for Disney Channel. Spiderman Live! and Shooting Stars were the two properties launched earlier by the agency. The innovation done by the agency for Spiderman Live! won a metal at the OAC 2011 Awards held this year.

    “The campaign planned by Mudramax for the premiere of the Phineas and Ferb Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension was so well planned and executed that the exposure delivered seemed much greater than the outlays for a similar campaign. Once again team Mudramax has reinstated our faith in their OOH expertise and innovative solutions” added Mr Srikanth Sarathy – Director Marketing and Creative Services, Walt Disney Television India Pvt. Ltd.

  • The world remembers Steve Jobs as a visionary, innovator and ace businessman. Facebook status links

    RIP, Steve Jobs

    It was indeed a sad way to start a Dassera morning. I was alerted of the news from my Facebook dashboard. Only to be confirmed on the Apple site with the image of the man with the line that said it all: 1955-2011. I didn’t shed a tear, but I cried out to my wife that Jobs had passed. As if it was someone in my family.

    I’ve not been a compulsive Apple user. I remember once hiring someone who said he would join me only if given a Macintosh to work on. However, when I bought a Galaxy Tab recently because of its compact size, I couldn’t get myself to the interface having used the cooler iPad for some months.

    Steven Jobs has been described variously. Modern-day Edison, innovator, visionary etc. He was all of it, and more. In the past, there have been many who’ve called him arrogant, cunning, shrewd and aggressive. Guess they weren’t incorrect: the only difference is that when applied to Jobs, they were considered positive attributes.

    -          Pradyuman Maheshwari

    PS: Although we had announced that there would be no updates it being holiday for Dassera, we changed our ‘Big Story’ at around 6.30am. We invited our readers to share their sentiments on Steve Jobs at editor@mxmindia.com. We received a few, but will carry all after compiling them all. As you move down this page, you will find a few Facebook status updates that came up on my page (apologies for reprinting without permission).

     

    Great links:

     

    New York Times readers with their Steve Jobs moments: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/10/05/technology/20111006_JOBS_READER.html

     

    Super visual tributes at Gizmodo

    http://gizmodo.com/5847415/the-best-visual-tributes-to-steve-jobs-around-the-web/gallery/1

     

    Obama, tech giants pay tribute

    http://holykaw.alltop.com/reactions-to-steve-jobs-death?tu2=1

     

    Wikipedia on Steve Jobs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

    Wikipedia on Apple Compuer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

    48-minute Bloomberg video: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/66625228/

     

    Steve Ballmer laughs at the iPhone

     

    Steve Ballmer on the iPad

    Bill Gates on the iPad

    Bill Gates on the iPad on Larry King Live

    Interview with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs

    The original Macintosh introduction in 1984

    @VenkatAnanth Insanely great. RT @dictionarycom Steve Jobs made this phrase so famous that it entered the dictionary a few years back: bit.ly/qSBgdJ #iSad (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/insanely+great?t)

    Some Facebook status messages:

    Lynn de Souza: The true greatness of Mr Jobs will be revealed if he also managed to create many more young Steve Jobs to take on the mantle of spectacular innovation among all those who were lucky enough to work with and learn from him.

    Sonal Dabral: Will be a good idea if all Apple lovers wore black polo neck and blue jeans tomorrow in memory of the great Steve Jobs.

    Subhash Kamath: R.I.P. Steve Jobs. As a tribute, should we rename heaven as ‘icloud’?

    Prathap Suthan: Without your Mac, my words wouldn’t have tumbled down. Thank you Steve for the gravity. RIP.

    Pushkar Sane: too many ppl busy doing iCry, iSad, iDown… My tribute to Steve Jobs is through iWork, iThink, iTry, iDare, iLive, iLove. RIP Steve Jobs.

    Rajawat K. Yatish: hail the rebels, the unconventional ones, who don’t imitate, hail to the genius who saw unfulfilled desires and filled them, here’s to man who never accepted the status quo, hail that man who lived better than anyone else during his times, hail the flow, which is no longer with us. Rest in Peace Jobs.

    Vishakha Singh: Many get to live life on their own terms, very few die on their own terms…Ur style made even God adjust to your tunes… In 2005, you said death is Life’s change agent… To me, you were not reachable in life or in death… U will continue to inspire, as always. I will try to stay hungry, stay foolish!

    Arcopol Chaudhuri: It’s only when I cried this morning on hearing the news of Steve Jobs’ death, that I realized how much this man has influenced me and my generation. They don’t make’em like him anymore. I doubt if they will. Rest in peace, you genius.

    Rahul Kishore: 1: Heaven just got a little more sleek, well designed and profitable.Steve Jobs RIP. 2: Financial sector shocked at passing of Steve Jobs — mosty, the idea of a guy who got rich from actually creating something.

  • Krish Dhingra finds his iPhone paying tribute to its famed father, Steve Jobs

    I Will Miss You Dad: An iPhone pays tribute to its Legendary Father, Steven P Jobs

    Author:
    Kris Dhingra

    It’s not often that you get woken up in the morning on your day off with a piece of news that leaves you shell-shocked and makes you fervently pray that what you’ve heard is all a rumour or a dream. Such reactions are normally reserved for unfortunate incidents that happen to your near and dear one’s.

    On the morning of October 6, 2011, while lying in sleep mode, I was suddenly picked up from my dock and rushed into the living room to verify what my owner had heard, “Steve Jobs has lost his battle against pancreatic cancer“. It was true, the moment I believed was still many years away had come much sooner than I expected. It was shocking, it was painful and it was sad both for my owner, myself and for millions of my siblings (other iPhone models) and cousins (ipod, iPad and other iOS devices) around the world.

    My birth father and the person who had visualized, conceptualized and created me was no more. I think I saw my owner shed a tear while watching visuals of my dad’s amazing keynote presentations from previous years. As the news started to sink in, my body started to get into motion as I began to access the twitter and facebook apps, update the timelines, render the graphics etc. It was hard to deliver the fabulous experience that I am known for given what I had just seen and heard, but I managed it as it was part of my DNA.

    My chief Architect and originator Steve Jobs was undoubtedly a brilliant man. In fact he was one of the greatest inventors and visionary entrepreneurs that this generation has ever known. Not many people in today’s world have seen or heard the likes of Edison, Marconi, Graham Bell or Einstein, but they have surely seen and heard my father introduce devices that have changed the face of this planet. He envisioned us in a manner no one could have ever imagined thanks to his extraordinary risk taking ability and capability to understand what users needed before they themselves knew what they needed.

    My owner and other iOS users around the world love what we can do for them and how easy we have made their lives, but what they don’t know is how loved we feel when we are bought. I have many foes today who come in a variety of weird names from the house of Samsung, LG, Motorola, Nokia etc and when I see people lining up for days outside our first homes (the Apple stores) it gives us such great delight and joy. No one else has or ever will manage to get such a following unless they believe what my father believed:

    Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

    Today, I can’t help but feel sad at the passing away of Steve but I also consider myself fortunate to have shared some part of my life with him. I am certain that my owners will continue to take great care of me and treat me in the best way possible, and they will certainly remember Steve every time I create some of the magic that my father gifted me with. Thank You Dad for everything you have done, I will miss you dearly.

    Steve Jobs encouraged us to listen to our heart and think differently, so in keeping with that spirit we decided to try this new format to pay homage to our idol.

     

    Kris Dhingra is founder and editor at DelhiPlanet Media. He can be reached at krisdhingra@delhiplanet.com]