MxMIndia

Tag: Goafest

  • In what could change the landscape of controvery-ridden ad awards, Kyoorius brings in D&AD backed awards for creative advertising

    D&AD enters India with Kyoorius Ad Awards

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ridden by charges of plagiarism, scam ads and boycotts, the Creative Abby conducted by the Advertising Club now has another force to contend with: the D&AD-backed Kyoorius Advertising Awards.

     

    The awards gain respectability even as they are announced as they are backed by none other than D&AD. Kyoorius, a not-for-profit initiative by Transasia Fine Papers, has been organizing the Designyatra, a design conclave since 2006. Last year, it revived the design awards with a D&AD-supervised jury process (*See Disclosure).

     

    The alliance between Kyoorius and D&AD continues with the Advertising Awards that are scheduled to be held in late May 2014. The Call for Entry will start on March 20.

     

    “Ethically and with the highest standards – the Kyoorius Advertising Awards recognise, honour and award the most outstanding creative work in the Indian visual communications sphere,” notes a communiqué, adding: “The foremost creative awards for advertising and marketing communication in India have been conceptualized by Kyoorius in Association with D&AD. “Together Kyoorius and D&AD have created a truly principled and neutral platform by setting the highest standard in judging criteria. The Kyoorius Advertising Awards will be unlike any other advertising awards in India – and will have no winning tier structure of golds or silvers – only the best is awarded. The jury too will be a mix of Indian and international icons that have been selected by D&AD and Kyoorius together. And as the only format of its kind in India – all jury members will gather in India for the jury session – to review, discuss and elect the best of the best over three intensive days. All voting is private, never by a show of hands.”

     

    Rajesh Kejriwal

    Said Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder-CEO, Kyoorius: “The Blue Elephant aims to be the most aspired trophy to be won nationally and will enhance the winners credentials globally and the Black Elephant will be the epitome of achievement for any creative person. Kyoorius’ mission, vision and most critically – our passion has been to provide a platform for the communicators. Everything we do is fuelled by this passion.”

     

    Tim Lindsay, CEO of D&AD added, “D&AD are proud to be partnering with Kyooriuis in India. We share a lot of aims and values – the main one being to stimulate, enable and award creative excellence in advertising and design and to inspire and support the creative community particular in the area of creative education. D&AD is famous for the integrity and quality of its judging process and its jurors – qualities we will bring the same to the Kyoorius Advertising Awards as we advise and collaborate on categories, jury composition, judging and event management. Both organisations are neutral, and the awards will be decided entirely on merit against the three D&AD criteria; is it a great idea? Is it beautifully executed? Is it relevant to its context?”

     

    Tim Lindsay

    Meanwhile, although a meeting was held with various stakeholders last fortnight, no date has been announced for either the Goafest or the Abby awards at the time of writing this report. There are unconfirmed rumours that some leading creative agencies may stay away if some conditions are not addressed.

     

    *Disclosure: MxMIndia is a Media Partner of Kyoorius

     

     

     

     

    We will go the critic route rather than the popular route: Kejriwal

     

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    R Balakrishnan

    For D&AD, it’s a chance to raise its profile in India. In an interview in December 2012, Tim Lindsay, its CEO was aware that the award had lost traction particularly with the younger lot. Indian entries have been on a decline. And so, this is the first time the D&AD is backing an award in a different country. Given Lindsay’s agenda for revival, it’s not likely to be the last. What nobody intends changing though is the notoriously tough - some would say almost frustrating - standards that the work is measured against. The D&AD is globally reckoned to be among the stingiest award bodies. It’s gunning for a similar exclusivity in India. “We will go the critic route rather than the popular route,” Mr Kejriwal admits. “I’d rather not have an award in a category than reward something that’s not up to scratch.” The awards will be run by the D&AD using its judging formats and backend. For the first time, Indian work will face an 18-member jury with a 60:40 split in favour of international judges. While subject to tweaking, the main categories include print/print craft, outdoor, film/film craft, radio, direct marketing and activation, integrated and art direction.

     

    More importantly for an industry where scam has become the filthiest four letter word in some circles, it will include D&AD’s stringent policies to whet entries. As well as additional ruses to throw off persistent scammers. Kyoorius is toying with the idea of showcasing the shortlisted work in galleries across Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru, which could help weed out scams. It’s also considering an online gallery. Elephants are standing in for the pencils, D&AD’s much sought after trophy. The best of show gets a black elephant, the rest of the winners get blue and students stand to bag a red. Such an enterprise doesn’t come cheap. Entries are to be priced between Rs 7,000 and Rs 10,000. As long as all the criteria are fulfilled with approvals in place, anyone from individuals to marketers and agencies can submit work.

     

    Rajesh Kejriwal is certain the entries won’t touch the numbers seen by the Abby, but believes more is not necessarily good. He says, “If quality means a lesser number, so be it. I’d be happy to get around 1,500 to 2,000.” In keeping with the mission of the D&AD which is involved in industry training and coaching sessions in the UK, Mr Kejriwal says money from the awards will be ploughed back into talent development programmes, seminars and workshops.

