MxMIndia

Tag: Dhunji Wadia

  • Although there is no official communication on this, the succession has been announced internally via mail.

    Rahul Jauhari & Navonil Chatterjee to take charge at Rediffusion Y&R (& Everest) as Dhunji Wadia to retire in August

    Dhunji Wadia

    By A Correspondent

    There is going to be a change of guard at Rediffusion Y&R as Dhunji Wadia will retire from the agency network in August 2018. Rahul Jauhari and Navonil Chatterjee will take charge as Joint Presidents at the Rediffusion Y&R group. Wadia had joined the group in 2010 first helming Everest and then in late 2014 as President of the Rediffusion Y&R group. While there is no official communication on this, the succession has been announced internally via mail. Jauhari is currently Chief Creative Officer, Chatterjee is Chief Strategy Officer.

    Rahul Jauhari
    Navonil Chatterjee

    Although, the agency bagged the coveted State Bank of India account recently, there have been mixed reports on how the agency is doing in terms of business, thanks to an indifferent advertising services scenario in the country as well as a longstanding dispute with WPP group. But now with the exit of Sir Martin Sorrell from WPP, as reported by MxMIndia earlier, there have been talks of Rediff Y&R buying out the 40 per cent stake of WPP and Dentsu. In the past Rediffusion has lost some prized accounts like Airtel and Colgate.

     

    With over three decades of experience in the business, Wadia has been associated with major national and international brands like Parle, Tata, Unilever, Nike, Levi Strauss, Diamond Trading Co, Kellogg, Aditya Birla Group, Sony Entertainment Television – Max and SAB, Kotak amongst others. Both Jauhari and Chatterjee joined Rediff in mid-2015.

  • Rediffusion Y&R, the agency tasked with the communication mandate, was briefed to welcome the world to the 'Make in India Week'

    Rediffusion Y&R executes integrated campaign for ‘Make in India Week’

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ‘Make in India Week’ being held from 13th Feb to 18th Feb 2016 in Mumbaiis an event showcasing India’s potential in the manufacturing sector. It is a global platform offering unparalleled opportunities to connect and collaborate with Industry stakeholders, investors and think tanks. It is also a great forum for exchanging ideas with policy-makers and an opportunity to understand the latest government initiatives.

     

    Rediffusion Y&R, the agency tasked with the communication mandate,was briefed to welcome the world to the ‘Make in India Week’. With this brief, Rediffusion created a unique symbol – The Laman Diya, a representative of auspicious beginnings, peace, prosperity and growth.The idea behind this Diya design was to connect the elements of the ‘Make in India Lion’ with the Diya in the Government of Maharashtra and the MIDC logo. The concept has been extended to TVC, Outdoor as well as the life-size Installations.

     

    The second task was to build the Magnetic Maharashtra brand and promote Maharashtra as the leading investment destination for potential investors globally. For this Rediffusion Y&R conceived and created aunique campaign putting forward a 360 degree support; right from TVCs, print campaigns, AVs and outdoor.

     

    The brand film for Magnetic Maharashtra features Sachin Tendulkar, Madhuri Dixit and Shankar Mahadevan highlighting these aspects that Maharashtra offers to its investors and concludes with the line “Unnati ka Savera, Magnetic Maharashtra yeh Mera”.

     

    Pramod Sharma

    Having worked on this campaign, Pramod Sharma ECD West, Rediffusion Y & R said, “I have been born and brought up on this great land called Maharashtra. And working on something as big and diverse as Maharashtra was a privilege. Deadlines were mad. Work had to be created and presented in almost impossible time. What kept us going was the pride to work on Magnetic Maharashtra. My complete team is to be given the credit for pulling off this outstanding campaign. I hope this campaign does wonders for our state and ropes in enormous investment and business opportunities.”

     

    Dhunji Wadia

    Dhunji Wadia Group President, Rediffusion Y&R quotes “I thank the Government, CII and MIDC for giving Rediffusion-Y&R this opportunity for Maharashtra as the host state to welcome the world and through this effort showcasing Maharashtra as the ideal destination for investment before a global audience.”

