MxMIndia

Tag: aggie

  • Golds finally happen on Day 3 for India@Cannes2013. Plus 3 bronzes in Outdoor. And 19 Design shortlists.

    Taproot leads India with twin golds

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Agnello Dias
    Agnello Dias
    Santosh Padhi

    When Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi set up Taproot not many moons ago, one of their first benefactors was The Times of India. With reason. Aggie, as the Chief Creative Officer and Co-founder of the agency is better known as, had won his former agency JWT a Grand Prix in Direct at Cannes in 2008. The client in question was The Times of India.

     

    For, Aggie and Paddy (Santosh Padhi’s aka) have done some splendid work for the media group ever since.

     

     

    Rahul Kansal

    “The Times Group brand has an old legacy and is considered a great brand but I think with their association, Aggie and Paddy have managed to create a new buzz around the brand,” said Rahul Kansal, Executive President of Bennett Coleman and Company Limited. Talking of the duo the day the news that Dentsu had acquired stake in the agency, Mr Kansal told MxMIndia: “Aggie I would say is amongst the most versatile thinkers. He assesses the brand, market and consumer needs and comes out with a specific solution that will address the issue. Paddy then complements by giving the most appropriate treatment to the concept and that probably is their winning formula.” (Read full account at: Rahul Kansal: No shortcuts with Taproot).

     

    On Wednesday, even as Indian agencies had won a silver and 3 bronze metals in the PR and Direct categories, all eyes were on Outdoor where 43 Indian entries were shortlisted. Yes, there was Media too, but there were just two shortlists.

     

    While Media saw a blank for Indian entries, in Outdoor, there were as many as five metals, including two golds.

     

    Leading India in the metals foray this year is Taproot with two golds in Outdoor. Both are for The Times of India’s Farmer Suicides campaign. From amongst the numerous congratulatory messages he received on his Facebook profile, there was one from a senior creative: “To hear the word congratulations, must be so cliche for you. Boss how do you do it year after year!!!”

     

    The two golds are in the ‘Fundraising, Charities, Appeals, Non-Profit Organisations, Public Health & Safety, Public Awareness Messages’ and ‘Illustration’ sub-categories.  Meanwhile, Grey won two Bronze Lions for DHL and Duracell and O&M won its Bronze Lion for Philips Electronics.

     

    With this, India’s total tally of metals at Cannes Lions 2013 is 9: 3 in PR, 1 in Direct and 5 in Outdoor.

     

    But there are many shortlists in Press and Design. And the glamour part of the Lions – films, integrated are still to happen. The Cyber, Design, Press and Radio Lions will be awarded today (June 19) and Branded Content & Entertainment, Film, Film Craft and the Titanium and Integrated Lions will be presented on Saturday (June 22).

     

    Going past last year’s tally of 14 now appears easy, but will we cross the 2009 high of 25? We’ll know for sure before the week ends.

     

     

  • Hours after the news of the 51 per cent stake acquisition, Dentsu India executive chairman spoke to MxMIndia on what the deal means for Dentsu, and how the agency is galloping ahead in the country

    TAPROOT! We will not mess with what’s working wonderfully: Rohit Ohri

    When one speaks to Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Denstu India Group, one can sense the passion and excitement with which he has embraced his role at Dentsu. However, he does admit that when he had taken the role more than a year back he was himself not sure if he was doing the right thing considering that he was moving out of a familiar environment where he had spent 21 years! But things couldn’t have been better for him and he certainly is enjoying being a part of the transformation that Dentsu is undergoing. Mr Ohri talks to MxMIndia post the news of Denstu Inc acquiring 51 % of Taproot India.

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    What a day it has been! Dentsu and Taproot coming together is certainly big news. However, what intrigues is that you already have 3 full-service agencies under Dentsu India. So what is the reason behind acquiring a creative agency?

    We are constantly working towards bringing the best skills and capability in the organization. We have three full service agencies under Dentsu India Group – Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Communications and  Dentsu Creative Impact and we have the best of creative minds including Soumitra Karnik, Titus Upputuru and Harish Arora leading our creative units. In a year that we have worked together, I think we have come out with some great creative works like Canon India’s What Makes Us Click or Hero Motorcycles’ Sach Kar Denge Sapne. These are excellent works that have helped the clients remarkably increase the market share and put them on a growth trajectory.

     

    I have been reading that we lack creative prowess but I think that’s not the case. I think it has more to do with a perception that needs to be changed. We have been doing a lot to improve the quality of work that has been coming out of the agency. But we decided that we needed a dramatic shift to change the perception of Dentsu and we needed to make a quantum leap. Our decision of aligning with Taproot is a move in that direction. I would say that the change was already happening in the agency it’s just that now it has been accelerated with this development.

     

    Dentsu is a Japanese-held company but it is not a Japanese agency. If we are in India it means that to succeed we need to create advertising that clicks with the nation. We have Japanese counterpart in the system where they bring an understanding and expertise in our offering. It’s a happy marriage where we leverage each other’s strength.

     

    A well-thought of strategy then!  How will the partnership work on a daily functional basis?

    Very clearly we will not mess with what’s working wonderfully. So there is no name change or any change in the way Taproot has been functioning. The agency has been handling big clients on project basis and for them to handle them on a regular basis would mean that they need bandwidth and expertise like media or digital. That is where we step in by helping them to cut the labyrinth and give them direct access to our network’s strength. Taproot will grow on its creative capability and remain the iconic agency that it is today. The difference is that the support from Dentsu will come in when required thus helping them to focus on their creative output.

     

    There will be a Taproot Board that will be set up which is part of the process of the post merger integration. The Board will have four directors from Dentsu and I shall be one of them and three from Taproot. The key decision like the future of the agency will  need to be passed by the directors but I repeat that in day-to-day functioning Aggie and Paddy will run it as they have been doing till now. They will have complete freedom.

     

    With you coming on board, it appears Dentsu India is on an overdrive to get in the top race in the industry, how do you see the agency poised today and the road ahead?

    Dentsu is the number one agency in Japan for the past 110 years. We want to be the agency that clients want to work with. We are 100 percent integrated agency and have a holistic approach to communication. Today, the separation among various functions like creative, media or digital has become so deep that it is difficult to straddle across them. However, the clients want one-stop solution and that is Dentsu’s strength. Tim Andree, the President and CEO of Dentsu Network Global, says that we are network of agencies which collaborate with each other meaning we build complimentary skill and not competitive.  This is what we truly believe in.

     

    For you personally, how is the role different from your previous stint?

    Honestly speaking, I wasn’t sure of my move as I had spent 21 years of my career at JWT but now that I am here I can confidently say that I am having the best time of my life. Last year has been fantastic as well as challenging nevertheless satisfying.

     

    I think the biggest difference in the agency today is the culture that we have created within the organization which encourages creativity. I have got enormous amount of support from Dentsu Inc on this. The deal with Taproot was initiated by me and I got phenomenal support thus helping in making it happen. We had envisioned this almost a year back and it is extremely gratifying to get the congratulatory messages and calls from the industry and your peers which kind of validates that what one has planned was in the right direction. I have been overwhelmed by the support that the industry has shown on this move.

     

    I can feel the change in the agency, in the way people are approaching us now or during our discussions with the people from the industry. It’s just that we have accelerated that change with the move.

     

    Must be a tiring day for you given the buzz the news has created… how do you plan to celebrate?

    I think I just want to enjoy and savour the moment. It has been a significant move and to be accepted by the industry gives me immense pleasure and kind of validates that our strategic thinking was in the right direction. However, one must understand that the move of partnering with Taproot would have not have created much ripples had we not already been doing something to show that Dentsu was undergoing a transformation. It would have been just passed off as a one-time move.  I think we had already made a difference by getting the right kind of people on board, by our work and the culture that we have created within the organization. So there was some foundation and people knew that there was an agency undergoing change albeit at a slower pace. With Taproot we have increased the pace of change. Coming back to the celebration, I think we will do one when Aggie, Paddy and I get together.

     

  • Adland veteran KV 'Pops' Sridhar looks back at the career path of Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi, the stars who are blazing even brighter in the limelight

    TAPROOT! | Pops on the Rise & Rise of Aggie & Paddy

     

    By K V Sridhar

     

     

    Aggie:

    “Agnello Dias, I have always believed, is the Sachin Tendulkar of advertising industry. Aggie has the ability to camouflage himself with any brand, in any tone of voice, and in any style.”

    I have known Aggie for more than 20 years now. I have known him as a young boy who came into the advertising world in the year 1991-92 when I was in Lintas. I have seen him grow as a copywriter, I have seen him grow as a creative director, and I have seen him grow as a man. Agnello Dias, I have always believed, is the Sachin Tendulkar of advertising industry. Aggie has the ability to camouflage himself with any brand, in any tone of voice, and in any style. In fact, when Aggie was a young boy in the industry, he wrote some beautiful copy for Johnson and Johnson’s baby products. When we were in Lintas at that time, I remember asking him to write copy on Johnson’s baby gift pack. Initially I was wondering whether that little boy would be able to write anything on baby-related products, but he surprised us with a brilliant piece of work. It was since then we realized that this boy (Aggie) has got tremendous talent in him because it is not just the skills of copywriting alone that is required, but also observation skills. If you see all the successful creative people, they have all learnt so much from life… It is the people who have gone through a lot of hardship in life, and people with general interest in life, who make a great creative person.

     

    Aggie has come a long way. It may surprise you that Aggie’s first passion has always been football and not advertising. He came into advertising by default. Aggie not only has the talent of playing with words and expressions, but he also understands human behaviour exceptionally well. It is this combination that has made him a good copywriter.

     

    To the world Aggie is a very quiet person; however, I believe it is by choice rather than by default because he believes it is his work that must do all the talking. Probably he is the last copywriter or one of the quintessential copywriters in the country who knows how to put across a point of view and win that argument. A lot of copywriters today are clever one-line writers, but there is absolutely no one who can put across a point of view and win an argument. But Aggie was different; he wanted to win that argument, it did not matter where he wrote, whether it was for a newspaper or a woman’s product, he would argue for that point of view. Thus he was always of the opinion that hiding a little bit of his personality is always helpful.

     

    During his stint in Leo Burnett, I remember Aggie reluctantly accepting the post of ECD. In fact he never wanted to be an ECD because he never really enjoyed handling people, he never enjoyed designations, and he certainly did not enjoy the limelight as he always wanted to be the quiet guy.

     

    The biggest turning point in his career came after he joined JWT. It was only after joining JWT that he started becoming a little more of an extrovert, started becoming more visible, talking to people and expressing his viewpoint much more emphatically. Most importantly he started becoming a leader wherein he commanded the client’s respect by taking on a brand and transforming it. So, that work got him all the recognition and respect. The clients started respecting him even more for all the work he has done for the big brands like Pepsi, TOI etc. Thus, the relationship he has built and the respect he has earned in JWT is what made him a great creative leader.

     

    Paddy:

    “Paddy was never satisfied with crafting, he would always work and rework until and unless he achieved perfection. He always had that passion of going the extra mile to achieve perfection.”

    I’ve known Paddy for more than 14 years now. Paddy is passionate about cricket and commercial advertisement, he played cricket with Sachin Tendulkar in school. Paddy was never satisfied with crafting, he would always work and rework until and unless he achieved perfection. He always had that passion of going the extra mile to achieve perfection. So, despite his work being approved, he would sit through the night and polish it further and make it even better. Somewhere down the line I believe he always had this feeling about how much of his work as an ad director will be valued by the industry but, my advice to him has always been that, “You are a great creative guy, a great art director and not many are blessed with this kind of talent. Your greatness in fact comes from your talent, and what you do with your talent matters, and if you use your talent well, you will certainly achieve success.” His greatness therefore came from his art direction, from his simplistic ideas which were without much complication. Art directors are very simple-minded, unlike copywriters, because copywriters have to carry the entire world on their head, but art directors are much more simple. Thus it is his simplistic thinking and his crafting skills and that has become his path to glory. This is also the reason why he is one of the most successful and most respected art directors in the country today.

