Micromax has announced the appointment of Creativeland Asia (CLA) as its creative agency on record. As a part of this partnership, CLA will handle the entire integrated design and communication mandate for Micromax globally. The decision to partner together was taken after an intense multi-agency pitch process, held last month.
Micromax will be handled out of Creativeland’s Mumbai and Delhi offices. Creativeland is also putting together a global design team from Amsterdam and New York to work on the mandate.
Confirming the news, Shubhajit Sen, Chief Marketing Officer, Micromax Informatics said, “We are delighted to bring CLA on board as our creative partner to help us take the brand to the next level. The agency has demonstrated great understanding and passion along with a clear vision and articulation for way forward on the brand. We look forward to their creative excellence to help enhance our consumer connect and create some unconventional campaigns as we get into our next growth phase.â€
Said Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, “This is perhaps the most exciting product category to be associated with anywhere in the world right now. And when someone ambitious like Micromax who is one of the world’s largest mobile phone makers have mandated us to take them to the next level across the globe, things can’t get more exciting. The fact that Micromax has been challenging giants and doing the unthinkable in the last decade is in itself a philosophical wave-length match for us. We ready to bring the best out of us.â€
Rediffusion has appointed Darshan Choudhari to join the Mumbai team as Creative Head. He will be working closely with CCO, Rahul Jauhari.
Darshan comes from Creativeland Asia and has been behind some good work on Marico Corporate, Virgin Mobile, Parachute, Wego, Killer, Captain Morgan, to name a few. He comes with over 14 years of industry experience and big brand work to his credit, with numerous wins at local and international shows.
In the past he has worked with agencies such as Saatchi & Saatchi Mumbai, BBH India, Bates141, Enterprise Nexus Mumbai, Saatchi & Saatchi Bangalore and Enterprise Nexus Bangalore.
Rahul Jauhari, Chief Creative Officer, Rediffusion Y&R said: “I’m delighted to welcome Darshan to our team in Mumbai. His work speaks louder than he does, and that works perfectly for me.â€
Upon his appointment, Darshan said, “It’s always great opportunity to work for big agency like Rediffusion and solid brand like Tata Motors.â€
Darshan is also an avid artist and paints in his free time.
Eight-year-old independent Creativeland Asia (CLA) known for its benchmark work on large brands like Cinthol, Frooti, Audi, Mercedes and MTS telecom is back with a bang.
CLA has signed on integrated mandate for Domino’s Pizza, Godrej No1 soaps, the Rs 1000 cr soap brand from Godrej, the Indian Express Newspaper, She comfort Sanitary Napkins from Emami and the digital mandate for Jet Privilege.
The total spends size of all these brands put together is estimated at Rs. 250 cr. The pure revenue to CLA could be estimated at Rs 21 to 25 cr which would not only compensate for the Parle Agro split in January but actually adds more than double the revenue it lost.
Sajan Raj Kurup
On the big wins, Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder & Creative Chairman of Creativeland Asia said “We stepped up the game when it was required. Every one did their bit as planned and the results are quite obvious. We have added substantial new business in the first two quarters of the year. Not a bad way to start a year I suppose. We have surpassed our target for the year in the first two quarters, so we have decided to opt a slightly different business strategy for the rest of the quarters.
For Domino’s the apart from mainline work, Creativeland has been entrusted with integrated marketing duties which includes precision marketing and digital mandates as well.
Said Harneet Singh, VP Marketing, Dominos: “We needed more strategic and creative minds to work with us, as partners,  to grow the brand and hence we selected CLA as our new agency partner in addition to our incumbent creative agency. We believe the strengths of CLA are very complimentary to our thinking and approach and together we can do some very interesting work on brand Domino’s.â€
For Godrej No1, Creativeland has been entrusted with integrated marketing communications mandate and to design and grow the No1 range including soaps face-washes and other NPDs.
Sunil Kataria, Head of Sales & Marketing, GCPL said: “We have been working with CLA since 2011 and one of the things that I really appreciate about them is the ability to come up with genuinely creative ideas for the big moments . One of the reasons they are able to do this is because the top leadership themselves get involved into understanding the brand essence and tonality in depth and that makes a difference.â€
For Emami, Creativeland will be relaunching their newly acquired She comfort Sanitary napkins, Apart from Integrated marketing communications, CLA has been entrusted the responsibility of redesigning and revamping the brand including its packaging design.
CLA has also been entrusted the responsibility of revamping brand Indian Express with their integrated marketing communications mandate. Their multimedia campaign which involves print, TV and digital will hit later this week.