     

  • The account was won by Rediffusion Y&R following a multi agency pitch

    Rediff bags creative duties of Hamdard

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rediffusion Y&R will be the new creative agency of Hamdard Laboratories, a Unani and Ayurvedic pharmaceutical company which had put its flagship brand Safi and traditional medicine on pitch recently . The flagship brands like Safi, Roohafza, Sualin, Joshina will be handled out of the Rediffusion Y&R’s Delhi office. The account was won after a multi-agency pitch.

     

    Hamdard Laboratories operates in the category of health and wellness, and was set up in 1906 in Delhi. It is one of the major players in the OTC healthcare sector with more than 600 OTC and ethical products, including popular household brands like Safi, Roohafza , Joshina, Sualin – these brands have a role to play in our lives .They have dominated the shelves in our homes forever and in many cases , been a part of growing up years.

     

    Mansoor Ali

    Mansoor Ali, Chief Marketing Officer , Hamdard said this about the pitch:

    “ We’ve been through an intense evaluation process and have decided to award a significant part of the business to Rediffusion Y&R, on the strength of understanding our business, and having the right direction on concepts and strategy. We have decided to partner with Rediffusion Y&R on Rooh Afza and its extensions (being the big one),Safi, Sualin and Joshina.”

     

    Dhunji Wadia

    On winning the account, Group President Rediffusion Y&R, Dhunji Wadia, says, “It’s an honour to be associated with Hamdard and the wonderful brands that they have assigned us. We look forward to creating great work together.”

     

  • Rediffusion Sunshine will be the corporate social responsibility advisory and services division headed by Dhunji S.Wadia

    Rediffusion Sunshine unveiled; to focus on social sector communication

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rediffusion Y & R has tied up with Asset CSR team (ACT), a specialized CSR company that helps companies plan and implement effective CSR programmes.

     

    Founded by Sanjay M Lal, ex Co founder and CEO of Percept D’Mark, in partnership with advertising Industry veteran, Pankaj Arora, ACT is India’s first & exclusive CSR Marketing Communications Agency – a thought to reporting enterprise in the corporate social responsibility domain.

     

    Dhunji S. Wadia

    Commenting on the development, group President, Rediffusion Y&R, Dhunji Wadia, said, “I am really looking forward to this purposeful venture. There are very few communications companies in India that have specialized team to help companies plan and implement effective CSR programmes. More and more companies are looking for partners to achieve impactful and sustainable results.  We feel there is a big opportunity. I am very happy to associate with ACT to develop meaningful communication for social issues.”

     

     

    Sanjay M Lal

    Commenting on the development Sanjay M Lal, Founder & Director of ACT says, “We initiated this journey with a vision to bring about a paradigm shift in creating impactful & measurable social change in our country. This change cannot be brought alone and we are extremely glad Rediffusion Y&R welcomed our association with open arms to support our social mission.”

     

     

    Pankaj Arora

    Pankaj Arora, Co-Founder & Director, ACT says “Our strength lies in deep diving & understanding the Issues & accordingly amplifying the Cause. Our strategic focus will always remain on “doing good” for the Underprivileged. We have worked closely with Rediffusion Y &R. They have a fine, young team & some very talented people.”

     

  • Everest Brand Solutions has elevated Samir Chonkar to head its creative function in Mumbai

    Everest elevates Samir Chonkar to head creative function in Mumbai

    Samir Chonkar

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rahul Jauhari, Chief Creative Officer, Rediffusion Y&R and Everest said: “Samir’s contribution to the growth of Everest has been phenomenal. In addition to being a pillar of my team over the past few years, Samir has created work that has not just won, but also added immense value to our clients. His down-to-earth demeanor and relentless pursuit for perfection is respected by clients and colleagues alike. He steps into a role he has earned, in every sense of the word.”

     

    Rahul Jauhari
    Dhunji S. Wadia

    Dhunji Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R said: “Samir has a proven reputation as a creative leader and is held with enormous regard both internally and his clients. Samir’s passion for our agency, his integrity and intellectual curiosity, along with his deep collaborative way of working will make a difference to our clients and to our agency.”

