It’s been doing the rounds for weeks. But now it’s official. Ogilvy India has announced the departure of Ajay Gahlaut, Deputy Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India, CCO – Ogilvy North. Gahlaut leaves Ogilvy to pursue his own interests.
Gahlaut joined Ogilvy for the second time, in November 2007. His first stint with Ogilvy was in 2001 and until 2005. In the last decade, he has worked to help build brands such as Pernod Ricard, BMW, KFC, Tacobel, Dabur, Perfetti, Mother Dairy, Pizza Hut, Â Sprite, Best Foods, HT Mint, Philips, to name a few.
Said Sonal Dabral, Group Chief Creative Officer & Vice Chairman, Ogilvy India: “Ajay did some excellent work in his decade long innings in Ogilvy Delhi. I’d like to thank him for building a great team and wish him all the best for all his future endeavours.â€
Added Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy South Asia: “Ajay is looking for life beyond advertising and for that reason, I cannot stop him just like I couldn’t stop Abhijit. If Abhijit was going to another agency, I wouldn’t have let him go. Everyone has a dream and unfortunately, I can’t fulfil that dream. He has done a stellar job and I am very proud of him. He worked very closely with me and I will miss him. He is a very dear friend.â€
So why did Gahlaut go? And what’s he doing next? And who’s going to helm the all-important Delhi/North India operations of Ogilvy next. We don’t have answers to these, though there are murmurs on why Gahlaut was keen on moving out. Since these are murmurs, perhaps they should stay that way. If we know for sure, we’ll come back with a report.
ISDI WPP School of Communication hosted its first graduation ceremony on September 24amidst a high-profile industry audience for its professional three-year undergraduate diploma program in communication.
Hosted by Dr Indu Shahani – President & Chair, ISDI | ISME | ISDI WPP, senior industry practitioners and mentors of the batch such as CVL Srinivas, Country Manager, WPP India, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy, Roopa Badrinath, Chief Talent Officer, South Asia, JWT India, Deepshikha Dharmaraj, Chief Marketing and Growth Office, Genesis B&M, Shilpa Chitre, Head, Human Resources, India Grey Group, Karl Gomes, Chief Fanatic, Fanatics among others, attended the ceremony.
In his commencement message to the class of 60 students, Srinivas spoke about the digital disruption in the industry and it being a favorable time for young leaders to enter the corporate world as a change agent.
Adding to the message, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy welcomed the class to the industry and encouraged them to be enterprising and always challenge the status quo.
Winning teams of the Star Re.Imagine Awards that created the two award winning campaigns – Fevikwik’s ‘Khushiyon ke chand pal’ and Swiggy’s ‘No order too small’, conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather and Lowe Lintas respectively witnessed an action-packed sporting spectacle between Manchester United and Tottenham along with a stadium tour of the team.
The guest teams of Pidilite & Swiggy, included the two lions of St Mark- Piyush Pandey and brother Prasoon Pandey; Vivek Sharma – CMO, Pidilite; Srivats Thirumala – VP Marketing, Swiggy; Sonal Dabral, Vice Chairman & Group  Creative Officer, O&M; Hari Krishnan, President – South India- Lowe Lintas, Vanita Keswani – CEO, Madison, Ankit Rastogi – MD, Havas Media; Binu Thomas, Havas Media India Pvt Ltdamongst others.The contest was run for all advertisers that ran on the Star Network during VivoIPL 2018
Havells is out with its latest campaign for its heat-resistant and flame retardant wires. Taking forward the product attribute of ‘wires that don’t catch fire’, Soho Square sticks to the brand’s popular emotional story-telling space but with a very refreshing take.The film has been directed by Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures and shot in Himachal Pradesh.
Speaking about the film, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia: “In our first Havells ad, wires that don’t catch fire prevent a young heart from getting hurt. A memorable film for a memorable brand.â€
Added Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Chairman & CCO, Soho Square: “It is a challenge and a pleasure to work on an iconic brand with a history of memorable advertising. We believe that this latest refresh of the Havells wires campaign has the right ingredients to catch on with consumers.â€
Said Amit Tiwari, Vice President, Marketing, Havells India Ltd: “Havells has been an image and market leader in the wire category business, and communication has been integral to the brand. Havells Wires that don’t catch fire has been an iconic campaign over the years. This year the task was to take it further and strengthen our positioning. We have always chosen emotional stories to convey our message and this time too we were looking for a story that is universal.â€
Adhesive giant Fevicol has released a new ad film created by Ogivly that reiterates Fevicol Marine’s strong bond in water with the tagline ‘Asli Waterproof Adhesive’.