     

    The Kyoorius advertising awards are timed to grab an industry that’s at least for the moment, severely disillusioned with its longest running show, the Abby, as well as its festival Goafest. Mr Kejriwal believes, “There’s space for a popular award and a critic award. Every country needs a festival and if it has an award, so much the better. But what is the purpose? How do you make it relevant and content rich? How can it go beyond beaches and beer?”

     

    Josy Paul
    Sajan Raj Kurup

    Most creatives we spoke to are optimistic about the Kyoorius advertising awards. Josy Paul, chairman and creative chief BBDO India says, “Whether we will participate in Abby is still up for discussion. But I would like to enter an award from D&AD. They have evolved into a show that’s looking at substantial market changing work.” Adds Sajjan Raj Kurup, founder, Creativeland Asia, “I haven’t taken an anti awards stand but an anti not-so-reputed awards stand. As long as jury members are credible, it doesn’t matter where they are from. It’s better than mandatory judges from every agency even if they are not qualified.”

     

    Mr Balki whose disdain for awards is well known remains contrarian. Asked if he will participate, he says, “I am not enthusiastic about D&AD in London why would I be about it in India? It’s not the name or the institution. What are the judging criteria? If D&AD cracks this, it will be successful. But I’d first want to know what they’ve cracked. It could be the Tibetan advertising festival; if they figure this out first, we’d sign up.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

     

     

  • With agencies going in for their internal awards, that's the question many seem to be asking in adland

    Is it Goodbye Abby given internal & international awards?

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta & Shambhavi Anand

     

    What happens when an industry loses its faith in its own awards? In the case of Indian advertising, agencies seem to have found a solution by launching inhouse awards.

     

    While Lowe and Partners launched ‘The True Show’ a few years ago, Ogilvy & Mather just held its first internal award, the Envies.

     

    With other agencies too planning their own inhouse celebrations, does this mean that the days of the industry awards such as the Abby are numbered? “I don’t think so,” says Arvind Sharma, president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) that organises Goafest where the Abby awards are conferred.

     

    “The last 25-30 years that I have seen, big agencies tend to pull out of award shows. In ad award shows big agencies don’t count.

     

    It is the creatively hottest agencies that matter. People have come and gone in Goafest. While that decision should be respected, it has no bearing at all on the future of the show. The show will go on.” But the advertising industry remains divided.

     

    Piyush Pandey

    Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director at Ogilvy & Mather India and South Asia, says that his and other agencies are sending out a message to the organisers of industry award shows by holding their own in-house awards. “If the industry comes up with an award show which is believable and credible then we will participate,” he says.

     

    R Balakrishnan, chairman and chief creative officer of Lowe Lintas, says that message has been going out for a while, but the ad fraternity hasn’t got it yet.

     

    R Balakrishnan

    “Advertising has a purpose and how creative you are is that purpose. Who better than the agency that has created it to judge it,” he says, predicting that winning an Envie will make creatives at O&M happier than winning an industry award.

     

    Raj Kurup, founder and creative chairman of Creativelandasia, which pulled out of Goafest this year, has been vocal about scam ads in Goafest and how the event has lost its focus. “Whether it is an internal award or an industry award, I would welcome anything that celebrates fantastic real work that has made difference to the business,” he says.

     

    Sajan Raj Kurup

    Leo Burnett, which has a global assessment team and a unique scoring pattern that evaluates the agency’s internal work, has planned something special for its Indian winners in 2014.

     

    “We have very big plans for Cannes Lion 2014 and we are planning to send 25 people including creative, account management and planners.

     

    Saurabh Varma

    Teams that will score high in internal assessment will be a part of this, so will be the employee of the month and the previous Cannes Lion winners,” Saurabh Varma, CEO at Leo Burnett India, says.

     

    While a senior official in Leo Burnett says that the agency will not participate in Goafest 2014 because it has shifted its focus to Cannes Lion 2014, Mr Varma says, “We are still making up our mind on Goafest.”

     

    In fact, there are many in the industry who believe that while internal award shows of Lowe and O&M make a great statement, the industry award shows will co-exist. Josy Paul, chairman and chief creative officer at BBDO India, believes the two should not be combined.

     

    “This is O&M seeking external input and I think it’s gonna be respected for that. If more people do things like this, it just shows the industry is more united,” he says.

     

    Rohit Ohri, executive chairman at Dentsu India Group, says the Goafest is a larger forum for discussing industry issues.

     

    “So there is nothing like loosing sheen. But yes the competitive spirit that agencies like Ogilvy bring about will be missed,” he says. Agrees Vandana Das, president at DDB Mudra Group.

     

    “Old forums such as Goafest are places where great minds get together to celebrate great work. But it is not necessary that there will be only one such forum. There can be more,” she says. Like all other issues, the Indian advertising industry will remain divided on this one.

     

    But if there is one agenda where they unite, it is that the industry bodies should introspect the reason for the plight of the agencies from the award shows and try and bring them back.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • 1 Minute View: Goafest. Creative Abby. Plagiarism. Shame.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    11 superjury members in their wisdom have let India down. There were complaints of plagiarism after people got to see the award-winning metals. Note, the works couldn’t be viewed after the shortlists were declared, and hence complaints could be lodged after the awards were handed out. The superjury – comprising chairpersons of individual juries – have junked the charges saying the awarding process cannot be questioned. The Awards Governing Council has said that since the awards belong to the creative frat, their word is final. Well. One wonders what clients have to say. One wonders what the rest of the international fraternity has to say. As for us, we have just three words: Sad. Shameful. Shameless.

