Che cruiser bike brand Bajaj Avenger expressed its take on why freedom matters to women and in a way they feel right. With #RideYourIndependence that has been conceptualised by Mullen Lintas Mumbai, Bajaj Avenger unravels the journey of one such female protagonist and what being free really means to her.
Commenting on the objective behind the film, Sumeet Narang, VP – Marketing, Bajaj Auto said: “Avenger stands for freedom and liberation and it is our endeavor to reinforce the brand equity with each communication. With so many issues of women safety cropping in India recently, on this Independence Day, we saw an opportunity to underline ‘liberation of women’ seen from an Avenger perspective in a unique, positive and an endearing way.â€
Expressing her views on the idea and making of the film, Garima Khandelwal, ECD – Mullen Lintas said: “It’s the 70th year of independence, but are we, man woman alike really free? The film shows a woman riding through the outskirts, how a man would ride today. The indifference the world has to her presence is meant to reflect as respect of her freedom, it’s a utopian community. Mahatma Gandhi’s quote rightfully makes the film relevant for Independence Day. The brand makes a point on liberation yet again but this time it’s not a film for a girl that rides, it’s a film for every girl. Here’s to her independence!â€
Leading finance company Motilal Oswal Financial Services has rolled out its new brand campaign to position itself as an equity investing expert. Conceptualised by Mullen Lintas Mumbai, the brand film firmly establishes the role of the company as an expert in Equity & Equity Mutual Funds. The brand film goes on to trace some exceptional talent from across the country whose skills would put normal people to shame. A clerk at an office who’s faster than a machine in processing paperwork or construction workers at a building site that get their job done using unique  or a chef at an hotel who gets his chore done in the blink of an eye or even a barber, a bar-tender, a street food vendor, etc. All these individuals go on to show that “if you focus on one thing for a long time, you master itâ€. That’s what has driven Motilal Oswal to emerge leaders in equity investing.
Commenting on the brand ideology and brief given to the agency, Ramnik Chhabra, Marketing Director, Motilal Oswal said: “Drive by our office at night and it will be lit green or red depending on how the stock markets have performed that day. Instead of ‘Up-Down’ buttons, our elevators have visuals of Bulls and Bears. We have one of the largest equity research departments in the industry. All the money of the company and promoters is invested only in equity. Needless to say; we are an ‘only equity focused’ investing house. This focus has helped us create a unique stock picking methodology (QGLP) to create wealth. The aim of the film is to, well; focus on this focus! And hence present Motilal Oswal as the equity expert you should think of if you are thinking about investing in equity.â€
Highlighting the creative idea behind the campaign, Garima Khandelwal, ECD-Mullen Lintas said: “Let’s celebrate skill, and the passion to do what you do every day and become the boss of it. The flair, rhythm and style makes it unique especially for the financial category. And that’s the contrast that excited us, for our clients. Motilal Oswal have mastered equity, and that is the single minded message we needed to put out loud and clear, hopefully entertaining all as they watch it.â€
Added Ayyappan Raj, EVP-Mullen Lintas said, “The client’s brief was quite simple and in a way very fundamental – we have been in the business of equity for 30 years and we’re really good at it. They pushed us to make this point in the most interesting way. What we’ve tried is exactly that, to make a point about how Motilal Oswal has been very successful with equity over the last thirty years. In a manner that’s fresh to the category and makes for enjoyable viewing. It was great working with the brand team on this campaign and they’ve been quite supportive of seeing this idea through in the best possible form.â€
Viacom18’s Video-On-Demand OTT service Voot has rolled a campaign for its kids content segment – Voot Kids.
Commenting on continued focus on understanding kids and their needs, Akash Banerjee, Head – Marketing & Partnerships, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, said:“Kids live in a universe of their own – their toys, favourite toons, games/activities with their friends, their possessions, etc. make up a large part of the world they relate to. The concept of #NoMoreAtakoing is fundamentally rooted in the compulsions of nuclear families and the resulting situations where kids find themselves in dull and un-relatable situations – here is where Voot Kids swoops in to save the day and makes them smile. We’ve delivered this message through an anthem and several relatable situations. Our endeavour at VOOT Kids is to ensure that fun, entertainment and development continues uninterrupted for kids through engaging characters and immersive storytelling. The campaign is set to make Voot Kids’ every child’s best friend, always & forever.â€
Speaking about the creative process and relevance behind the campaign, Ayyappan Raj, EVP-Mullen Lintas said:“Voot is one of the leading brands in the Digital Video space and we are very proud to be associated with it. The brief for this particular campaign for Voot Kids was based on a simple but powerful insight of ‘kids being stuck in an adult world’ and we really enjoyed coming up with this creative solve for this message. We made the entire product pitch as a charming appeal from the kids to the adults. That’s what “No more Atakoing, Latakoing†is all about, a jolly anthem of kids being stuck in different situations and Voot Kids coming to rescue. “
Added Garima Khandelwal, ECD, Mullen Lintas:“Kids being lost in their own creative & wonderful world is anyday more fun than them trapped in ours, was the starting point of this brand film from Voot Kids. We used a simple mnemonic of a rotating chair to tie together all the normal and everyday places for adults, but boring places for kids to be in. We are confident of the campaign cutting through very effectively to both parents and the kids.â€
Mullen Lintas, the recently launched creative agency of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group, has appointed its senior management team across cities.
Amer Jaleel
Announcing the new team, Amer Jaleel, Chairman and CCO – Mullen Lintas noted, “I’m thrilled with the all-star-lineup that Mullen Lintas has been able to assemble in such a short time. With this kind of firepower at the start, this team has the weight-class to rival the biggest and the best. I look forward to cutting our teeth into briefs, and creating some great work together.â€
Ekta Relan
Ekta Relan has been appointed Senior VP & Planning Head – National Brands. Based in Mumbai, Ekta’s mandate would include leading the strategic planning function across offices and brands for the agency.
Ekta has spent more than 15 years in the insights and ideas business. Prior to Mullen Lintas, she was with Sapient Nitro Singapore for about 2 years, Unilever (India & Singapore) for 7 years and Lowe Lintas for 5 years. During her career, she has handled a rich portfolio of brands like Fair & Lovely, Pepsodent, Clear, Moet, Lux, Paddle Pop, Health Promotion Board Singapore, Continental foods, MetLife and Eu Yan Sang.
Garima Khandelwal
Leading the Creative Art function for Mullen Lintas would be Garima Khandelwal who has been appointed Executive Creative Director. Garima would be based in Mumbai and would drive the creative function on core brands for the agency.
In her last role, Garima was the Group Creative Director at Lowe Lintas where she worked for 5 years lending her creative expertise to a diverse client set across product categories. She has spent a total of 15 years in advertising and began her career with Ogilvy in Delhi. From there she briefly migrated to Prague where she worked for Leagas Delaney, on the Skoda account for the European market. Some of the clients that she has been associated with include Suzlon Pals, Tata Tea (Kala Teeka), Axe (Boat Party), Liva, etc.
Syed Amjad Ali
The business mandate for the Delhi office would be led by Syed Amjad Ali, who has been appointed Executive Director. Amjad moves into this role from Lowe Lintas Delhi, where he spent 20 years in multiple business leadership roles managing large client portfolios across product categories.
Amjad has led the business mandate for a host of clients including Maruti Suzuki, Olx, Havells, Micromax, Hero Motors, Dabur, Expedia, LG Electronics, Greenply, Woodland, ABP etc. Under his leadership, brands have benefited through highly effective advertising and won many effectiveness awards.
Ayyappan Raj
The business mandate in Mumbai would be led by Ayyappan Raj who assumes the role of Executive Vice President. With this new role, Ayyappan moves to Mumbai from Bangalore, where he was heading a unit for Lowe Lintas.
Ayyappan has spent the last eighteen years in advertising handling business for Chennai and Bangalore markets across a host of agencies including Ogilvy, Lowe Lintas and McCann Erickson. With the ability to break down any complex problem to the simplest solution possible, Ayyappan has offered effective solutions to a host of clients spanning different industries like Automobiles, Personal Care, Food & Beverages, Telecom, Insurance and Technology. Few prominent clients that Ayyappan has worked on include Saint-Gobain, Vodafone, TVS Motors, Britannia, MetLife, Tata Tea, ITC Foods etc.
Kishore Subramanian
The Bangalore business for Mullen Lintas will be driven by Kishore Subramanian who assumes the role of Executive Vice President. In his last role, he was Head of Karishma Lintas in Bangalore.
Kishore is a finance professional who accidentally walked into advertising about 19 years ago. After learning the ropes in Grey, he moved on to Lowe Lintas where over a period of twelve years across Mumbai and Bangalore, he worked on exciting brands like Sonata, Tanishq, Fastrack, Kissan, and Britannia both as an account person and a strategic planner. He followed it with a short crash course in Japanese work ethic, cars (Toyota) and culture at Dentsu where he headed the Bangalore operations. From there he moved to JWT, in a strategic planning role, and worked across both the Delhi & Mumbai offices on the GSK and Godrej business.
Welcoming the new team on board, Virat Tandon, CEO – Mullen Lintas said, “This is a dream team to start off with. Between them, they have shaped the biggest and the best brands in the country and internationally. With this formidable team, we offer clients, caliber that is second to none. We can’t wait to get going and showcase our prowess as the new creative startup to watch out for.â€