Said Vivek Sharma, CMO, Pidilite Industries Ltd: “Fevicol Marine is an advanced product and highlights Fevicol’s technological prowess. Post the successful ‘boatman’ campaign, we wanted to highlight the brand promise in an entertaining manner that has become synonymous with Fevicol advertising. The new marine TVC aims to showcase the product superiority of Fevicol Marine compared to other offerings in the market.â€
Commenting on the campaign, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative director, South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather, added: “The campaign keeps in mind that currently most consumers cannot differentiate on wood adhesives performance and technology. The idea was to present the differentiation in an easy and humorous manner. Like all Fevicol ads, this TVC also borrows from India and captures the spirit of India.â€
Dr Fixit has unveiled its new campaign featuring actor Amitabh Bachchan. The TVC aims to create awareness among home owners about the need for five-point waterproofing.
Said Vivek Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Pidilite Industries: “Dr. Fixit, as the pioneer and market leader continues to educate consumers about the need for modern waterproofing methods. The five-point TVC further expands the awareness amongst consumers about the criticality to do their home waterproofing in the right way, that is through Dr. Fixit 5 point waterproofing.“
Commenting on the campaign, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative director, South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather- said: “The 5-point waterproofing is interestingly delivered by MrBachchan in this TV commercial. When I look at the commercial, I think of all the problems that one has faced during our lives when water seepage troubles you in the most surprising fashion. I am sure that this interesting TVC will enable a lot of people to plan their homes in a better fashion of waterproofing them. “
When you invite someone like a Piyush Pandey to conduct an advertising review and preview, you’d be ready for an entertaining session. And the IAA Retrospect and Prospects held in Mumbai on Wednesday, this came in the form of loads of plain speak. Pandey was candid when he rubbished (well, almost) most of the creative work done in the recent past.
Sample these:
Celebrities should not be reason for lack of creativity, he said. “We must respect the celebrity and work 10 times more on those creative’s. Find the nuances of the celebrity and use it.â€
“Digital needs to get creative. As of now, it is just a medium. We need to learn how to make it happen. “
Or this one: “I can understand reduced budgets but can’t understand reduced creativityâ€
Pandey of course had a special mention of some of the social causes that advertising had been highlighting over the years.
Earlier, IAA India President Ramesh Narayan said in his opening remarks: “This is a unique event where an industry leader critiques the year that was, and does some crystal ball gazing into what the year ahead could hold out for the industry. Piyush and Prasoon Pandey are an inspiration for generations. They have made a huge contribution.â€Pradeep Guha, MD, 9X Media and a former IAA India President recounted how the Cannes story was born for Indian agencies and how it was a collective mission to take Indian advertising global.
Later, after a medley of their top works were presented, Piyush and brother and celebrated adfilm-maker Prasoon Pandey were felicitated Indian advertising to a global level.  The Pandey brothers will be recognised with the highest honour at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity – the Lion of St Mark.Said Prasoon Pandey after being felicitated: “Our body of work is deeply rooted in Indian ethos and from slice of life. It is because we are passionate and love our country.â€
The occasion was also used to present industry veteran industry person and a founding member of IAA India Roger Pereira with the IAA Global Honorary Membership which had been conferred on him recently.
IAA Global Senior Vice President Srinivasan Swamyand a host of other senior industrypersons were present at the event that was sponsored by ABP News.
It’s D-Day. December 15, 2017. And since we don’t ‘conduct’ the award presentation offline, we aren’t dependant on venue availability and rates negotiations. Hence, we do the awards on a weekend, not a weekday… when the mood is just right. Celebrate if you are happy with the announcement, or just give us a pass. Or a few GRRRs.
So how are we different from other awards?
First, it’s not based on a survey. It’s not based on any industry poll. It’s based on a study conducted by us through the year. This makes the decision-making tougher, as we can’t pass the blame on to research. Or the collective view of the industry. Or of a jury.
Second, it’s an A&M industry study. Agreed CEOs of big clients are important, but we are looking at CMOs and not CEOs of well-marketed organisations.
Third, we look at performance through the year, and don’t base it on the highs of the last two quarters of a year which tend to influence any voting-based process at the yearend.