     

  • The Goafest 2013 Creative Abby superjury met on Tuesday afternoon on the plagiarism issue and the Awards Governing Council will announce its verdict tomorrow

    Abby superjury meets, AGC to announce verdict tomorrow

    By A Correspondent

    The Creative Abby superjury,  comprising the chairpersons of the 12 categories that are part of the Creative Abby, were scheduled to meet today (Tuesday, April 23) in Mumbai to decide on the fate of the seven-odd complaints of plagiarism that came.

    They did meet… the 10 or 11 of the brightest and most creative minds in the business. Note they are not just the most creative minds, but also the most responsible amongst them as they are leaders of their individual agencies or firms.

    The task was not easy. Some of the work belonged to the members of the superjury. The decision would have a huge impact on not just the agency, but also the client and the international network. And, mind you, internationally the networks are listed and hence answerable to shareholders.

    But there is a fear that along with the creativity, some craftiness may also be at play and some or all members of the superjury may well have decided to vote not to vote. The fear is also that a section of the superjurors may get influenced by hectic lobbying to save the face of the fraternity.

    However, even as there were naysayers who said the meeting would be a sham, thousands of those watching the developments believe that the superjury will in fact vote without any biases and any personal stake.

    The official word we have received is that the superjury has voted and their decision is now with the 10-member Awards Governing Council who will now announce their verdict.

    Even though rumours of the superjury voting not to vote will be counted as mere speculation until the official word is out, the ball now lies with the AGC. There is also a view that in case the superjury has decided not to vote, the AGC is well within its rights to scrap the entire Creative Abby awards in order to ensure that the international ad and marketing fraternity does not believe that plagiarism (and plagiarists) rule in India.

    Tough times require tough measures.

  • If Indian advertising has been trending recently, it has been due to the Ford Figo Fiasco and other F words that have since followed. But it is time to ditch all things F, says guest columnist Vinod Natesan

    Guest column by Vinod Natesan: Moving on from F words

    By Vinod Natesan

     

    If Indian advertising has been trending recently, it has been due to the Ford Figo Fiasco. And F words have since been used liberally around it.

     

    Festering at Goafest

    Controversies still continue around Goafest, India’s answer to Cannes. Leo Burnett and BBDO followed JWT on the scam trail. Leo Burnett’s radio spots for Tata Salt Lite were not paid for by its client and BBDO’s entry for DHL couriers was found to be very similar to work done in Singapore by Ogilvy for Allied Pickford. Both ended up having to return their awards. It is likely that many more agencies may also join that club if plagiarism is proved. Goafest therefore, has every likelihood of festering into a Goafarce.

     

    Finding the fountainhead

    There is indeed a need for the Indian advertising industry to introspect on where it is headed and what it needs to do.

     

    Marketing companies need advertising agencies, simply because agencies can do something which they cannot, even if they had the spare time. That “something” is the talent to unleash the drama in the given product, in a memorable manner, through mass media. The agency therefore has to have a DNA pool which produces ideas that can be monetized both by the agency and the client. Awards, to an extent, build credibility for this claim, since they represent an endorsement by the peer group. This is the only rational reason for awards and for Agencies to go hunting for them.

     

    In an interview, the head of a network mentioned that awards actually translated into the agency being able to make better margins for the services rendered. The awards provide credibility to the claim of superior creative firepower within the agency. Agency heads have therefore been pushing for metals to be won and showcased. While this is perfectly a valid ambition, the means adopted to meet this requirement have been suspect at times.

     

    Frauds and followers

    Talent spotting and nurturing the right talent possibly has been a casualty in agencies. Allegations of recruitment interviews becoming “idea shopping festivals” are rife. Creative Directors are alleged to move jobs with their own cliques in tandem. These cliques reportedly include “preferred” vendors for film making, model coordination, photography and even printing! Cabals emerge as power centers, driving away those who are not party to the “setting”. These often include talented, but upright professionals. Plagiarism of ideas within the agency and names being excluded from creative ownership lists are also refrains heard often. Absence of genuine talent could very well be a consequence in the agency. As an Indian saying goes, “You cannot grow mangoes from jackfruit seeds.” Scams, plagiarized work and work done by freelancer, all find their way into award shows.

     

    Filmi fever

    Celebrity endorsements in India have been the norm recently with astronomical sums being paid to “brand ambassadors”. Rather than ideas that are rooted in the product truth, it is the “celebrity fit” that seems to guide creative ideas. The brand differentiation is therefore linked to the celebrity endorser. Apart from the risk and implications for long term brand health, what is worrisome is the questionable nexus between the celebrities and the Creative Directors. Brand ambassadors end up endorsing film scripts written by the CD’s and finally starring in it. Ads done to curry favor with movie stars are not exactly award winning stuff. Scams therefore suddenly find life around the awards season.

