Food major Ebro India has appointed Publicis India as its creative agency. The account was won after a multi-agency pitch and will be managed by the New Delhi office of the agency.
JP Laborde
Commenting on the appointment, JP Laborde, MD, Ebro India said: “Panzani is the world’s second largest brand of Pasta having its presence in more than 50 countries. It is getting inside Indian market with a whole range of pasta products with distinct product features, which will cut across all SECs. We are excited to put out our inaugural communication and create a high recall for the brand in India.”
Sridharan Iyer
On winning the mandate, Sridharan Iyer, EVP & Head of Office, Publicis India said: “As more and more Indians recreate the experience of western cuisine at home today, we are extremely thrilled to partner Ebro Foods – one of the world’s largest pasta company, in the quest to make Panzani the most favoured pasta brand in India.”
iProspect India has bagged the digital media duties of Olx India. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be serviced from the agency’s Delhi office.
Commenting on the win, Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India said, “Olx changed the way one looked at online marketplace in the country and it has only grown ever since. I’m glad to have a brand like OLX on board and hope to serve their growth ambitions.”
On the association, Olx India, in a statement said: “Olx is determined to effectively reach the growing internet population of India and to partner our journey of this growth, we have iProspect on board as our digital media agency. After a two-month long pitch, we believe iProspect was able to understand the brand Olx, its ambitions and its influence in the digital classifieds space. This is extremely critical for us and we are confident that iProspect, with their proven track record, will be able to drive our new brand objectives successfully to our target audience.”
Four years back, HDFC Bank had launched its mogo, short for musical logo, which basically is a unique sonic identity. Now sibling (or cousin?) HDFC Life Insurance too has got its own mogo.
Said Pankaj Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer of the insurance company: “The advent of technology and rapid digitisation of the world is completely transforming the way consumers live, work and play, today. HDFC Life as a brand has always had a strong visual identity. With changing consumer habits, we realised early that sound would play a critical role in creating brand recall, differentiation and engagement with our stakeholders. The musical logo creates a sonic identity for a brand that’s in tune with the evolution taking place today, while remaining true to the brand’s core values.”
The HDFC Life MOGO has been created in collaboration with BrandMusiq. Founded by advertising veterans Rajeev Raja with Ajit Varma as co-founder and CEO, BrandMusiq expresses a brand’s essence by applying the science of sound and the art of music to create powerful sonic branding. BrandMusiq had also created the mogo for HDFC Bank.
Said Raja: “It was very exciting for BrandMusiq to evolve and contemporize the existing HDFC Life jingle into a comprehensive sonic identity system with its distinct MOGO.”
The ratings for the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match on June 16 are out. The hopelessly-one-sided game scored a whopping 18+ TVR (Urban All India). Ratings nearing 20 can only evoke nostalgia for those following the Indian TV market over the years. It’s in the first half of the decade of 2000s that one would see such numbers for daily shows, with Kyunkii… and Kahaani… leading the way for a while. Thereafter, the numbers progressively dropped, a trend that’s generally believed to be an outcome of the launch of more channels and the resultant fragmentation of content choices available.
The top Hindi GEC show moved from the 20-mark in early 2000s to the 10-mark late in that decade. In the first half of the decade starting 2010, the 5-6 level was aspiring enough. Today, even a 3-level is gold.
Movie ratings have also shown a downward trend, but nowhere close to soaps. The top movie could do 15+ rating about 15 years ago, the equivalent of which is a 7-8 rating today. That’s a 50-60% drop, vis-à-vis an 80%+ more drop when you compare the top Hindi GEC shows across the same two periods.
The popular belief has been that with the expansion of the measurement universe over the years, the true heterogeneity of the Indian market has a more and more significant impact on the TV ratings. That, combined with a multiplication in the number of channel options, would mean that fragmentation, and the resultant creation of a long tail, is inevitable.
The India-Pakistan match ratings challenge this notion head on. The message from the audience is clear: If there’s content that carries a certain level of appeal and viewer pull, India can be fairly homogenous after all. Yes, there are more options and more diversity in the universe today. But there’s always content that cuts through, because it enjoys that broad-based appeal. And hence, justifying sub-3 numbers as the best-case scenario is only a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby content creators and broadcasters are justifying low ratings as a market behaviour, than questioning them as symptoms of a loss in the collective ability of the industry to make truly mass, pan-India shows.
One may argue that big-ticket sporting events have the ability that genres like drama, comedy and non-scripted content lack. That’s a fair argument too. But one is not expecting the top show to deliver 18-rating. Even the inert and one-sided India-South Africa match touched the 6-mark (averaged over more than seven hours, no less!). That’s surely a level a top Hindi GEC show should aspire to achieve. But today, even half of that is being celebrated as an outright success.
If these signs continue, we may soon be a television market where sports, news and movies become the staple, and drama the alternative. It has already started happening during events like the IPL, the elections and now the World Cup. It could be a matter of time when more routine days begin to exhibit this trend too.