Fourth, we give you a clear reason why we have chosen the winner
Fifth, we are as sincere and honest about the awards as one can get. There were suggestions that we should make it an on-ground event. But then that comes with its own set of issues (and compulsions). We even had one large media group expressing its interest two years back. But we think it could’ve influenced our decision. Perhaps next year, with some more wisdom will happen in our blood streams.
And sixth, it’s about achievement in 2017 – in this calendar year (well not the entire year, but at least the 350-odd days that have preceded today). There are some who may have been super achievers the previous year, but have fallen short of our winner in 2017. Similarly, there are some A&M barons who have been doing splendid work through the years, but there has been someone else who has been more spectacular. We only look at achievements of the current year.
So: the MxMIndiaMediaperson of the Year 2016 is an online award. It’s an accolade that’s for the truly well-deserving. And for the True Achiever of 2016 in the Indian Media, Advertising & Marketing arena.
With the backgrounders done, here’s how we went about our task.
Wemaintain an online notebook that records important developments of the year. It’s a drill that ensures one can do recaps etc with ease.
For the Mediaperson of the Year, one reviews names, quarter-wise. This helps that the choice of the award doesn’t suffer from the recency factor.
We looked at various names. We couldn’t miss the achievements of the Zee group captains Punit and Amit Goenkaand Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats as they celebrated major milestones this year.
We also looked at the Big 35 media entities. For, it takes a lot to ensure that it’s business as usual. We then got to our second shortlist where we decided to look at five shortlists. And this is what it was:
1. Piyush Pandey: Getting the Lions of St Mark with brother Prasoonis, as we wrote the other day, a significant achievement.
2. The Wire Co-founders – Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Bhatia and M K Venu: They’ve stood their ground in the very rough weather and have emerged as the biggest of the credible voices in journalism. Yes, more credible than most print badshashs.
3. Uday Shankar: Star India Chairman and CEO Uday Shankar was elevated to President, 21st Century Fox, Asia. But the 21CF charge would be in addition to the Star India responsibilities. The year also saw Star bagging the IPL rights and perhaps for the first time ever getting its act together on the second channel – Star Bharat.
4. CVL Srinivas: The GroupM CEO bagged the coveted ITC account along with a slew of others and some consolidation of the Indian operations. And then he was also made Country Manager India which is a significant capture of the faith WPP supremo Sir Martin Sorrell thinks of Srini
5. And then our fifth shortlist…
Ladies and Gentlemen, We have great pride in announcing that the 2017 MxMIndiaMediaperson of the Year Award goes to…
Arnab Goswami, Owner and Editor-in-Chief, Republic World/TV
Arnab Goswami
Goswami quit Times Now last year and in superquick time he set up an all-new English news channel. Right from the start of this year, he has created a buzz in media circles about the channel’s launch. And his launch strategy was unique with videos released via digital media announcing that he’s coming soon
This award goes to ArnabGoswami, the businessman and mediaperson. It’s not easy to launch a channel in some seven months, even if the decision to start anew would’ve been taken earlier.
For the last eight-odd months, Republic TV has been the undisputed leader amongst English news channels. There have been attempts to undermine its rise by slicing of data in terms of age groups, time bands or select cities, but the lead of Republic over the others, Times Now in particular is definite.
He has also led the channel’s drive to attract anchor advertisers with one-on-one meetings with a large number of them. He has of course also managed to line up a top deck of able hands in Vikas Khanchandani, Priya Mukherjee and Charu Thakur amongst others.
The fact remains that Republic TV did take the dual LCN route to maximise reach in the early days as did a few others, but given the regulator’s intervention on the issue, the dual LCN route for upping connectivity has been stopped.
There are allegations that Times Now and Republic TV have taken the landing route to boost viewership but we do not have evidence to prove both.
While Times Now is still a significant force to reckon with, in terms of its content and presentation, it appears to be a poor cousin of Republic TV.
But, given that the MxMIndiaMediaperson of the Year award is a qualitative award, it would be incorrect to mention that the nationalistic, pro-NarendraModi, pro-BJP biggies and hence the pro-BJP stance of Republic TV and Goswami in particular is a significant downer. While it’s not that there is no screaming and shouting on India Today or even NDTV in the recent past, Goswami takes the pitch to a new high every evening. We have had reservations about Goswami’s and Republic’s editorial stance. Yes, we do remember that he was very combative against Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar after the unrest in the state some months back. He has taken on the BJP since launched, but these have been very few and far between.