     

    In his 20 plus years of experience in the industry, Samir has helped build iconic brands like Parle-G, Hide & Seek, Monaco, Milano, Amul, Tata Indicom, TCS, Tata Housing, Frooti, Bailey, Bagpiper Whisky, Tortoise Mosquito Coils, Hitachi, Onida, ING Mutual Fund, LIC, Franklin Templeton, Bajaj Allianz, Castrol, Jet Airways, Emirates Airlines and more.

     

  • Everest products are retailed in 6000 points across India and exported in high volumes to Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe

    Rediffusion Y&R bags creative duties of Everest Building Solutions

    By A Correspondent

     

    Building solutions company Everest, has awarded its creative duties to Rediffusion Y&R. The mandate will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.

     

    Everest Building Solutions is a trusted name in the construction industry today. A strong presence in the country for over 79 years to Everest provides complete building solutions for all. Everest products are retailed in 6000 points across India and exported in high volumes to Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe.

     

    Speaking about the development, Manish Sanghi, Managing Director, Everest Industries Ltd. said, “In depth domain knowledge and innovative ideas of the team at Rediffusion Y & R made us choose them as our creative agency. The agency’s understanding of our business gave us the confidence on their plans and commitment to take brand Everest to the next level. Together, we hope to make Everest a high value brand in all categories of the building solutions space that we operate in.”

     

    Dhunji Wadia

    Commenting on the Win, group President, Rediffusion Y&R, Dhunji Wadia, said, “It is always exciting when new clients put their faith in our agency. The team is proud and looking forward to do some exciting work.”

     

  • Meanwhile Komal Bedi Sohal, will relocate to Y&R Singapore as Chief Creative Officer

    Rahul Jauhari appointed CCO at Rediffusion Y&R

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rahul Jauhari

    Rediffusion Y&R has announced the appointment of Rahul Jauhari as Chief Creative Officer, Rediffusion Y&R Group. Meanwhile Komal Bedi Sohal, will relocate to Y&R Singapore as Chief Creative Officer.

     

    Rahul is no stranger to the Rediffusion YR Group. His team created memorable work for the Tata Group on brands likes Tata ACE and Magic. Rahul’s work was responsible for the successful repositioning of Kaya (Marico) and Onida, to name a few. Prior to Everest, in a 7-year-long stint at Rediffusion Delhi & Mumbai, Rahul led the creative work on Airtel, the agency’s biggest account.

     

    Over the past four years, Everest Brand Solutions added accounts like SAB TV (Sony Entertainment), CNN IBN, Kotak Mutual Funds, IndiaFirst General Insurance, Onida, Catch Spices (DS Group), Aditya Birla Retail & more. In addition to this, the agency added multiple brands from its largest account Parle Products.

     

    Dhunji Wadia

    Commenting on Rahul’s appointment, Dhunji Wadia, President Rediffusion Y&R India said, “Rahul has done a stellar job within the group. What I admire most is his passion and collaborative style of functioning and unending quest for creative excellence. Komal remains an ally within the network and we will continue to take full advantage of that and I wish her the very best in her new role.”

     

    Komal has spent the last two years as CCO at Rediffusion Y&R India, during which time the agency has undergone a resurgence, with a run of 16 new business wins and a return to The Economic Times’ list of India’s top 10 advertising agencies.

     

    Commenting on the appointment, Y&R Singapore Managing Director Melvin Kuek said, “Komal’s track record of both new business and awards success make her an ideal creative partner at the helm of Y&R Singapore. Having also ramped up the agency’s strategic planning team we’re very optimistic for 2015.”

     

  • Ms Varma joins Rediffusion Y & R from JWT where she worked for 22years

    Rediff appoints Suman Varma as Head of Delhi ops

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dhunji S. Wadia

    Rediffusion Y&R has announced the appointment of  Suman Varma as Head of Operations, Delhi. She joins the agency network from JWT where she worked for 22 years. In her new role, she will be reporting to Dhunji S. Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R and add to the company’s leadership team. Meanwhile, according to reports, Amitava Sinha, chief operating officer for East, North & South has quit Rediff.