If all the content creators can take a week’s break from their OTT pre-occupation and think about this, I’m sure they have the collective ability to come up with something worthy. The real question is: Do they have the will? Or has television already been reduced to a fuddy-duddy medium that’s not even cool to ideate about?
G-Shock from Casio has unveiled an ad film that takes its #ChallengeTheLimits campaign forward. Featuring the recently appointed brand ambassador Tiger Shroff, the commercial highlights the challenging spirit of the actor and his journey to becoming a successful star and youth icon.
Said Kulbhushan Seth, Vice President, Casio India: “With the latest television commercial, we have brought our ‘Challenge The Limits’ campaign alive by showcasing the personal story of our Brand Ambassador. The commercial further cites Casio as the new age companion for today’s millennials, who are willing to challenge limits and improve themselves. Casio G-Shock salutes their challenging spirit with a promise to be their trusted partner and stand by them through thick and thin.”
Challenge The Limits is a 360-degree integrated campaign that seeks to inspire consumers to push the boundaries and find new levels of performance just like G-Shock watches do.
Added Charles Victor, Executive Director, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi: “We’re absolutely proud to partner with this legendary brand in this big campaign made specifically for India. The story was a simple one and reflects the honest reality of today. There’s a lot of other exciting work coming, so keep watching.”
No, this isn’t an update on whether Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday are dating each other (see, we are fairly up and about with the goss). Cadbury Perk has launched its latest campaign ‘Masti ka Daily Dose’ featuring Panday and director Anurag Kashyap. Conceptualised by Ogilvy and Mather, the campaign is based on the actor-director camaraderie where Anurag pulls a prank on Ananya to get her to shoot for a Cadbury Perk commercial.
Commenting on the same, Anil Vishwanathan, Director – Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India, said: “Cadbury Perk is a brand that believes in infusing fun into the mundane and our new campaign lives up to that in an exciting, youthful way. In the past, we have had vivacious personalities like Preity Zinta, Genelia D’souza, and Alia Bhatt who embody what Cadbury Perk stands for – youth, fun and Joie De Vivre. As the new face for Cadbury Perk, Ananya Pandey was our natural choice for the brand as she is seen as a rising youth icon and brings alive the brand purpose to life so effortlessly. The brand has a good connect with the youth and with Ananya on board we believe this connect will only get stronger.”
Added Amitabh Agnihotri, Group Creative Director, Ogilvy India: “Cadbury Perk is known for its light hearted pranks and masti-ful approach for the last few years. Now with Ananya Panday as the new face of the brand, and both she and Anurag Kashyap playing themselves in the campaign, the brand has pushed the envelope in every aspect of communication. This time the whole campaign unfolds as if shot behind-the-scenes and in an unscripted style. I hope our audience will enjoy the campaign as much as we loved creating it.”
Parag Milk Foods launched its latest ad film for Go Cheese titled, #HarTastyCheezMeinGOCheese. The TVC narrates a story of cheese lovers enjoying the delightful and happy moments with the type of cheese that suits their palate.
Commenting on the launch of the new campaign, Akshali Shah, Senior VP, Strategy, Sales & Marketing, Parag Milk Foods Ltd. said: “Go Cheese is India’s 2nd largest cheese brand. We understand our consumers’ taste preference and therefore we have innovated over 60+ cheese variants. We are the largest suppliers of cheese to major QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) and through this TVC, we are just starting to create conversations on Go Cheese being the common ingredient in all your favourite tasty snacks. We are confident that the campaign will resonate well with all food lovers.”
Said Samarth Srivastava, Senior VP & EBD and Hanoz Mogrelia, Senior VP & ECD, Wunderman Thompson Mumbai: “We deliberately chose three different generations consuming delicious food in three different scenarios… so that the main idea landed better when it was revealed that all three were consuming Go Cheese. We had a super clear brief and we have tried to make the film interesting. If there is one thing we want people to relate to after being exposed to this TVC, it is to know that there is #HarTastyCheezMeinGOCheese.”
Autumn Winter Communications and Design has bagged the creative mandate for Desi Belle, an Indo-fusion fashion brand for women.
Karan Rawat
Said Karan Rawat, founder and Executive Creative Director of Autumn Winter: “We are very excited to have Desi Belle on board. We at Autumn Winter believe that the Indo-Western brand is a great addition to our clientele owing to the endless possibilities of fusion wear. It’s a challenging responsibility and we are ready to take it head on.”
The brand has recently been acquired by the Indian branded apparel manufacturer, Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL), which already owns brands like Killer, Lawman Pg3, Easies and Integriti. Added Yash Jain from KKCL: “We saw a great deal of potential in Desi Belle and that’s why we acquired it and added to our family of brands. We have plans of taking the apparel brand to great heights and we couldn’t have asked for a better partner than AutumnWinter to achieve this goal. We are sure they’d do a wonderful job with Desi Belle, just like they are doing with our other brands.”
Softdrink major Pepsi is urging college-goers to add a new word to the dictionary this admission season – Swag.
Talking about the activity, Tarun Bhagat, Director-Marketing, Hydration and Cola, PepsiCo India said: “Every year in India, the most important life event for an 18-year-old is college admissions and students across the country are waiting with bated breath the cut-off announcement to see whether they will get the course and college of their choice. Intense competition only adds to the situation. As a brand¸ Pepsi has always resonated with the voice of today’s generation and we understand that the ongoing admissions season is something that the youth are heavily invested in. At the same time, we want them to know that marks and admissions are only one part of life. If one follows their passion, and puts in their best towards something, they are bound to be successful. With the ‘Har Ghoont Mein Swag’ campaign, Pepsi will be a part of this important life event of the youth and will enable them to spread their wings by reiterating the empowering message that ‘cut off Is temporary and swag is permanent.”
Actor Tiger Shroff and rapper Badshah have joined the brand as it asks students to follow their passion and let their swag do the talking.
L&K Saatchi & Saatchi have taken forward the ‘Feels like Jockey’ campaign created in 2016. The films have been directed by Hans Emanuel and shot in Los Angeles, CA.
Talking about the campaign, Debarjyo Nandi, Sr.Vice President, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi said: “An idea that ‘fits like a song’ with the product and the brand, an all-time classic song, iconic American locations, amazing dancers, a celebrated choreographer, a relentless cinematographer, an energetic director and an ever supportive client, all the ingredients that could have only created magic!”
Added M C Cariappa, President, Sales and Marketing, Jockey India: “The ‘Feels Like Jockey’ campaigns are created to strengthen the core proposition of fit and comfort of our core range of men’s and women’s innerwear while ensuring the brand continues to build relevance and affinity with the youth.”
Columbia Pacific Communities has unveiled a digital campaign #Relearn to celebrate older individuals beyond adjectives that they are linked with.
Said Mohit Nirula, CEO, Columbia Pacific Communities: “We live in a world where stereotyping has become the norm. Battling the labels associated with older adults, their fun-loving and adventurous sides are still unexplored. Committed to senior care worldwide, at Columbia Pacific Communities, we believe in positive ageing as a way of approaching life. Our campaign #Relearn debunks and discards the long-pervading stereotypes associated with ageing through engaging conversations leading to a fresh perspective.”
As a part of the campaign, there are short format videos on shattering age-related stereotypes, positive ageing, and influential senior citizens such as Padma Shri awardee former Indian cricketer Syed Kiramani, ex Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and fashion guru Prasad Bidapa talking about the perks of growing old and the power of positive ageing.
Highlighting the spirit of the film – Love, not labels, Piali Dasgupta, Vice President – Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities, added: “We live in a society where we inadvertently stereotype our senior population. Our digital film aims to remove bedded prejudice and is a fresh and realistic take on the senior cohort of society. We encourage viewers to relearn everything they knew about old age and take this very important message of positive ageing forward.
Xaxis announced the results of a recent campaign for retail brand Manyavar, that tracked individuals from digital outdoor exposure to retail store visits. Implemented on mobile and digital out of home (DOOH) advertising, the campaign was tracked attribution from individual OOH exposure against subsequent consumer behaviour.
The campaign attribution study was designed to help Manyavar evaluate cross-media frequency management between DOOH and mobile. Xaxis used geo-fencing technology to measure DOOH exposure among individuals, then against mobile ads delivered to the same locations. Results revealed that store footfall increased by 198 per cent among groups exposed to both outdoor and mobile ads, meaning those who had been engaged by outdoor and mobile sequentially visited Manyavar stores three times as often as those who had not. In addition, users who had seen the OOH ads interacted more with the mobile ad compared to users who had not.
Said Abhijeet Dhar, Marketing Gead, Manyavar: “The Xaxis and Kinetic team deserves high praise. Not only did their innovation and out-of-the-box thinking help us identify a new approach to measuring attribution, but the unique consumer insights we gained from this campaign were a game-changer. They truly understood our business goals and tailor-made a strategy that delivered results beyond our expectations.”
Added Rachana Lokhande, Co-CEO, Kinetic India: “OOH has always been under the lens for not having measured results, but not anymore. Our client Manyavar was open to the idea of measuring the outcome of the campaign and analysing the audience using OOH + Mobile. Xaxis and Kinetic worked in collaboration to showcase the potential of driving incremental reach using mobile as an extension of OOH and then measuring audience behaviour. The data and insights are a clear indication of great synergies between both these medium.”
Softdrink major Pepsi is urging college-goers to add a new word to the dictionary this admission season – Swag.
Xaxis announced the results of a recent campaign for retail brand Manyavar, that tracked individuals from digital outdoor exposure to retail store visits. Implemented on mobile and digital out of home (DOOH) advertising, the campaign was tracked attribution from individual OOH exposure against subsequent consumer behaviour.