Perhaps there is reason for moderation. Perhaps there is reason to move away a bit from the debate formula and also include other news of the day in a little more detail.
But for now, the formula is working wonders for Republic TV and its primary promoter and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami.The viewing public, as is determined from the popularity of the channel, isn’t complaining.
A truly deserving winner of the 2017MxMIndiaMediaperson of the Year Award. Taaliyaan!
It’s an award that’s perhaps as big as the Nobel Prize. It’s like the Honorary Oscar presented to the great Satyajit Ray fifteen years back. You’ve read it elsewhere already, but in case you haven’t: the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that brothers Piyush and Prasoon Pandey will be honoured with the Lion of St. Mark award at the 2018 Festival.
So are we making a big deal about it? After all, Brand Equity – the publication which everyone in the A&M ecosystem aspires to be in – relegated to the bottomspread despite being given an exclusive.
Well, we aren’t here to question editorial discretion, but suffice to say that the names of Lion of St Mark winners in the recent past will tell you how important the honour is:
2017: David Droga, founder and Creative Chairman, Droga5 2016: Marcello Serpa, former Partner, AlmapBBDO 2015: Bob Greenberg, Founder, Chairman and CEO, R/GA 2014: Joe Pytka, Director, PYTKA 2013: Lee Clow, Chairman, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Director of Media Arts, TBWA\Worldwide 2012: Dan Wieden, Co-Founder and Global Executive Creative Director, Wieden+Kennedy 2011: Sir John Hegarty, Worldwide Creative Director, Founder, BBH
This is the first time anyone from Asia – yes, no one from China till date – has been accorded this honour. The Pandey brothers of course do not need this recognition to be placed up there in Indian advertising’s Hall of Fame.
Said Jose Papa, Managing Director of Cannes Lions in a statement: “The Lion of St. Mark recognises those who have made a significant and outstanding contribution to creativity in our industry. Piyush and Prasoon have undoubtedly made the world pay attention to creativity in India. While they are famous, and rightly so, in their homeland, I’m thrilled that we have this opportunity to celebrate their contributions to our industry on the Cannes Lions stage. The fact we get to honour the achievements of two brothers makes this year’s Lion of St. Mark award particularly special.
Piyush Pandey paid tribute to India, his clients and colleagues, commenting: “This is a huge, huge honour. I am humbled and immensely grateful to the people of India. It is the richness and diversity of this nation that gave my brother and me the opportunity to learn and to create good work. I am also indebted to my clients, my colleagues and Ogilvy who gave me the support and the freedom to fly. Thank you Cannes Lions for giving every creative professional in my country a reason to believe that if Prasoon and Piyush can do it, so can they.”
Added Prasoon Pandey: “The Lion of St Mark is an absolutely incredible and stunning honour for two 10-15 year-old kids from Jaipur who were just having a blast playing Emperors and Thugs, Dragons and Demons, dreaming stories and playing them out with some far more imaginative and talented friends. We were so engrossed in that play that we forgot that we were well into our 50s and 60s! This is such a huge and humbling honour for us; I just hope it doesn’t make the kids inside us conscious.”
Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director Ogilvy South Asia won his first Cannes Lions awards with two Gold Lions for his work on an anti-smoking campaign in 2002, marking the start of a period of global recognition for a man who was already a creative legend in his native India. Piyush’s work is considered instrumental in the popularity of advertising campaigns produced in Hindi during the 1980s and 90s, heralding a shift to more universally accessible creativity in India.
Prasoon Pandey, younger brother of Piyush is a highly respected director whose name has repeatedly featured in global rankings of top film directors. Prasoon is credited for directing the first Indian campaign to win a Lion, for Ericsson’s ‘One Black Coffee’ in 1996 and is one of the most awarded directors in India.
Piyush Pandey joined Ogilvy & Mather in 1982, and made his name on work for Fevicol, Luna Moped, Cadbury and Asian Paints. In 1994, he was made National Creative Director for Ogilvy & Mather India. Piyush was the first Jury President from Asia at the 2004 Cannes Lions Festival. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016.
Prasoon Pandey started his career at Lintas Delhi, eventually becoming the creative director for Lowe India. He set up his own production company, Corcoise Films, in 2002.
Piyush and Prasoon Pandey will be presented with the Lion of St. Mark at the closing awards ceremony of the 2018 Festival. The brothers will also take part in an interview hosted by Philip Thomas, CEO, Ascential Events in the Lumiere Theatre as part of the 2018 content programme.