     

    On her appointment, Mr Wadia said, “I’m delighted to welcome Suman to Rediffusion-Y&R. She brings the right mix of talent, experience and enthusiasm that we seek to inject into our talent pool.  Her strong leadership skills will enhance the quality of the work that we do for our clients and add value to their brands.”

     

    Suman Varma

    Said Ms Varma: “After a successful stint of 22 years with JWT and extensive associations with some of the most robust marketing companies, I am now seeking to leverage the depth and width of my experience in leading the Rediffusion-Y&R, Delhi team to greater success.  Leaving the comfort of JWT was a tough call, but the thought of joining Rediffusion-Y&R and teaming up with Dhunji was exciting.  I look forward to the new challenges ahead.”

     

    With over 22 years of experience in advertising , Ms Varma’s last assignment was as Vice President & Executive Business Director, JWT India and was leading the GSK and Hamdard account.

     

  • Eleven industry captains on the buzzwords they’ve hated so much. (Hint: Big Data & Viral top the list)

    The Most Annoying Buzzwords of 2014

     

    We asked the industry’s finest for buzzwords they grew heartily sick off in 2014. Big Data and Viral were the big losers. Read on for the rest:

     

    Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands

    1. Talent

    2. Compensation

    3. Digital

    4. Television measurement and

    5. Analytics were annoying as the more people spoke, the less they did anything about these things.

     

    For 2015, for starters, I have high hopes from the new TV measurement which Barc will put out, media agencies getting into content production, collaboration between all constituents of the ad ecosystem, budgets which will hopefully be at landmark levels and the World Cup which we should win again.

     

    HALL OF SHAME 

    Viral – Most of the time it is just an ad that runs way too long. Get some scissors, people

     

    Big Data – The ultimate Brahma Astra for the advertising charlatan

     

    The only viral I know of is the one that requires the intervention of a doctor

    Perhaps the most, abused & misused terminology in the year. Runs the danger of being called ‘Pig Data’.

    It’s just analytics. People have been doing this ever since humankind stepped on this planet.

     

    Malvika Mehra, National Creative Director and Executive Vice President, Grey

    The 5 most oft used words in 2014 were 1. Guys 2. Let’s 3. Make 4. A 5. Viral.

     

    Also ‘Take your time (4-5 minutes is great), but please don’t take my money. No budgets this year. And while you are at it, make it so stunning that it is ‘organic’ (unpaid distribution)’. Ji Sirji. ‘But ultimately make me a TVC. And I want a ‘BIG, LAUNCHY’ feel for our product in 30 seconds or less. Chal, paanch second aur le lo’. Ji sirji.

     

    The Pitch Bitch: ‘Of course we love you guys! We are just opening it up to 10 other agencies to inject some freshness into the brand (and test how much lower will they drop their price vis a vis yours for the same or more amount of work)’. Par Sirji?

     

    Femvertising: From soap brands, to makers of shampoos, sanitary towels, watches to home appliances and mobile network providers, everybody suddenly wanted to ’empower the woman’. I get the noble intent, but wish the brands would really ‘walk the talk’. Else it’s just a ‘token’ gesture. And consumers see through that inauthenticity.

     

    Interactive Pre-rolls: With stern warnings of ‘If you skip this ad, I will have to kill not only Jack and Jill and Mary and her little lamb, but also Old MacDonald along with all the cute animals on his farm’.

     

    Research: Gut instinct is officially dead. It got replaced by the R word. Heard about ‘No guts. No glory’? Not lately.

     

    Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather

    Native Advertising: I imagine people wearing grass skirts and clapper boards singing jingles.

     

    Vlog: At times we Bengalis mix up our Vs and Bs. That’s what I thought this was all about!

     

    Content: As in, ads vs. content, content marketing. Like ‘traditional’ advertising has no content? I’m content to pass on this one.

     

    Social: Yeah, why not? Let’s party. And get paid for it! That’s what I say.

     

    Seamless: Every element has to seamlessly work with everything else. Imagine if our clothes were like that too! Now that would be some fashion trend.

     

    Santosh Padhi, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India

    Pitch: If you do not respect yourself nobody will.

     

    Research: Like sex determination, it should be banned

     

    Low Budget: Instead of 300 insertions can we do 280 and improve the quality of the creative?

     

    Urgent: Premature babies forcefully welcomed will always run a risk

     

    Celebrity: They are the super highly paid creative directors, why do you need one more creative agency?

     

    Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India and CEO, Dentsu Asia Pacific (South)

    Integrated: Integration is the process, co-creation is the magic.

     

    360: 360 degree campaigns are consumer conversations in bursts, 365 is everyday relevance.

     

    Alignment: Alignment is passionless, belief runs deep.

     

    Structure: Structure constrains, open source liberates.

     

    Procurement: Vegetables are procured, ideas are partnered.

     

    Meenakshi Menon, Chairman, Spatial Access

    Big Data: That has to be on the top of my list. It’s just analytics. People have been doing this ever since humankind stepped on this planet.

     

    Twitterati: Everybody has become an instant expert on Twitter. I’d replace the term with ‘scum.’

     

    ISIS: ‘Isis’ is supposed to be the goddess worshipped as ideal mother and wife. Our vocabulary keeps evolving, sometimes not in the right direction. I’d call the group as a distortion than assigning them the name of a goddess.

     

    Homechef: Where mothers cooking for their families had some dignity to it, now we have a whole new concept of women cooking for complete strangers that they invite at home. The food is charged, of course. It’s just a little pretentious a term. Just call them plain old cook, maybe?

     

    Climate Change: It only gets talked about. Never acted upon. Perhaps replace it with – learn to breathe under water? Or ‘Grow gills?’

     

    Anil Nair, CEO and Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi

    Integration: The term liberally used when you don’t have a clue of what to do with your brand. It’s been institutionalised now. We will have Chief Integration Officers everywhere in no time. Put an end to this painful word. Replace it with ‘We need to have an idea,’ Sirjee.

     

    Social Listening: It’s something that our good old researchers have been doing for ages. It’s nothing more than trend analytics, only instead of taking a dictaphone out to record voices, you’re recording them off Facebook and Twitter. Just call it ‘consumer understanding’ and do not make an unnecessary tool out of it, please?

     

    Viral: The only viral I know of is the one that requires the intervention of a doctor and loads of medicine to go away. I don’t care where this term came from, it needs to disappear. It’s an epidemic that needs an antidote.

     

    SEO, SEM: Why are we making a mountain out of a molehill? Can we not get caught up in the process and its terminology and revert to a simple non-jargonised world?

     

    Big Data: For God’s sake, the database just got bigger. But it always existed. The most successful political campaign of this year was based on pure emotional advertising and not big data. Let’s stop jargonising information. Call it what it is (read: information).

     

    Mallikarjun Das, CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group (India)

    Big Data: A phrase bandied too easily and too much, especially by those who pay scant regard to rationality. The ultimate Brahma Astra for the advertising charlatan.

     

    Programmatics: A term used in context with media buying, especially on digital, when what they are doing is just using the optimiser.

     

    Fragmentation: The only problem with using the said buzzword is that it’s often used in a wrong way to strike some sort of terror in a client.

     

    Storytelling: Need I say more?

     

    360 degree: This term is like that sugarcane that’s passed through the machine 300 times. There’s no juice left in it and yet it’s being rolled one last time.

     

    Dhunji Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R

    Big Data: Perhaps the most, used, abused and misused terminology of the year. It runs the danger of being called ‘Pig Data’. There are questions regarding the implications of the approach and also the way it is currently done. It needs to look at data holistically – Total Information.

     

    Digital Evangelists: Don’t need them as you cannot preach to the converted.

     

    The ‘Selfie’ Contest/Promotion: Replace it with better imagination.

     

    E-commerce ‘Discount for the Day’: That runs for years together.

     

    Free App Download: With more and more retailers and brands reaching for e- and m-commerce, there is an explosion of apps to be downloaded. Begs the question, ‘Why would anyone pay to download such an app?’