     

    Unlike Aggie who commanded respect from the popularity of his work and his ability to camouflage himself into anything whether it is about writing effortlessly a copy on baby products or even question the harmony between India and Pakistan, etc; Paddy on the other hand became popular by his craft and by his peers recognizing him, and when they both came together, it was a perfect combination. Both of them therefore complement each other. While one is the best copywriter of the country, the other is the best art director of the country and when the two come together they become a force to reckon with.

     

    Both Aggie and Paddy were never interested in designations unlike the younger generation of today. I feel a lot of copywriters today are ashamed of being copywriters, as they want to become creative directors, and they want to supervise somebody else’s work instead of their own work. The trend is similar with art directors too because they feel it is below their dignity to become an ad director or copywriter. Once a copywriter, you are a copywriter for life, if you are an art director, you are an art director for life because that is what becomes your identity.

     

    I hope they continue to remain the best Art Director and Copywriter and create many more campaigns.

     

     

    KV Sridhar aka Pops is the National Creative Director at Leo Burnett.

     

    As told to Robin Thomas

     

  • It's a win-win marriage. Dentsu, which is not a name one usually associates with sparkling creative work, has bought itself a nice creative powerhouse. Taproot gets the scale, the logistics and the bucks they need

    TAPROOT! | Anil Thakraney:Talent & values rewarded

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Ordinarily, I would envy Aggie and Paddy. They have landed up with mind-numbing sums in their savings bank accounts following the acquisition by Dentsu. In fact, I don’t even want to hear the numbers… that would make me feel like a very small man. Am certain this must be the feeling inside every single creative director’s heart in the Indian ad world, even if they don’t admit to it. And most importantly, Taproot has pulled off this financial coup within just three years of starting out. This is beyond dreams coming true.

     

    However, instead of feeling jealous, I actually feel very happy for them. I have never met Paddy, but Aggie I have, on more than one occasion, and I can tell you I am yet to meet a more simple, down-to-earth creative director. He is the kind of bloke who you want should win. His success will inspire a whole generation of advertising people, and not just a few eager hot shops.

     

    It’s a win-win marriage. Dentsu, which is not a name one usually associates with sparkling creative work, has bought itself a nice creative powerhouse. They must be elated. Taproot gets the scale, the logistics and the bucks they need, so they must be obviously thrilled. And for sure the Dentsu suits will leave Aggie and Paddy alone to do their own thingy. Only a silly parent would meddle with a brilliant child. So all is well, as they say.

     

    The only area of concern is this: What happens when Aggie and Paddy decide to offload their shares and retire to a beach house? There must definitely be a lock-in period of at least five years, I suppose. But what happens after that? Will Taproot be the same agency minus the two Big Brains? This is the only thing Dentsu must keep a sharp eye on. Remember, Taproot is a baby agency, it has no legacy. And if Aggie and Paddy don’t create their clones in the agency, if they don’t cultivate talent that is equally bright and hungry for success, five years down the line this acquisition may not look as rosy to Dentsu.

     

    For now, dear Aggie, bring out the bubbly. And please hire a bubbly secretary for yourself. No need to figure out airline tickets on your own anymore. You can afford her now.

     

    ***

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpWmowUtn5M[/youtube]

    PS: This is the last TVC directed by Tony Scott, the ace Hollywood movie director who recently killed himself. Incidentally, Scott directed many commercials in his career. Nothing special about this one, it’s typical soft drink trash. Only, it’s difficult to imagine suicide was on Scott’s mind while he was working on such lively stuff. Complex and unpredictable is the human mind.

     

  • In Mediaah!, Pradyuman Maheshwari recounts a story on how some marketers had once wanted to shift the Mother's Day date and comments on Siddharth Varadarajan's outburst in The Hindu, Hoshie Ghaswalla’s advice to his editors and how Taproot ought to have won the Grand Prix at Goafest for Airtel.

    Mediaah! The business of Akshaya Tritiya & the plot to shift Mother’s Day to make money!

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Many years ago, the CEO and promoter of a well-known consumer product company came to meet me at my office at Mid-Day. He brought with him a large volume and said he wanted to seek my advice.

     

    He said that a group of varied Indian organisations had got together to find a solution to a problem: find an appropriate ‘day’ for mothers. While Diwali and Christmas-New Year were good occasions for gifting,  Valentine’s Day had become a great success thanks to “their collective efforts”. There ws a long gap between Feb 14 and Diwali which falls in October and November. Now, the study conducted by a well-known market research firm said the person whom Indians love the most is the mother. So, what’s the problem, I asked.

     

    Well, he said, the issue is that Mother’s Day falls in May in India and that’s when most schools and colleges are shut. And then he dropped the bombshell. So, we were wondering if we can shift the Mother’s Day to sometime when educational institutions are open as kids pick up the maximum of cards and soft toys etc?

     

    I must confess I was struck by the ingenuity of the idea and how some of the most discerning names in Indian industry had got together to consider this.

    The CEO-businessman wanted my views on the issue, and whether the media would pan the move. They had even looked at alternative dates and were considering August 28 since it coincided with Mother Teresa’s birthday.

     

    This meeting happened sometime in June and I wondered how it could be done since we had already had a Mother’s Day that year? No problem, he said. We’ll have two this year, and told me that the group spearheading the move had considered this and didn’t think it would have any problem. We then spoke of how Shivaji Jayanti was observed on two different dates in Maharashtra and it didn’t bother people.

     

    After this meeting, I kept waiting for a fresh date for Mother’s Day that year and in the next, but figured that wider sense had prevailed and the companies didn’t change the date.

     

    A few years later, when I had relocated to Pune, I discovered that Akshaya Tritiya was being celebrated in a big way.  I was told that it was the next auspicious festival after Gudi Padwa for Maharashtrians, and thought it was essentially Pune thingie. Two years later, when I was back in Mumbai, I found that the day had taken roots here too. And now we have most of the country celebrating it. A festival had come out of nowhere.

     

    I have been somewhat radical with some of my religious beliefs, and had faced some heat from colleagues. I think Karva Chauth is regressive and since this occurred to me a decade-and-a-half back, I have ensure that all the publications that I have worked with didn’t carry any pictures of the celebrations. But I was quite pleasantly surprised to read this outburst by Hindu editor Siddharth Varadarajan (courtesy Sans Serif).

     

     Read this carefully:

    “We carried a ‘jacket’ on Monday in our Tamil Nadu editions that featured a message – laid out in the form of an in-house advertisement – to readers on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya on behalf of “The Hindu”.

     

    “Neither I, as Editor of The Hindu, nor anyone from the editorial side, was involved in the drafting of this message. Nor did we know of, let alone approve, its contents.”

     

    Makes sense, you would say. But the clincher is Para 3:

    “For the record, it is not The Hindu’s editorial position that Akshaya Tritiya, an occasion that has risen to prominence only relatively recently, is one of “the most auspicious days in the Hindu religion.” Nor can we possibly endorse this statement – “The belief that buying gold on this day would make you prosperous throughout the year is shared by one and all” – or others contained in that message.”

     

    One doesn’t have to dream much to figure what Siddharth Varadarajan’s sentiments are on Akshaya Tritiya. And I don’t think he’s incorrect. I don’t read Hindu since I don’t get it in Mumbai, but am surprised that this announcement was carried. So while it would be interesting to know what CEO Arun Anant has to say on his editor’s comment on what his marketing team would’ve done, there’s no denying that the festival has become as big as it has today thanks only to the collective zeal of some marketers.

     

    **

     

    I am delighted to inform that not all business-to-business publications are giving in to the demands and diktats of advertisers. Especially when it comes to editorial content.

     

    Hoshie Ghaswalla

    My friend Hoshie Ghaswalla, recently appointed CEO of the Cybermedia group (publishers of Dataquest, PC Quest, CIOl etc) has now issued an advisory to all his editors that they oughtn’t worry about the whims of large corporations who love bullying trade media. Note: these are my words, not his.

     

    Hoshie and his editor noticed some misgivings among employees of a laaaarge software corporation on salary raises even as the company had declared huge dividends to shareholders. CIOL went to town on the issue a fortnight back, and if the corp hasn’t done it already, it will soon announce wage revisions.

     

    Hoshie tells me that he has advised his editor on a similar story with a large international computer hardware company. “The problem,” he confesses is “that journalists have for far too long been not wanting to upset large companies who are also big advertisers”.

     

    I jumped to defend his editors and said this must be because of his editors who’ve worked in the past would’ve on their own or were told by his predecessors on not damning the big advertisers. Puff pieces only.

     

    Hoshie didn’t agree. I didn’t complain at all. It’s good to see a sales-driven CEO ask his editors to screw erring companies (who may be existing or potential advertisers). This especially in the trade media where there are many who are known to compromise on editorial integrity and ethics.

     

    ***

     

    Agnello Dias

    It’s been over a week since Goafest happened. While I am happy that the Abby went through peacefully, I was surprised that Taproot didn’t win the Grand Prix for the Airtel ad. It deserved every bit of it, and although the Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi were pretty cool about it when my colleague spoke to him soon after the awards (see link), he has shared his disappointment in an interview with Anil Thakraney (see link). Though not in so many words.

     

    I sincerely hope that Taproot continues to bring us great advertising, attracts some $$$s (okay, let’s make it $$$$$$$$$$$$$s!) from the Big networks and is always rooted to the real world.

     

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell. Confidentiality assured. There are various ways you can reach me: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, BBM 23050B5D, Gtalk pradyumanm@gmail.com, Twitter @pmahesh and of course the mobile: 98338 76278.

     

    Disclaimer: Although he is CEO and Editor-in-Chief of this site, Pradyuman Maheshwari’s views in Mediaah! are not necessarily those of the rest of the team and MxMIndia.com. And decidedly not those of the sales team 🙂

     

  • 6 Reasons why tonight’s the Big Night @ Goafest

    By A N Chorrea

     

    Yes, Balki doesn’t care an eff about it and the folks at Cag have serious issues about the innumerable fakes that come in as entries, but the Abby is the Abby is the Abby. So why’s it the Badi Raat?

     

    1. Because the Creative Abbys will be presented tonight

     

    2. Because even as some of the Creative Abbys were given away last night (and the Media Abbys too!), the meaty, glamourous ones are happening tonight.

     

    3. Because it will be interesting to see how many metals Agnello Dias nets tonight. Yesterday, wifey Nandini Dias’s Lodestar UM bagged several honours. Tonight could well be Aggie’s. Total domination by the Diases!

     

    4. Remember Bobby quit Mudra half-way, just as Sonal quit Bates half-way… It will be interesting to see the mix of emotions as their ex and current agencies walk away with honours (If it was a television event, I am sure the camera would focus on Bobby every time Mudra gets an award or on Colvyn when Aggie gets it for Pepsi… quite like they do in the film awards where you see Rekha’s expressions on Amitabh, Vivek Oberoi on Salman. Etc etc etc)

     

    5. It’s the last day of Goafest. May as well live it up!

     

    Click here to view all Goafest 2012 stories

     

  • Agnello Dias represents the new face of adland and has done some terrific work, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Mediaah!: Aggie – well-deserved Impact Person of the Year

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    So it’s Agnello Dias as Impact Person of the Year. For the first time in the seven-year history of Impact Person of the Year, an adperson has won the coveted accolade. Guess there have been times when people have come very close, but given the way the selection is done whoever is top of mind in the second half of the year, generally forges ahead (see disclosure).

     

    Deserving choice, and in every way echoes the sentiment of the industry. Aggie, with his Airtel ad, has been the toast of adland. I did a quick dipstick on Tuesday asking for names of the top creative folk in the country. The sample: 11 people from three metros. And this is what 90 per cent of the people said: Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Joshi and Agnello Dias.

     

    Feel sorry for the rest of the immense creative talent that India has, but guess these things happen and I don’t think anyone minds it. While Piyush is around, there is a laaarge creative pool at Ogilvy. Ditto in JWT, Mudra and the mom-and-pop shop based in Patna and Panjim.

     

    Should it have been one of the others?

     

    Haresh Chawla, outgoing Group CEO, Network18 and Viacom18

    Madhukar Kamath, MD & CEO, Mudra Group and Chairman, AdAsia

    Man Jit Singh, CEO, Multi Screen Media

    Rajiv Verma, CEO, Hindustan  Times

    Ronnie Screwvala, CEO and Founder Chairman, UTV

    Sandeep Goyal, Non-Executive Founder Chairman, Dentsu India

    Vineet Jain, Managing Director, Times Group

     

    Guess since it’s the fraternity who decides on who the award should go to, I think the question should be asked to each of us and not the exchange4media group management. For me, Agnello Dias represents the new face of Indian advertising. He is young, dynamic and has done some super work when with JWT and now as an entrepreneur running Taproot.

     

    What you can ask them (and the editorial team) is why they chose Haresh Chawla as Editorial Choice and not Vineet Jain, Sandeep Goel, Ronnie Screwvala, Man Jit Singh, Rajiv Verma and Madhukar Kamath? I think Haresh Chawla deserved it awesomely and since he’s moving out of the Network/Viacom/Web/etc 18 group, there can be no nasties like he was given the award to get more ads.

     

    So just as you may ask as to why cricketer x wasn’t selected for the Australia series, there will be questions asked as to why Haresh and why not Vineet Jain or Ronnie or Madhukar or Rajiv Verma or Sandeep Goel or Man Jit Singh?

     

    Pointless discussion. Many congratulations to Agnello Dias and Haresh Chawla.

     

    (Disclosure: I worked with the exchange4media group until May this year and ran the Impact Person of the Year for the last three years)

    Photograph: Bharat Kapadia

     

    The PR Channel

    Must mention here that I have been think of a specialised PR publication ever since Hanmer & PR founder-bossman Sunil Gautam asked me a question of whether it would work here in India. I didn’t think it would as a standalone, but in a broadbased site like MxMIndia, it should.

     

    SRK: India’s biggest endorser

    His Ra.One may not have worked as well as he would have, but the publicity around it was phenomenal. Clearly the biggest we’ve seen in India. Little wonder that an Economic Times report says that SRK emerged as the most visible celeb on TV followed by Katrina and Kareena. I missed reading it in the Mumbai edition of ET, but here’s a web link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/advertising/shah-rukh-khan-fmcg-cos-lead-tv-advertising-charts/articleshow/11041079.cms

     

     

    Buzz me if you have a story to tell and gossip to share. Confidentiality assured. Andar ki baat will stay under. There are various ways you can reach me: pradyumanm[at]mxmindia.com, BBM @ 23050B5D, pradyumanm[at]gmail.com, @pmahesh, 98338 76278.

     

    Disclaimer: Although Pradyuman Maheshwari is CEO of MxMIndia other than being editor-in-chief, he chucks those hats while writing Mediaah! So, the views expressed here are entirely his own and not those of the website and the team that runs it (especially the National Sales Head!).