Fevikwik, the instant adhesive brand from Pidilite Industries, has launched a new television ad campaign titled ‘Khushiyon ke chand pal’, which depicts woman being unexpectedly appreciated by her loved ones for repairing different things in houseshold.
The campaign, conceived by Ogilvy & Mather, through a series of films with Fevikwik sense of humour, highlights the versatility of Fevikwik in fixing anything, from toys to ‘jhumka’ to a ‘mandir ki ghanti’. It talks about how Fevikwik can not only fix broken objects but also cement the bonds between husband-wife, mother – son, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Said Vivek Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Pidilite Industries: “A woman is at the heart of every family. But very often she goes unappreciated for little things she does around household, including repairing broken things at home that are favorite to family members. The new TVC campaign, in its own humorous way, appreciates this role that she plays by bringing back things to life through repairs and creating little moments of joy.â€
Commenting on the concept, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative director, Ogilvy & Mather- South Asia said: “Fevikwik has always created wonders and various moments of joy for enormous number of consumers. The ‘Khushiyon ke chand pal’ (moments of happiness) campaign depicts that this instant-bonding adhesive is a perfect partnerfor every housewife to have cherished moments and fix any kind of day-to-day things.â€
Fortune Oils has released its latest campaign featuring brand ambassador Akshay Kumar. Taking forward the brand’s message, Fortune Oils’ latest TVC shows Akshay spending time with army jawans at a camp – drawing on his association and support for the Indian Army.Conceived and executed by Ogilvy South, this film celebrates the idea of home-cooked food and the emotional attachment we all have with it in a fresh and interesting story.
Said Piyush Pandey Executive Chairman and Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia: “The film continues on the theme of ‘ghar ka khana’ but this time we use jawans as they are the ones who miss ghar ka khana for long extended periods away from home. Akshay Kumar is a good fit because he has been a Chef in his early days (before he became a Bollywood star). I am sure he will touch the hearts of people and strengthen Fortune Oils connect with the people of India.â€
Added Angshu Mallick, COO, Adani Wilmar Ltd: “Fortune Oils’ communications have always been about connecting with our consumers on an emotional level. So when we were considering a brand ambassador, who better than Akshay Kumar. He is popular, likeable and relatable with people across different ages. Known to be a hardworking and conscientious person, Akshay epitomises all the values that Fortune stands for and is the perfect representative for our brand.â€
Said Azazul Haque, CCO, Ogilvy South: “The idea of choosing Akshay Kumar as a brand ambassador came from the client and we loved it. A cooking oil brand choosing a male brand ambassador was a bold and progressive decision. Also Akshay has good credibility as a food expert because of his affiliation with world famous cookery shows and his own past with the food industry. From there the idea of him cooking for others generated. Because of his strong associations with the Indian Army, we thought a story of him cooking for the jawans, who miss ‘Ghar ka khana’ the most will make for an emotionally engaging plot. Because ‘Ghar ka khana, ghar ka khana hota hai’ is not just a positioning, but also an emotion. The premise that one misses home cooked food when away from home is a human truth.â€
GBTL Ltd. (formerly known as Grasim Bhiwani Textile Limited) has revealed its signing of superstar Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador.
Commenting on the announcement, S Krishnamoorthy, Managing Director of GBTL Ltd. said:”We are privileged to have MrBachchan as our Brand Ambassador. His vibrant persona, legacy and pan India appeal makes him, the perfect fit for brand GBTL – Grasim (licensed user TM Grasim). It is the most recognised suiting brand in India and by roping in Mr Bachchan, the company has demonstrated its intent to take the Brand to a supreme level, addressing the market needs and preferences of consumers across the length and breadth of India.â€
Added Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, South Asia Ogilvy & Mather:“I am happy that Ogilvy & Mather is reunited with GBTL – Grasim. I am also overjoyed that the company has got Mr Amitabh Bachchan on board as their Brand Ambassador. The fact that this news is announced on Mr Bachchan’s 75th birthday is an icing on the cake,â€
ISDI WPP School of Communication hosted its first graduation ceremony on September 24amidst a high-profile industry audience for its professional three-year undergraduate diploma program in communication.
GBTL Ltd. (formerly known as Grasim Bhiwani Textile Limited) has revealed its signing of superstar Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador.