MxMIndia

Tag: Ramanuj Shastry

  • Expert advice combined with trust and honesty will decide which one of these couples will become the ultimate ‘Fit’ couple

    Infectious promotes MX Player reality show, ‘Shaadi Fit’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ad agency Infectious has unveiled its campaign to launch MX Player’s latest show, ‘Shaadi Fit’. Said Nisha Singhania, Co-Founder, Infectious: “When people are in love they see life through rose tinted glasses. They don’t consider other factors besides love before deciding to marry. Our campaign idea was about creating dissonance with blissfully in-love couples and giving them a little reality check by asking tough questions to check if they are ready for marriage.”

     

    Added Co-founder Ramanuj Shastry: “The promos for the MXPlayer series ‘Shadi Fit’ were fun to work on. The ads were both quirky and insightful takes on the thorny issue of “compatibility” – a top of mind issue for singles. Kudos to Director Karan Butani and The Rumor Projects for a fab job again.”

     

     

  • The film has been directed by famous Bollywood director, Tigmanshu Dhulia

    Infectious executes for Tasty Treat with Tigmanshu Dhulia

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tasty Treat has launched desibhujia in four international flavours – Wasabi, PeriPeri, Barbeque and Schezwan with a campaign titled “BhujiaGhoomAayiDuniya” created by Infectious. Inspired by classic Bollywood plot twists, the ad features the four sons of the bhujia family who get separated at a fair and literally travel the world only to reunite with their family again, transformed by their travel. Just like the new flavours, the campaign too has its share of spice and twist. The film has been directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia.

     

    Speaking on the launch of this campaign, Shantanu Prakash, Vice President, Brands – Future Brands said: “Tasty Treat is redefining the idea of traditional Indian snacks for the new India. Our international range of bhuji as is a step in that direction. When Infectious suggested Mr. Tigmanshu Dhulia as the director, it just fell in place. It needed someone like him. This campaign with its ‘twisted’ take on the 1970s lost&found masala Hindi films, helps take the whole effort forward.”.

     

    Leading the team behind this campaign, Ramanuj Shastry, Co-founder of Infectious, said: “Humour is Tasty Treat’s personality. Their first campaign, ‘YehPhisleeNeeyat’ too was built around a quirky idea. But ‘BhujiaGhoomAayiDuniya’ takes the fun quotient up by a few notches. The personification of the new flavours makes for an engaging and memorable story that would stand out in today’s clutter.”

     

    Added Nisha Singhania, Co-founder of Infectious, “In the F&B category where all brands are trying to be about health and taste, Tasty Treat is refreshing as it is focused only on taste. Credit to the brave brand team for agreeing to such an unconventional idea.”

  • The four-week long campaign will tap into mass media channels such as television, print and radio

    dittoTV launches aggressive ‘#beeskaTV’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    dittoTV has launched a nationwide integrated marketing campaign aiming to capture the attention of television viewers. The live TV platform has rolled out the campaign in 16 cities to raise awareness about the affordable platform that makes TV accessible to anyone with a phone, laptop or tablet.

     

    The four-week long campaign will tap into mass media channels such as television, print and radio. The campaign will be amplified on a bouquet of digital platforms and social media via heavy use of native content platforms. The hashtag #BeeskaTV will be leveraged across digital platforms to drive its key value proposition. In addition, there will be partnerships with complementary brands through integrations and celebrity endorsements. The TVC for the campaign will focus on how all members of a household can now access television at their convenience. It will be promoted on social media as well.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Archana Anand, Business Head, dittoTV said, “With the new avatar of dittoTV, we are looking at changing the way India indulges in its favourite pastime, i.e., watching television. With a price point of INR 20, we see dittoTV serving as people’s first and only screen, as their second screen at home, or just a personal TV on the go! Our campaign embodies strong consumer insight and an interesting slice of life situations. It is designed in a manner that conveys this simple message effectively across the length and breadth of the country, through a combination of mass media and strategic marketing.”

     

    Ramanuj Shastry, Co-founder & Director, Infectious said, “’#BeeskaTV’ is what we want people to remember DittoTV as. A value proposition of access, articulated in accessible, everyday language. Ditto TV will change the ‘who, what, when and where’ of Live TV viewing. We are proud to be part of a concept which is so revolutionary.”

     

    Nisha Singhania, Co-founder & Director, Infectious added, “Rs 20 per month is an unbelievable price point and our communication focuses on just that – how you can watch live TV on the go, no matter where you are, at INR 20 per month. The TVC brings alive the various situations in which dittoTV can ensure people don’t miss out on their favourite programs.”

     

  • dittoTV is a platform of Zee Digital Convergence Limited (ZDCL)

    Infectious wins creative duties of ditto TV

    By A Correspondent

     

    Infectious has been signed on as the communications partner for ditto TV. Infectious will be responsible for the all their marketing and communication requirements.

     

    dittoTV is a platform of Zee Digital Convergence Limited (ZDCL). It offers access to over 100+ live channels including the entire Zee network, Colors, Sony, &TV, Zoom, Aaj Tak, BBC, Times Now, MTV, Ten Sports.

     

    Archana Anand, Business Head, dittoTV said, “After a rather long hunt for the right agency, we chose to go with Infectious because we found them quick to get the brief and also extremely open minded. And we are glad of that call, as the creative output has been a truly collaborative effort and one we are very happy about.”

     

    Says Ramanuj Shastry, Co-founder & Director, Infectious; “ditto TV is ground-breaking because it democratises live television. It allows access to the teeming millions who can’t access live television because of the constraints of time, geography or money. It was a singular honour to be part of a movement that makes Live TV accessible to all.”

     

    Adds Nisha Singhania, Co-founder & Director, Infectious; “Now is the time for Ditto – with audiences increasingly consuming entertainment across devices, ditto enables them to see what they want, where they want. Also with a price point like Rs. 20/- literally anyone can afford it. We look forward to creating some fantastic work for ditto.”

     

  • An insight based campaign with a humorous take on how we view life and death

    AEGON Religare launches digital campaign #NothingWillHappen

    By A Correspondent

     

    AEGON Religare Life Insurance (ARLI) has launched a campaign – #NothingWillHappen, for its flagship protection plan iTerm. As a pioneer in online life insurance, ARLI has launched this campaign in an exclusively digital format. The campaign consisting of four long-format films looks at the way in which Indians view life and death. Partnering with well know stand-up comic Atul Khatri AEGON Religare is taking a step into uncharted communication territory with these online only films. The idea behind them is to get the audience who is aware of life insurance but not buying it, to start thinking about and considering the category.

     

    On the launch of this campaign, Yateesh Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer – ARLI, said, “At AEGON Religare we have always tried to be different and explore new territory. In this campaign we leverage on the very Indian insight that ‘bad things happen to others’ and hence the use of the hashtag #nothingwillhappen. In Atul Khatri we found the perfect protagonist, with a culturally relevant take on protection. The only difference in this campaign is that it is being released only through digital media and will not have a television release. While the campaign is product specific, we also expect a positive impact on our overall brand awareness. In insurance, the treatment of life and death has been predictable so far. With this unconventional take on protection, we hope to change the communication paradigm within which insurance operates.”

     

    The films were ideated and conceptualized by ARLI’s advertising agency, Infectious. Mr Ramanuj Shastry, Co-founder – Infectious, says, “The #NothingWillHappen web series from AEGON Religare is a new voice in the Life Insurance category, rife with cloyingly emotional advertising. Using humour and an unlikely spokesman in stand-up comedian Atul Khatri, the campaign pokes fun at people, in a state of denial about death, while gently reminding them to protect themselves. Needless to add, behind every ‘new’ communication stands a truly brave client – the AEGON Religare Marketing Team in this case, who have been unflinching in their support and trust. It was a singular pleasure working on these films.”

     

  • The new structure to have both companies working under the L&K Saatchi & Saatchi brand

    Publicis takes majority stake in Law & Kenneth, merges it Saatchi & Saatchi India [Updated]

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s not an acquisition like various others. Paris-based Publicis group has acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-headquartered full-service independent agency Law & Kenneth (L&K). In turn, L&K has merged with the India operations of the group’s Saatchi & Saatchi and taken full management control of the agency.

     

    Anil S Nair (CEO & Managing Partner, L&K S&S), Sandhya Srinivasan (CSO & Managing Partner, L&K S&S) and Anil K Nair (CEO & Managing Partner, Digital L&K S&S)

    The baton was in fact passed on to the L&K bosses some two months back, and once Saatchi’s key clients like Procter & Gamble were taken into confidence, the deal was announced on Thursday. Saatchi & Saatchi India will be re-branded L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.

     

    Law & Kenneth Chairman and Managing Director Praveen Kenneth will manage the new entity in the same role. He will join the Saatchi & Saatchi Asia-Pacific board and will work with Chris Foster, Chairman and CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi APAC. L&K’s core team of managing partners – Anil S Nair (CEO), Sandhya Srinivasan (CSO) and Anil K. Nair (CEO, Digital L&K) will take charge of the new company.

     

    Interesting Kenneth was CEO of Publicis India from 1999-2003. In 2004, he and British adman Andy Law founded L&K along with investor and co-founder Anita Roddick of The Body Shop. Pre-merger, the agency served a cross-section of local and global clients, including Renault, Dabur, Tata AIG Insurance, Godrej, ITC, Reliance, Idea and Hero MotoCorp.

     

    According to industry estimates, the combined entity will have a turnover upwards of Rs 100 crore, with more than 75 per cent contribution from the erstwhile L&K’s clients.

     

    Said Maurice Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe in statement: “”We are excited to be adding the breadth and depth of talent and resources of Law & Kenneth to  the Saatchi & Saatchi network in  India. We are glad to be welcoming Praveen back into the Publicis Groupe family.”

     

    Praveen Kenneth

    Said Kenneth: “L&K was born out of passion and our story is an example of the Saatchi & Saatchi spirit of ‘Nothing Is Impossible’.” While what Publicis brings to the table is the financial muscle and international scale, Kenneth & Co will drive the enterprise hard. “The combination of L&K’s stability, size proven success and experience in India’s dynamic marketplace, together with Saatchi & Saatchi’s iconic status and mystique, results in a creative powerhouse that is L&K Saatchi & Saatchi,” Kenneth added.

     

    The Publicis group has been on an acquisition spree in recent years and employs 3000 professionals across 10 global media service networks in India.

     

  • Infectious-created campaign gets English daily dna to unveil new multiple media brand campaign – 'Good is in our dna'

    dna on do-good mode, launches brand campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    English daily DNA (now written in lower-case – dna) has unveiled a new brand campaign – ‘Good is in our dna’.

     

    The attempt is to offer an all-year programme that will connect with good samaritans and provide citizens with a platform to contribute and spread the ‘good’ cheer. The campaign has been conceptualized and designed by Infectious, the ad agency set up in April this year by former Saatchi & Saatchi honchos Ramanuj Shastry and Nisha Singhania.

     

    Sorbojeet Chatterjee

    Said Sorbojeet Chatterjee, Senior Vice President – Marketing, dna: “This is a start to try and put the good back in the mornings. While, as a responsible newspaper we need to cover everything taking place around us, we plan to focus on the positive stories of human achievement and courage. The campaign has kickstarted with readers being able to sign up as Ambassadors of Good and the response has been overwhelming.”

     

    Ramanuj Shastry, Director – Infectious added: “In a day and age where we are surrounded by negative stories there is a desperate need for some good news. The people of our country need hope and something positive to start their day on. And who better than a media brand like dna who can not only give us the good news but also mobilise the people in our country to do some good.”

     

    The campaign will see an extensive use of print (naturally!), outdoor and radio. “Unlike a typical campaign that just looks at a spike, this is a year-round plan with a lot of editorial integration and reader engagement,” said Mr Chatterjee. And will we see any activations? “There will be one tent-pole activation every month which will see readers participate for a noble cause.”

     

    The first leg of the campaign has invited readers to sign up as “Ambassadors of Good”, and the response has been overwhelming, informed Mr Chatterjee.

     

    dna has been on an aggressive advertising campaign ever since its relaunch in April. The first two brand campaigns were done by the publication’s creative agency Genesis which continues to be the primary creative agency. A recent campaign for the graphic novel series that has been introduced in the paper was executed by an inhouse creative team.

     

  • A few recent ads seem to be embracing the luxury of time, giving audiences films that tell a compelling story. Is it a trend, and will it work?

    A long story short: Rise of the 100+ seconder

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Long copy became synonymous with David Ogilvy after he espoused its cause in his book Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963): “There is a universal belief in lay circles that people won’t read long copy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”

     

    While one may not see too much long copy in print these days, television commercial writers seem to be following the great man’s adage, if recent TVCs are anything to go by.

     

    Dove’s Real Beauty Sketch campaign on the digital platform and the latest Tata Sky commercial, which made waves for being all of three minutes long, are proof enough. But in today’s fast-paced world where the 30-seconder rules, do such ads really work?

     

    MxMIndia asks adwallahs what are the characteristics of a lengthy ad or campaign, and why some work – and some don’t.

     

    Raghu Bhat, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications Ltd & Founder, Fungus Designs

    The biggest challenge any advertiser faces is how to make one watch his/her advertisement. For instance, if we take a movie, people make an effort to go and watch the film; the same isn’t the case of advertising world. How many log on or switch on their television sets to watch a particular ad? Hence, it is difficult to find a programme which has a captive audience as well as has a two- or three-minute window to showcase an ad. People are watching IPL, but spots are sold for 10-seconders.

     

    For a mass brand, to launch a lengthy campaign, it cannot depend on the digital platform alone. It has to use television as a medium to reach its TG. And has to go beyond traditional content to catch people’s attention. For example, the Dove campaign turned out to be more of a social commentary and hence, caught people’s eye.

     

    Ramanuj Shastry, Co-Founder and Director, Infectious Advertising

    I would call such long-duration campaigns as branded content rather than advertisements, because people watch them more on the digital platform. A lot of such lengthy content is launched online, especially internationally, to go viral. However, it should have an ongoing story which will make one ask ‘what happens next?’. Apart from the story, other elements like music, acting, direction too are important. For such content to be played on air means that a channel has enough air space to fill; otherwise it doesn’t make sense to run them on TV.

     

    Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas & Partners

    I don’t think such lengthy advertisements or campaigns always work. The Dove real beauty sketch campaign worked because it was intriguing. It was almost like an experiment captured, which clicked with the people. But personally speaking, I think the Tata Sky is a bit too long, which wasn’t necessarily required. To run such ads on TV isn’t feasible for anyone and everyone. Maybe Tata Sky can afford to do so because they have their own channel.

     

    Agnello DiasAgnello Dias, Chairman and Co-founder, TapRoot India

    The Tata Sky TVC is one in a million. Today the biggest barrier the advertising agencies face is duration. Therefore, it is impossible to create something creative. TVCs today are just a reminder of a brand. What used to be known as edits are now the actual advertisement shown on television.

     

     

    Kartik Smetacek, Group Creative Director, Dratfcb + Ulka

    I think each piece of communication has its own ideal length (which isn’t always a pre-defined 30 seconds). A long-format ad has the advantage of drawing you into the story and building a much richer experience before the brand message is delivered. What you lose in frequency, you more than make up for in impact. Apple’s 1984 spot being a case in point. The key to a successful long-format ad is a compelling storyline that resolves to a relevant, well integrated brand message. The narrative must demand an extended build-up, so that every extra second adds to the intrigue. Apart from that, impeccable execution – whether it’s cinematography, casting or music – greatly helps the cause.

     

    Last year, Chipotle released a two-minute film online that was totally worth the time. It was an animated film that told the story of a farmer who dismantles his high-tech, mechanized farm to re-embrace a simpler, free-range approach. Set to an epic track (Willie Nelson covering Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’), the film kept you riveted till the final second. The ad made its TV debut at the Grammies, by which time it had already travelled virally around the world, redefining Chipotle for a whole generation of customers.