     

    Fooling the client

    Random viewing of commercials and ads in recent times leaves most people perplexed. Even basic comprehension can sometimes be an issue. In a majority of the work released, the “consumers’ voice” is clearly not heard and the “consumer insight” is therefore conspicuous by its absence. The work therefore, has body and craft, but no soul. It would not provoke the consumer to move even a muscle. It is something that alienates clients and results in scam entries at awards. With the economy sliding into stagflation, advertising spends have begun to diminish. Patience with the Agency’s non-performance at the market place would probably have worn thin. Celebrity endorsements have been fatalities in many brand plans. Plagiarism for many clients is tantamount to counterfeiting and faking of intellectual property ownership. Releasing of brand communication without due approval would mean violation of copyright and the contract itself. Quod erat demonstrandum, agencies putting priority to awards over market share, and indulging in scams and plagiarism, may soon discover that an irate Client has put paid to the relationship.

     

    False favours

    Given their self-absorbed life styles, one would be forgiven for claiming that Corporate Social Responsibility is something that is preached but never practiced by agencies and people who populate them. However it has been a happy hunting ground for most creative agencies. Many sneer that these campaigns are akin to the devil quoting the scriptures. But the scriptures have somehow been used well enough to win awards in this category. It is, however, a big question mark whether the target audience ever saw this campaign and if it was given sufficient media weights to cross the threshold level. A tea brand recently did a highly rated campaign for encouraging people to vote. The voting percentage however dropped drastically in the following elections in Mumbai, the capital of Indian advertising.

     

    There is also lax follow-up when it comes to these causes. Adoption campaigns have been created, but not a single soul has continued with the effort to see where this issue has progressed to. Gender discrimination and domestic violence have been causes celebre in the advertising world, but people accused of sexual harassment still find favour and patronage in these circles. It is as if even charitable causes are being plundered for personal glory.

     

    Finally, the way forward

    It is clear that lust for awards without the consumer connect would only lead to a rape of the brand. Something that is clearly unwanted in India. To free itself from the shackles of the ills plaguing it, the Indian advertising fraternity needs to move towards genuine passion for the work, and nothing but the work. Then would come the greater glory and the good. God be with us.

     

    Vinod Natesan is a 21-year veteran of the industry and today runs a boutique brand and marketing consultancy, Mayan Consultants International. He can be reached on Twitter @vinodnatesan

     

  • In a connected world, plagiarism cases can be easily caught. MxMIndia speaks to some of the 'superjury' who will look into the many complaints lodged

    Time to toughen stand, urges Abby superjury

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    It has been a busy few days for big guns from the advertising fraternity, faced as they are with sorting out the issues arising from ads accused of being cheap imitations. After a few entries were hauled up, the AGC has appointed a 11-member ‘superjury’ to look into complaints that have been made in the past few days.

     

    As reported by MxMIndia earlier, the decision to have chairpersons of the various creative juries will, it is hoped, ensure an end to all charges of favouritism and critical decisions taken by juniors. While the ‘superjury’ will discuss and deliberate on each of the disputed creatives, the final voting will be via secret ballot. Note: the ‘superjury’ will only look at the complaints on creative issues like a certain ad being similar to another released earlier.

     

    While instances of plagiarism in advertising are not new, there has been no concrete effort so far in trying to nip the problem in the bud. And while a solution may even be found, getting rid of the menace altogether may be a difficult thing to achieve given the numerous constraints that are associated with the issue. MxMIndia spoke to a few members from the ‘superjury’ to understand the magnitude of the problem and also assess what could be the possible solution to cleanse the system. While we made an attempt to reach out to all members, a few could not be reached as they were travelling or preferred to not comment. Sonal Dabral opted to not offer his opinion on the subject while Josy Paul was travelling out of India. Prasoon Joshi and Senthil Kumar did not return calls or messages till the time of filing this report.

     

    K S Chakravarthy (Chax), National Creative Director, Draftfcb Ulka

    I think people are going to realize that the implications of even genuine mistakes are going to become serious. We are living in a very connected world so it is very difficult to hope that you will get away with it. The mistake may be small or a large one but the fact is that one has to be doubly careful today. If you ask me whether do I believe that in today’s day and age people genuinely go out and copy something and will get away with it, I do not think so. The truth will eventually be out. But one also has to consider the fact that the number of entries that get submitted run into thousands…so sieving through all of this is tedious. I would rather believe that sometimes mistakes honestly happen but increasingly the cost of committing such mistakes is becoming high. All we have been hearing after coming from Goafest is one scam after the other but that will be taken care of sooner or later. Also, I think people will become more aware of what they do from now on; the thing is that you cannot mandate such issues, it cannot become a matter of law.

     

    Unfortunately here we have got carried away in a couple of categories namely Print and Outdoor. Apart from that most of the work is real. It’s just that in these two categories it has become so easy for anybody to dream up anything and use it in one place. South America made it to fame and greatness through only scams; Singapore made it to fame and greatness only through scams… and then markets, emerge, evolve and they mature. The world has a way of teaching a lesson to people. In somebody’s quest to gain fame and glory they end up getting s*** on their face but everybody is smart enough to realise that.

     

    Nitesh Tiwari, CCO, Leo Burnett India

    I don’t think any self-respecting creative person would deliberately want to indulge in plagiarism. Imagine an ad which has won both nationally and internationally. That ad must have passed through the scrutiny of at least 10 (if not 20) senior creative guys both nationally and internationally. Now it’s obvious that none of them must have seen anything similar in their career else that piece wouldn’t have got awarded in the first place. So, what are the chances that the team which has done that piece might be aware of the existence of a similar piece done by someone else in some remote part of the world. It’s anybody’s guess. Goafest has a robust system in place to make sure such incidences don’t happen. A list of all the shortlists and finalists is put out for everyone to see. Anyone is free to send his reservations regarding the originality of any piece. People have done it and appropriate actions have been taken by the respective jury members before the final list of winners is prepared. I don’t know what else the Goafest committee can do. It’s our industry and it’s our responsibility to stop it from getting this messy. The best way to stop it would be that people wake up early and raise their concerns well in time. It would mean less heartburn for everyone.

     

    Agnello Dias, Co-founder, Taproot India

    Agnello DiasWhen the jury meets in a few days, we will look at the various issues that have been drawn up against a few ads. The meeting is being called to ascertain whether such allegations are true. If they are found to be true, we will further discuss what the next course of action should be.

     

    Whatever has happened in the past regarding plagiarised ads, a few may have happened by accident and a few may have happened deliberately. Also, it is difficult for the jury to find out which ads are genuine and which are not – they do not sit with Google at their side to keep a tab on the authenticity of ads. So it’s not possible for them to know what is genuine and what is not. In fact the question should be that it has happened for the first year and has never happened before. When has an ad been withdrawn due to plagiarism at Goafest, never!

     

    So it is too early to say anything right now and I can comment only after we have the meeting of the jury members.

     

    Piyush C Panjuani, Founder & Director, Equus

    The process of judging devised over the years by Ad club has been pretty much in place.

     

    The entries are scanned on various parameters. Having said this there can be nothing completely full proof and a stray incident could happen. After all there is a very thin line between inspiration and plagiarism.

     

    Like every year, this year too we had a wonderful jury for the film craft category. I have been on the film craft Jury for 3 years and special attention has been paid to plagiarism. As the chairman of the jury this year, it was but obvious to look into this issue with the same care.

     

    ‘Award’ is a mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement. In our context, it’s about originality…. about creating not coping.

    It’s about earning recognition for one’s creation.

    So I reckon its about being honest.

    Nipping the problem of plagiarism is about inculcating this atitude of being honest and respecting oneself!

     

    Rakhshin Patel, Partner, M&C Saatchi-i

     

    On a personal level I’d like to state that when one a scam ad is reported and proven the agency responsible should be debarred for at least one year. Also the people who are responsible should be penalised more or debarred for two years. The thing is that there are thousands of entries that get submitted and whether it is an Indian or international jury one can never really tell what is real and what is not. There is no foolproof system that can be developed; the only thing that can happen is if someone has seen something and reports it to the concerned authorities. Only if you impose strict penalties will people deter from such activities in the future.

     

    I remember one such ad which had won an award at Cannes and the very next year, an exact copy was submitted at Abby. Now if I hadn’t seen that entry earlier we all would have awarded a Gold to the entry. So there is no foolproof system that can be developed but the industry needs to exercise consciousness including the top management issuing a diktat to its workforce that such things won’t be tolerated. So penalising those responsible could help in curtailing such practices.

     

    Carlton D’Silva, Chief Creative Officer, Hungama Digital Media

    There are a few categories where you see scams coming in and there are other categories which would be next to impossible to get a scam like Digital. In digital, you cannot go out of your way and scam out an entry. Also, it’s probably impossible to scam on television which therefore leaves you with two components, namely Press and Outdoor from where a bulk of scams get reported.

     

    The way out is trying to change the rules to an extent. Like for example, can we attach a media spend to a press ad. There cannot be just one release in a newspaper but they should be seen across newspapers. What happens is that agencies release ads sparsely which get noticed by only a few people which leads to scams picking their way into the system. We need to figure out a way to make scamsters difficult to scam. Ultimately, we do not want to reward advertising that is not fruitful and has done nothing for the brand. But these things take time and will not happen overnight.

     

  • ‘Superjury’ to decide on Creative Abby complaints

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Goafest 2013 Awards Governing Council (AGC) has decided that all the complaints received against some Creative Abby award-winners will now be taken up by a ‘superjury’ comprising the chairpersons of the Creative Abby award categories.

     

    It is learnt that not everyone among certain agencies was happy with the way complaints filed against their award-winning creatives were being handled. They were upset that some junior members of the fraternity were ruling against their work for close resemblance to some other internationally produced creatives (read: plagiarism).

     

    According to Shashi Sinha, chairperson of the AGC, the meeting will be held within three to four days… as soon as it is possible to get all the ‘superjury’ members.at for its Grand Prix winning ad. The decision to have chairpersons of the various creative juries will, it is hoped, ensure that erase all charges of favouritism and juniors taking critical decisions.

    It may be noted that the superjury will not take up complaints or issues of the procedural kind (like the one impacting Leo Burnett), but those which concern the creative process, specifically the charges of plagiarism.

     

  • 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.

     

  • McCann likely to be on top as Leo Burnett withdraws gold and silver Creative Abby-winning Tata Salt Lite Radio spots

    Leo Burnett withdraws awardwinning Tata Salt Lite radio spots [from Mon eve]

     

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    In what could spark a longdrawn controversy in the scam ads-afflicted Creative Abby awards, Leo Burnett has withdrawn two Tata Salt Lite radio spots that won it four coveted metals in the radio and radio craft categories.

     

    Arvind Sharma, Chairman and CEO, India Subcontinent of Leo Burnett, has mailed the Awards Governing Council (AGC) chairman, Shashi Sinha, with a request to treat these two spots as withdrawn from the agency’s side.

     

    Arvind Sharma

    The Tata Salt Lite ads won a silver and a gold each in the radio and radio craft categories, and their exit reduces the final tally of Leo Burnett to 67 (7 golds, 32 silver and 28 bronze). McCann Worldgroup has lesser number of metals, but with 1 grand prix, 7 golds, 15 silvers and 33 bronze, it becomes the numero uno agency this year.

     

    In his mail to Mr Sinha, a copy of which is with MxMIndia, Mr Sharma has written that he was aware that there was a debate at the AGC about two Tata Salt Lite radio spots submitted by Leo Burnett. While he “recused himself from this debate and the AGC decided to award the spots… a website alluded to this debate with unnecessary insinuations”. The dispute is over the ads being created only for awards and not as commercially released work.

     

    Although he hasn’t named MxMIndia, we believe that Mr Sharma was referring to the story at MxMIndia at: http://www.mxmindia.com/2013/04/5-things-well-want-to-forget-about-goafest-2013/. Much as we would like to be given the credit for having corrected a wrong,  sources tell MxMIndia that the word had indeed reached Tata Chemicals/Bombay House including the ethics committee ahead of our post.

     

    Updated: It is learnt that when KPMG, the auditors for the Creative Abby jury, pointed out that the the client (Tata Chemicals) had intimated that the ads were created for awards, it was decided to debar the entry. However, later, the AGC decided to go ahead with the awarding of the metals after it received a revised communication from the client that the ads were indeed released commercially.

     

    Meanwhile, Mr Sinha confirmed receipt of Mr Sharma’s letter of withdrawal. The AGC’s decision on the letter is awaited, though according to sources, the demand will be accepted.  Also, while it depends entirely on the decision of the AGC, there is a likelihood that in the Radio Craft category, a gold that Lingo India has won may also be considered withdrawn.

     

    Clarifying its standpoint on the controversy, Tata Chemicals has also issued a statement: “The entire award submission process is one initiated and entirely managed by the agency; our role as a client was limited to approval of the creative. As a client, we were not aware of all the other technical requirements and subsequent process of submission criteria etc.  As soon as the inconsistencies were brought to our attention, and upon further enquiry, we conclude that it would be appropriate for the agency to return the award to the organizers.  We regret this incident which only strengthens our resolve for and commitment to strict adherence to standards.”

     

  • The Abby awards may be the highlight for some, but the annual ad festival will also see some heavyweight knowledge sessions

    Stage set for Goafest 2013 @ Zuri

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    Most flights headed towards the sunny state of Goa in the morning of April 4 are sure to be filled with execs and honchos from the ad and media world. Camaraderie, bonhomie and banter are travelling companions, as conversations surrounding Goafest take precedence.

     

    The eighth edition of Goafest 2013 will kick off with an Advertising Conclave at the Zuri White Sands post noon on April 4. This year the theme of the Goafest Advertising Conclave is ‘Time to Listen’. The Conclave will highlight the shortcomings of media and creative agencies, as perceived by major advertisers. Much like the last few years, the Conclave, sponsored by Discovery Channel, will see over 200 industry leaders drawn from Marketing, Advertising and Media.

     

    The Conclave will have some of India’s biggest marketers identify the areas that both creative and media agencies need to focus on, and make suggestions to get served better.

     

    Srinivasan Swamy

    Srinivasan Swamy, Chairman of the Goafest Advertising Conclave, who has chaired it in the past few years as well, said, “Our Conclaves always focus on issues of relevance to us. In the past we have talked about how to grow the advertising industry, or on the changing agency structure or how advertising is more than creative and media etc. In the same vein, this year we will get advertisers to tell us how we can be more relevant to their needs. The theme ‘Time to Listen’ captures this essence.”

     

    Nitin Paranjpe, MD and CEO Hindustan Unilever, will deliver the keynote address, and other industry stalwarts will share experiences and insights. Other big names include Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO Tata Sky, Arundhati Bhattacharya, MD SBI Capital Marketers and Arunabh Das Sharma, President, Bennett Coleman & Co. Sunil Alagh, Founder and Chairman of SKA Advisors and former MD of Britannia, will moderate a lively panel discussion.

     

    Nitin Paranjpe

    The real deal of the festival will kick off from April 5, with seminars and keynote addresses that begin at 2pm in the afternoon. Roger Mulchandani of WARC is to kick off the afternoon session with an address on ‘Seriously Social’. He will be followed by Ray Velez of Razorfish who will talk on ‘Transfroming Business at the intersection of Marketing & Technology’. Graham Fink of O&M is to speak next, followed by David Alberts of Mo Films. The Media Abbys followed by the awards gala will conclude the evening.

     

    Day 2 of the creative festival will see a rather unconventional start to proceedings as Swami Sukhabodhananda, Founder Chairman of Prasanna Trust will speak on ‘Uncertainty is also a part of life.’ This will be followed by a keynote by Mark Tutssel and Tom Bernardin of Leo Burnett. Following next is Shiv Singh of Pepsi who will talk on ‘No one cares about marketing. Do what matters’, and Nick Vale of Maxus Worldwide speaking about ‘What does great work look like in our changing world’. Director Abhishek Kapoor is expected to add a dash of Bollywood as he will speak on ‘Do what your heart says’. Amir Kassaei of DDB Worldwide will follow next with the topic ‘New creative revolution.’ The Creative Abby awards will bring the day to a close.

     

    MG Parameswaran

    Goafest 2013 Knowledge Seminars Chairman M G Parameswaran said, “We have lined up a great list of speakers this year. We have Graham coming from China, the hottest consumer market in the world today. We also have two speakers from very different domain, and you can’t get any more different than this. Swamiji was the only speaker at AdAsia 2011 to get a standing ovation. I am sure he will bring a lot of new thought to the seminars. And who said ad awards cannot get a bit of stardust. Abhishek who delivered a super hit last month is sure to deliver a super hit talk in Goa!”

     

    Also, last year Goafest saw the introduction of Marketing Wizards, an initiative whereby young client delegates could not only avail of the special under 30 delegate fees, but were also provided free accommodation – over 70 delegates from client organizations availed of this offer. This year Goafest is targeting a base of 150. In addition, Goafest will continue to have strong participation from senior clients in the Knowledge seminars as was the case in 2012. “Clients are our equal partners in creating ideas – we naturally strive to have their equal participation in Goafest both as speakers and delegates. This year we aim to attract participation from over 75 client organizations and hopefully over 250 people,” said Nakul Chopra.

     

    Nakul Chopra

    One of the biggest things to have happened or rather not happened is the participation of Ogilvy. This has paved the way for other creative agencies to prove their mettle at the grand stage. Despite the absence of Ogilvy, the organisers are claiming to have received a participation of over 4,200 entries. This will definitely prove to be a good year for some unknown stars who could prove their strengths here.

     

    Says KS Chakravarthy, NCD, Draftfcb Ulka, “It’s an open field this year as there is no frontrunner or contender this year. All of the campaigns so far are good and deserve an equal chance of winning. There has been a good amount of work done by various agencies and it would be great to see it together. Also, to hear what the speakers have to share with others is always an interesting part of the event.”

     

    Naresh Gupta

    According to Naresh Gupta, managing partner, Bang In The Middle, “This year hasn’t seen one landmark campaign that is the favourite. I would like to see a lot of challenger brands’ work to win. I would like to see more real work. Work that is mainstream. Work that the brands did to solve a marketing problem. I would also like to see greater integration of real and digital world.”

     

     

     

     

    Vivek Srivastava

    Adding his perspective, Vivek Srivastava, Jt MD, Innocean Worldwide said, “It’s a platform to interact and observe. There should be some interesting seminars. The Goafest committee has worked rather hard to get an interesting line up of speakers. And the Industry Conclave is being done in a manner which makes the business leaders deliberate and argue about issues that are affecting our businesses in the immediate term. I am surely looking forward to these. Our agency Innocean has had some shortlists. I would be happy to see those win for sure. In my view campaigns that genuinely impact consumer behaviour, make an impact on the brands’ future and ensure their relevance in this dynamic are the ones that deserve to win.”

     

  • In the light of the recent controversies, we asked industry players what they feel about Goafest, what they are looking forward to, & who they think should win

    What does Goafest have in store?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    In the world of media and advertising, awards go hand-in-hand with controversies. The upcoming Goafest is no exception – the annual festival to celebrate creativity in South Asia has been in the news for the wrong reasons. First, one of the biggies and main winners at the fest – Ogilvy and Mather – decided to stay away from the Creative Abby. Then, the entry of a controversial scam ad by JWT for their client Ford India led to heads rolling and shock waves across the industry.

     

    But turning to the positives, of which there are many, Goafest among other things offers many, especially youngsters in the industry, the opportunity to showcase their talent and learn from each other.

     

    In the light (and shade) of this, MxMIndia asked industry players what they feel about the festival, what they are looking forward to, and who they think should win.

     

    KS Chakravarthy, NCD, Draftfcb Ulka

    It’s an open field this year as there is no frontrunner or contender this year. All of the campaigns so far are good and deserve an equal chance of winning. There has been a good amount of work done by various agencies and it would be great to see it together. Also, to hear what the speakers have to share with others is always an interesting part of the event.

     

     

     

    Naresh Gupta, managing partner, Bang In The Middle

    I don’t have a favourite. This year hasn’t seen one landmark campaign that is the favourite. I would like to see a lot of challenger brands’ work to win. I would like to see more real work. Work that is mainstream. Work that the brands did to solve a marketing problem. I would also like to see greater integration of real and digital world.

     

     

     

    Anil Kakar, Founder/Chief Creative Officer, Gasoline

    As always, I am hoping to see the finest our industry has to offer. This year, in particular, I expect to see surprising work, especially in terms of craft. It’s good to see that we’ve been raising the bar in terms of execution, year after year and I am hoping this year will be no different. Among the few pieces that I can remember, I think the print campaign for Varuna D Jani is brilliant in terms of execution. The Morphy Richards commercial is another exceptional piece of work, worthy of a metal.

     

     

    Ashish Khazanchi, NCD, Publicis Ambience

    I’m sure the conversations, this year, are going to focus mainly on the controversies. However, apart from that, I’m going forward to the work and new talent. Also, with Ogilvy stepping out of it, it is difficult to say who’ll be a clear-cut winner unlike the previous years where some of the work done by the agency has won various awards. We expect to do well and of course there is Leo Burnett and McCann which have good work to their credit.

     

     

    Vivek Srivastava, Jt MD, Innocean Worldwide

    It’s a platform to interact and observe. There should be some interesting seminars. The Goafest committee has worked rather hard to get an interesting line up of speakers. And the Industry Conclave is being done in a manner which makes the business leaders deliberate and argue about issues that are affecting our businesses in the immediate term. I am surely looking forward to these. Our agency Innocean has had some shortlists. I would be happy to see those win for sure. In my view campaigns that genuinely impact consumer behaviour, make an impact on the brands’ future and ensure their relevance in this dynamic are the ones that deserve to win.

     

  • Ogilvy – that powerhouse of creativity – is not in the running for the Creative Abby. What does the industry think of that?

    The unexpected has already happened @ Goafest

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    This year the theme of Goafest is ‘Just what you unexpected’, and people were certainly not expecting Ogilvy to skip the event!

     

    Yes, for the very first time in the history of the event, the agency which has been winning big and inspiring many others at the event has decided to not participate in it. Shocking as it may seem, according to the agency, the decision has been taken after they felt that the event wasn’t energizing its people enough. Hence, they’ll skip it this year. As for the future, it is still unclear.

     

     

     

    MxM Comment: Sad to see an Abby minus Ogilvy… Time to ‘lagao’ pressure to get ’em back!

    It’s vital to exert all possible pressure to get Ogilvy back to the Creative Abby, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari. An Ogilvy not participating in the Creative Abby is like a China or USA not competing in the Summer Olympics!

     

    Last year, the Creative Abby was dominated by Ogilvy with the agency taking home 51 metals, including one Grand Prix, 11 Golds, 16 Silvers and 23 Bronzes. In earlier editions too, the agency has performed very well and has won the Grand Prix in 2007, 2011 and 2012. And in 2005, Ogilvy won the Creative Agency of the Year.

     

    MxMIndia asked around in the advertising industry whether it is in general a good idea for any agency to stay away from an industry event, and what will Ogilvy’s absence mean when the industry gets together in Goa, next month…

     

    R.Balki, Chairman and CCO, Lowe Lintas & Partners

    We have never entered the Goafest and other awards for a long time now. So, it would be wrong for us to comment on Ogilvy’s decision.

     

     

     

    Prasoon Joshi, President South Asia, McCann Worldgroup

    Every agency is entitled to its beliefs and I guess it is Ogilvy’s personal decision that they have decided to stay away from participating at Goafest this year. We should not focus on the negative side of this decision; the problem with all creative festivals in India is that we focus too much on controversies and one-upmanship. Instead, we should be celebrating each others’ work as it is only once or twice a year that we get to meet each other and celebrate our work. Bottomline is, if Ogilvy has decided to not participate this year at Goafest then we should respect that decision.

     

    KV Sridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett

    I don’t think it is correct of any agency to skip the event. It is an event organized for the industry by the industry. Having said that, I do believe that everyone has their own choice and reasons to do otherwise. It is an event where we should all come together and celebrate each others’ work. There is no charm in it if everyone doesn’t participate. Earlier too, McCann hadn’t for a year and Lintas don’t at all. I wish Ogilvy decides to come back to the event as it is not only a big but also a good agency.

     

    Pratap Bose, COO, DDB Mudra Group

    It is every agency’s decision to particpate or not to at any event. Therefore, Ogilvy’s decision is its own and I’m sure there are enough and more reasons for taking it. As for the event, I’m a firm believer that no matter who participates or who doesn’t, the show must go on.

     

     

    Arijit Ray, CEO, Dentsu Communications

    Goafest is a very recognized property and all agencies participate in it. Therefore, there is no reason to question or doubt the event’s sanctity. There is no doubt that Ogilvy is a big force at the fest and will be missed, but I guess it will go on as usual.

     

     

     

    Jishnu Sen, COO, Grey India

    It’s disappointing, but I am sure they have their reasons and am also sure when you examine those reasons closely, you will find that they have batted on the other side in some other fest. These decisions are taken to suit oneself and never for a broader good as often projected. Of course Ogilvy’s absence will affect the fest. Anybody’s presence or absence makes a difference. If it’s a competition, then the more there is, the more fun it is.

     

    Viral Pandya, CCO, Out of the Box

    This in fact is shocking news. It’s a delight to see their solid work every year and it also inspires a lot of young talent today. In my opinion, O&M has kept consistency over the years as far as finding creative solutions for its clients. And in process, the work, over and over, every year has worked for them at Goafest. It’s a pity that they are stepping out. Surely, there’s going to be a huge impact this year. And I sincerely feel that even Goafest need to reinvent itself. It has to become more ‘real’.