Currently, Creativeland has 14o-odd people working across disciplines and offices. On this new phase of the agency, Raj Kurup elaborated: “As most organisations that are born in the internet generation, Creativeland has always been in a constant state of reinvention. We have had eight awesome years, where work has always been Centre-stage. During these years, we had also sown seeds of our own ventures that are outside of advertising and design. CLA 2.0 is going to be Creativeland in a different gear. We are preparing for the next 10 years. We have made some fundamental changes in our organisational structure and added a Culture & Marketing team. Our technology team is all set. We have also spun out or Digital production department into a separate tech company called Creativeland Technologies which now houses end to end tech solutions spanning front-end and back-end solutions with a CLA edge. Our design team is looking beyond brands and identities alone and venturing into retail, space, environment and infrastructure design.
In terms of people, we are a diverse set. From technologists, to economists, to UI designers, to writers, to designers, to sociologists, we have them all. And that’s key to CLA 2.0’s ambitions.
Our new office in Bandra-Kurla Complex one of the fastest growing, global business hubs in India, is well-appointed to keep the team motivated. Conscious of the long hours and the intense pressure the nature of our work commands, we are making amends by making our environment fun and rejuvenating. From a leisure room with a pool table, a table tennis table and a foosball table, to a spa with massage chairs and hair treatments, and a pantry that is the size of our first office, the office has everything one may want.
After winning 11 Lions and a Grand Prix, India had a gong-less night at the awards on the fourth day of Cannes Lions. Hungover from the Times of India party the previous night, Indian admen were seen entering the Palais well past lunch time.
Some opted for a compensatory off from the fest for a day, remaining to the confines of their hotel rooms overlooking the magnificent and sparkling Promenade de la Croissette.
We don’t know whether to be flattered or disappointed that no credit or blame was laid at the door of Tista Sen, national creative director at JWT who was the sole Indian on the Glass Lions jury. Clients emerged the happiest out of the whole episode with Dabur winning a silver metal. Given the FMCG major’s feeble enthusiasm for domestic awards, this counted as a big deal.
On Creativeland Asia bagging a silver metal in Outdoor Lions, Sukhleen Aneja, category head at Durex India, said, “This outdoor campaign is a step in that direction and we are thrilled that it has been recognised as one of the best pieces of communication in the world at the Oscars of advertising.”
Cinthol has announced the rollout of a new integrated campaign, ‘Alive is Offline’, to encourage people to disconnect from the Internet and spend some time adventuring in the real world instead.
The ‘Alive is Offline’ integrated campaign is anchored by a film that depicts the journey of a man adventuring through wild terrain, keeping away from his smartphone, the Internet and social media. It showcases how rewarding a life of nature and adventure is, if people would only give it a chance. And finally, the film is also a convincing demonstration of how “the world is more beautiful than the World Wide Web.’
The campaign builds on the core Cinthol brand philosophy of ‘Alive is Awesome’, and has been conceptualized and executed by Creativeland Asia.
Sunil Kataria, COO – Sales, Marketing & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. said, “Three years ago, Cinthol began its journey of talking to the young, live-for-the moment India through its brand philosophy of Alive Is Awesome. Through this campaign, we aim to strike a chord with a generation that’s conscious of how much they’re online and glued to one screen or another. #AliveIsOffline is a brilliant effort that builds on the brand philosophy in a manner that’s both insightful and inspiring. It urges addicted netizens to take away ‘media’ from ‘social media’ and leave one to only be social, to be social with nature, fellow companions and more importantly, with themselves.â€
On the campaign thought, Anu Joseph, Executive Creative Director, Creativeland Asia shared, “Most of us are guilty of staying connected – answering calls, replying to emails, posting, liking, tweeting, commenting, forwarding – even during our breaks. We go on holidays, but never go offline. We are never alive in the moment. Alive is Offline is Cinthol’s attempt at reminding people to lead more balanced, more fulfilling lives. To go offline because “this world is more beautiful than the world wide web.”
The film opens on a scenic landscape shot, which is rudely interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. When the phone call goes unanswered, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) starts saying, “The person you are trying to call is currently busyâ€. The phone rings yet again while a man is basking in the sunrise. He remains oblivious to the phone ringing next to him. The IVR says, “The person you are trying to call is currently busy.†This time the IVR continues to speak and explains the philosophy behind ‘Alive is Offline.’ What follows next is best explained as a juxtaposition of what happens in the online world against complementary acts the man does in the offline world.
As part of the teaser phase of the campaign, Cinthol’s Twitter handle created #Addicted and #AliveIsAwesome, and posed a simple question to its 12.4 K followers- ‘What would you give up your Twitter handle in exchange for?’ This was to make its followers question their own addiction to Twitter and social media on the whole. The campaign received multiple responses. These tweets were monitored and followers were constantly pushed through the day to think deeper about their social media addiction.
On the day of the launch, the #AliveIsOffline film managed to clock 11k plus shares, indicating a very high engagement rate.
Following the teaser and the launch phase, Cinthol will create and promote #AliveIsOffline through user engagement activities on Facebook and Twitter.
Customized caller tunes will also be made available for download, using the same IVR device deployed in the film in a fun and entertaining manner.
Cinthol has released its latest digital campaign #AliveIsOffline on social media. The campaign took off with a teaser on twitter and is now reaching millions through a refreshing video which inspires the viewers to take some time off to travel and connect with the world around sans the internet.
The inspirational video strikes an emotional connect and leaves one with a thought of how we are slowly getting strangled by the spider of the thriving World Wide Web. The video transcends the viewers to a forgotten world which can be logged into without a password. It is a wakeup call that urges you to switch to your offline mode once in a while. Weaved in with beautiful lines and picturesque scenes the video is an effective reminder of the breathtaking offline world that should be revisited.
Sunil Kataria
Sunil Kataria, Chief Operating Officer, Sales, Marketing and SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, shared, “In a world which is getting sucked into digital and where the youth of today is by default a digital native, this campaign idea of Alive is offline takes the Cinthol brand philosophy of Alive is Awesome forward in a very interesting way. Today we are so addicted to the world of social media that we take pictures only to post them, we check-in before enjoying the beauty around and make conversations only so that they trend. The meaning and beauty of travel to soak in the calm or appreciate a scenic view is lost while we are busy clicking pictures.
#AliveIsOffline is a brilliant effort that urges addicted netizens to take away ‘media’ from ‘social media’ and leave one to only be social, to be social with nature, fellow companions and more importantly, with themselves.â€
Apart from the digital video, Cinthol plans to spread this thoughtful philosophy of #AliveIsOffline through online content partners and sought after tweeters. The brand hopes to touch the minds of as many as 10 million viewers through online content experts and Twitter influencer partnerships respectively.
The video is the brainchild of Cinthol brand team and Creativeland Asia. Captured amidst the scenic forests, valleys and breathtaking waterfalls of Kerala this digital video is an eye opener and a thought starter.
MTS India is back with the Internet baby ad campaign to announce its new offering. Last year, the MTS Internet baby campaign drew around 30 million eyeballs on YouTube alone and one reason for this was the truth it told – for kids and digital natives internet connectivity is more than a want, it is a need.
Amitesh Rao, Director Brand & Media, MTS India, says, “After the success of ‘Born for the Internet’ campaign launched last year and looking at overall response we knew that consumers strongly connect with the MTS Internet baby. So we wanted to continue building on this brand proposition and expand the market place.â€Â He added, “As the name suggests, the Homespot Instant wi-fi provides plug and play access to multiple internet users simultaneously. This launch marks a strategic shift in focus for MTS from being primarily a dongle driven data company to a wi-fi solutions provider.â€
Speaking about the campaign thought, Sajan RaJ Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, said, “In this campaign, the MTS internet baby personifies the ever demanding internet generation that see wi-fi as a basic necessity just like food and shelter. Creatively we planned it like a prequel to our last year’s most talked about MTS Baby TVC and set it from a time before he was born.â€
The commercial opens with a mother, doctor and nurse in a birthing room, all waiting for labour pains to begin, when suddenly, the baby bump vanishes. Everyone in the room is amazed. Next a pram rolls amidst heaven and stops in front of an occupied God. The baby starts to reason with God about the cruelty of sending him into a home that is not setup for wi-fi. The baby argues ‘God is toying with his future.’ He exclaims ‘No wi-fi! No go!’
There is a sudden satirical change where God appears as a salesman for MTS Homespot Instant WiFi. He enlists the many benefits of the product. This is when the baby feels convinced to be born. The commercial ends with the baby asking his parents for the wi-fi password.
The integrated campaign was launched during the World Cup Cricket 2015 on the day of India v/s Pakistan game via a television commercial and is supported via print, radio and digital. The commercial is produced by Earlyman Films.
Sajan Raj Kurup, the founder and creative chairman of Creativeland Asia, is married to Nadia Chauhan, JMD & CMO of Parle Agro. When contacted, both Mr Kurup and Ms Chauhan denied that the accounts were being moved. In his response, Mr Kurup said, “Creativeland continues to handle all Parle Agro brands.”
In her email response, Ms Chauhan said, “Kindly note that as on date, our brands are still with CLA. We do however have some interestingly new assignments running parallel (as always is the case with an FMCG) with some international and domestic firms of considerable repute.” Ms Chauhan also added that Parle Agro flagship Frooti is being revamped, and “therefore we have hired an international design agency.”
Jasmin Sohrabji
OMD continues to be the media agency of Parle Agro, although Jasmin Sohrabji, Managing Director at OMD, did not respond to the calls or messages sent regarding Parle Agro accounts.
Cinthol Confidence+ has unveiled a new campaign for the soap that assures 99.9 per cent germ protection with an ‘insta-deo’ fragrance feature. The campaign has been conceptualized and created by Creativeland Asia.
While the Cinthol Confidence+ kick-started their digital campaign on Independence Day, the television campaign has just been unveiled and is an inspiring video that captures the spirit of young and dynamic India. Be it professionals in the armed forces, health camps, heritage sites or mega infrastructure development sites, they go about their job confidently, undaunted by dust, grime and germs. The campaign puts the young inspiring professionals under the lens of ‘Alive is Awesome’, Cinthol’s brand promise.
Sunil Kataria, Chief Operating Officer, Sales, Marketing and SAARC, GCPL shared, “Currently, the health soap market is focused mainly on kids. However, it is not just children, but even youth who need protection as they battle dirt and grime while following their passion. However, current health soaps are incomplete without great sensorials. Cinthol Confidence+ soap, breaks the norm of the regular health soap by offering 99.9 per cent germ protection while being infused with great insta-deo fragrance. Cinthol Confidence+ is a “complete health soap” which perfectly fits the youth expectation, being an aid to their aspirations.”
Sajan Raj Kurup
Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, said, “The communication comes from a simple insight that dirt, crowd and germs are fundamental obstacles that come in the way of every Indian’s journey to success. The campaign idea is symbolic of people’s confidence, which empowers them to go on in their daily lives despite the tough conditions in their external environment. The messaging in the health-soap category is largely restricted to protection from germs. We have gone beyond touching upon this functional need of the product and addressed the attitude with which people fight the on-going battle of dirt, crowd and germs.”
On the eve of the launch of its compact sedan – CLA 45 AMG – next week, luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India has announced the launch of its ‘Ah My God’ communication campaign in India. The highlight of this campaign, conceptualised by Creativeland Asia, is that it is the first ever India specific TVC that has been launched by Mercedes-Benz.
Globally AMG is synonymous with high performance motoring and cutting edge technological innovations. In India, the AMG brand has an impeccable stature for introducing high performance cars and enjoys immense popularity among customers, auto aficionados and motoring enthusiasts.
With the launch of the new CLA 45 AMG, the brand intends to open up to new target groups and reach out to more people. In order to connect with a larger audience, “AMG” brand is being communicated in a simple and relevant manner. This communication has been done by connecting AMG with a creative expression- ‘Ah My God”. This is the strong feeling that current owners or brand enthusiasts get when they get inside an AMG car.
‘The Ah My God’ communication has been coined to capture the indescribable feeling of driving the car. The communication starts with a TV commercial where viewers are asked, ‘When was the last time you felt something you just couldn’t put into words? This feeling is further drawn parallel by getting behind the wheel of an AMG. It is this indescribable feeling which is put in words, through the expression - Ah My God!
Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “The success of our New Generation Cars in India only gives us more reason to believe that, the CLA 45 AMG will fascinate our young customer groups. With this launch, Mercedes-Benz will be pioneering the ‘Compact Performance Sedan’ segment in India, similar to the introduction of ‘Compact Luxury’ in India. As the CLA 45 AMG will reach out to a whole new young customer group, we are launching the ‘Ah My God’Â campaign which includes the first-ever India specific TV Commercial. The excitement and buzz already generated in the digital space even before the car’s India launch, is a testimony of the inherent strength of brand AMG and the bright prospect of the CLA 45 AMG.”
Sajan Raj Kurup
Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, commented, “Ah My God’ is a simple yet self-explanatory expression we have used to deliver the power of the CLA 45 AMG. We are excited to have been able to create the first ever TV commercial of Mercedes-Benz produced in India.”
The seventh edition of India’s advertising festival, Goafest, will be happening minus some big names. Seven of the country’s top advertising agencies – Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy & Mather, Creativeland Asia, McCann Worldgroup, BBDO, Grey and Leo Burnett will not be participating in 2014.
Entries to the festival this year are down 50 percent – last year Goafest had received 4,800 entries across creative and media, but this year it has received around 2,500 so far. That’s despite the introduction of two new categories Promo-Activation and PR, and opening up the awards to entries from broadcasters and publishers.
Srinivasan Swamy
“I expected the numbers to be down this year,” says Srinivasan Swamy, chairman, Goafest 2014 and chairman & MD of RK Swamy BBDO. “But I believe 2,500 is also a good number to have. I agree that agencies like O&M and Leo Burnett send large number of entries and their absence would bring the numbers down. But we are not badly off,” he adds.
While some of the non-participating agencies have decided to send delegates to the festival, a senior Goafest committee member confirms that this year the number of delegates will be also down by at least 50per cent. While Swamy maintains, “Let’s celebrate people who are participating,” Piyush Pandey, executive chairman, Ogilvy & Mather says, “Even the winners won’t feel the joy of winning as half of the industry is not going to be there.”
Piyush Pandey
One factor that has played a role in the low participation rate is the timing of the festival. Says a source on the Goafest committee, “Agencies usually got at least two months between Goafest and Cannes Lions to work on their budgets, to decide which entries to send and to decide the team that would represent the agency. But this year since the festival is happening in the last week of May there is hardly any time for agencies to plan.”
All this has only resulted in more flak for the Abbys, the country’s oldest advertising awards which was integrated into Goafest a few years ago. “I think the Abbys was running beautifully till they combined it with Goafest,”says MrPandey. He says that the principle on which the award show was merged with festival was that Ad Club would run the awards and AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India) would organise the festival. “But it got muddled somewhere down the line,”he says.
K V Sridhar
KV Sridhar, the outgoing chief creative officer India subcontinent at Leo Burnett, agrees, saying, “While the festival may have become bigger, there is no doubt that Abbys has lost its credibility.” Mr Pandey in turn believes that Goafest should have taken a break for a year, restructured and reorganised itself and then returned with a bang in 2015. The deadline for entries has been extended to April 28 from April 25, so there doesn’t seem to be much chance that participation will ramp up. But Swamy says that the Goafest committee will be meeting with heads of the non-participating agencies immediately after the festival, to discuss and address their concerns and clear the way for next year’s event.
Internet and broadband solutions company MTS has launched a quirky campaign that delves on the benefits of its latest offering – MTS 3GPLUSâ„¢ Network.
Conceptualised by Creativeland Asia, the campaign features a new born baby who is familiar with technology and is seen exploiting the internet straight from birth. The TVC opens in a labour room, where a woman is being coaxed by the doctor to ‘push’, as the father and the nurses watch anxiously. Suddenly, the baby’s hand pops out from under the cover and gestures everybody to stop.
The baby crawls from under the sheet and sits on the mother’s chest. From here on the baby does a series of activities that leaves people in the room shocked. He searches for ‘how to cut the umbilical cord’ and then cuts it, takes a selfie with the nurse on a mobile phone and posts it to Instagram, creates accounts on multiple social networking sites and broadcasts himself, makes a video and even uses the GPS system to navigate out of the hospital.
Amitesh Rao, Director – Brand & Media, MTS India, said, “We needed a campaign to reinforce our strongest differentiator – the fact that we have designed and optimized the MTS 3GPlus network specifically for data. At the same time we needed to be true to the MTS brand that talks to today’s 24×7, always-on, data hungry consumer for whom the internet is the biggest opportunity platform there is. The challenge of course was to do all of this in an engaging and entertaining manner, which is what the story of a new-born baby going online to announce himself to the world does perfectly.”
Sajan Raj Kurup
Speaking about the TVC, Sajan RaJ Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia, said, “The script for the film began with the simple insight that today’s kids seem so comfortable with technology, devices and the internet even as babies. When I see them (including my own daughter) handle tablets, mobiles and laptops, I have always joked that they look like they were born with it. We just pushed that thought a little further. It took six months of painful labor. And the baby is finally out there. ”
The TVC has been produced by Smuggler films and directed by Guy Shelmerdine.
Rediffusion has appointed Darshan Choudhari to join the Mumbai team as Creative Head. He will be working closely with CCO, Rahul Jauhari.
By A Correspondent