     

    Ajay Kakar, CMO, Aditya Birla Group – Financial Services

    “Isse viral kar do!”: Which is what every client says. It’s content, not viral, please.

     

    “Facebook has 50 million visitors!”: So what? VT station has more people visiting, does that mean we put all our ads there?

     

    New media: Let’s just say ‘customer’ as opposed to new, old, traditional, or any other kind of media. Creative awards: Awards should be for creatives that work.

     

    Pitches: Here a pitch, there a pitch, everywhere clients flirting. Serial pitching must end. Let’s call them ‘Brand Custodians’ and not pitchers, shall we? Clients and agencies must stop playing the blame game. If one is the crutch to your success there’s no way one should let go.

     

    Bobby Pawar, Director and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide

    Viral: For the love of likes, it’s just a video until lots of people see and share it. Most of the time it is just an ad that runs way too long. Get some scissors, people.

     

    ATL/BTL: It implies a caste system of ideas. The good ones go above, the so-called ‘hard working’ ones slide under. It shouldn’t matter where the idea lives, it must be good enough to move your audience. People don’t care, therefore you must.

     

    But: This is phaasi ka phanda for ideas. It is crueler that a blunt ‘no’. Why? Because it is preceded by some waffling words that give hope to the creative, then ‘but’ shows up and yanks the handle.

     

    Deadline: Nothing induces a creative butt-clenching moment like this word. Yes sir, three bags full sir, our work is time bound, but does it have to sound so, erm, deadly?

     

    Purchase: It’s the leading cause of hair-loss among agency CEOs.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

     

     

  • Rediffusion Y&R has announced that Dhunji Wadia will be President of the agency. He will continue in his role as President of Everest Brand Solutions

    Dhunji Wadia to take charge of Rediff, will continue to be on top of Everest too

    Rediffusion Y&R has announced that Dhunji Wadia will be President of the agency. He will continue in his role as President of Everest Brand Solutions.

     

    Diwan Arun Nanda, chairman, Rediffusion Y&R, said, “Dhunji has strong business acumen, great entrepreneurial instincts and affinity for our clients’ businesses. What makes it all work is his ability to motivate and inspire people on all sides of the business. He’s an ideas guy who gets that great creative work and strategic insights are inextricably connected.”

     

    Added Mr Wadia: “The group has given me the opportunity to use my experience and skills towards making a positive difference to our clients.  I am looking forward to writing an exciting new chapter in the history of Rediffusion Y&R,”

     

    An MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, Mr Wadia joined the Rediffusion Y&R Group in 2010. Prior to that he was working with JWT.

     

    With over 25 years of experience in the business Dhunji has been associated with major national and international brands (Parle, TATA, Unilever, Nike, Levi Strauss, Diamond Trading Co, Kellogg, Aditya Birla Group, Sony Entertainment Television – Max and SAB, Kotak to name just a few.

     

  • Has the advertising industry become so blase that scams no longer have the power to shock? MxMIndia cuts to the chase

    Scam and scandal in the family

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Goafest is over but the controversies that surrounded it will take a while to die down. The last month or two saw a lot happening in the advertising industry in the country – first, Ogilvy not participating in Creative Abby because it didnt ‘energise’ them enough, then the whole JWT-Ford fiasco with high-profile exits, and the latest being Leo Burnett withdrawing two of their award-winning entries.

     

    Scams have been around and are almost a given every year, or so it seems. Hardly anyone seems shocked, though the end result is a bad name for the advertising industry. Is it a fact that scandal is part and parcel of the ad game? Should we shrug and get on with things, or can something be done, asks MxMIndia.

     

    Priti Nair, Director, Curry Nation

    It’s not just here but scams and controversies are part and parcel of award shows all across the globe. According to me, unless certain rules are changed nothing can be done to avoid them. Also, shows should treat the creative awards just like fashion shows wherein we recognize and applaud creativity. The whole thing of it being published before has to gotten rid of. It is indeed sad when such things happen, but the worst part is that it sometimes leads to bad blood among the industry and finger-pointing starts. The awards are meant to showcase creativity and the focus should be only that!

     

     

    Viral Pandya, CCO, Out of the Box

    There are pros and cons to scam ads, or rather two ways of looking at the issue.

     

    First the cons. A lot of clients are not evolved, and let us accept it, reluctant to buy edgy work. Therefore quite a few agency creatives, particularly the junior lot, are frustrated. So sitting in one quiet corner of the office, they get their jollies by churning out scam. The process gives them release, but in the bargain they don’t get to learn how to understand a brief, how to sell one’s work to the client, or even how to do effective advertising.

     

    As the adage goes, bad currency drives out good currency. Likewise, scam ads are chasing away good, real ads. If only agencies put as much time, money and resources behind genuine work! What is unfortunate is that today there are clients, particularly those possessed with the entrepreneurial spirit, who demand great work. This is not to forget that agencies like Taproot and Ogilvy do sterling work on regular clients, but they are an exception rather than the rule.

     

    Now for the pros. Proactive work created for awards pushes the envelope and celebrates ideas. Often you come across work so brilliant that you don’t give a damn whether it’s scam. And the ads specially created for award shows do win us metals globally and bring us glory. Personally I can understand and relate to the urge to prove to the world that we in India are second to none in the creative race. Only, I wish that instead of pulling each other down, we could support and promote each other and present a united front to the world.

     

    So where does that leave us?

    Here’s my solution. At GoaFest, let us award real work, and by real work I don’t mean work that meets the legal definition of released work, but ads that agencies can put their hand on their heart and say are genuine. Let us also have a category for proactive work which celebrates creativity and ideas, but does not split hairs about how genuine it is. And let us ensure that there is a clear distinction between the two. That way we eliminate the unfair competition between genuine ads and proactive ads. And everybody wins.

     

    Nisha Singhania, Co-founder and Director, Infectious

    Scams have been part and parcel of the industry for quite some time now, but the series of events which have happened in past couple of weeks will surely make everyone more careful. Also, I think as a whole the industry needs to take a call about how they can pit and end to this. After all, the feeling of winning an award of something genuine is far more than on a scam ad.

     

     

     

    Dhunji Wadia, President, Everest Brand Solutions

    It is difficult to justify something that is wrong. The Ford controversy was covered in world media including some of the biggest news channels. We got our 30 seconds of fame globally but for all the wrong reasons. The controversy has made us a laughing stock throughout the world. I guess today there is pressure on agencies to win at award shows. Questions that come to mind are -‘How far would you want to go?’ and ‘Would you want to sell your soul for this?’ If you want to make a Faustian bargain, then learn to deal with the consequences too.

     

    Today, there is a lot of talk of having a separate category for this kind of work. But I think that is just side-stepping the issue. The persons wanting to win will want the real McCoy. They are not going to settle for anything less. Instead the auditing companies can have a larger role here. All major award forums have auditors for this very purpose. Henceforth, it should not be enough for clients to merely endorse the work that is sent for award forums. They should also have paid for it and the work should be part of their marketing plan. I am sure the auditing companies would have dealt with much more complex issues. This verification should be a piece of cake for them.

     

  • Not going to GoaFest? Fix that, in seven shakes of an aircraft's tail! Dhunji Wadia tells you why.

    7 reasons all creative agencies must be at GoaFest

    By Dhunji Wadia

     

    #1 GoaFest is the most prestigious advertising festival in India, jointly hosted by the AAA of I and The Advertising Club Bombay.

     

    #2 It’s a wonderful opportunity to attend stimulating seminars and rub shoulders with the best minds in the business from India and overseas.

     

    #3 One gets to see the entire body of innovative work created in the last year.

     

    #4 The size of the organization does not matter – small organizations have as much a chance to win an Abby as big ones do.

     

    #5 Everyone wins – the people who create the groundbreaking work as well as the viewers who get to see all in one stretch. It’s a celebration of the work created by the industry.

     

    #6 The awards also spread good work globally.

     

    #7 They happen in Goa.  I rest my case!

     

    Dhunji S Wadia is President, Everest Brand Solutions.