MxMIndia

Tag: Ravi Deshpande

  • The interactive video-views platform is also available on Android phones.

    Firstpost launches promo for YouSpeak

    By A Correspondent

     

    Firstpost.com, India’s leading news and views portal has just launched the longest commercial for its interactive, video views platform, YouSpeak, which is also available on Android phones.

     

    Conceptualized and directed by Ravi Deshpande, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Contract, the ad runs for three minutes and 52 seconds and showcases a monologue of a quintessential modern woman spanning multiple subjects. She urges users to express themselves, as bottled-up feelings can be toxic.

     

    Mr Deshpande commented, “Often, your opinion, is linked to the way you are as a person. When you hear or read someone’s opinion, you can envision his face in your mind’s eye. That’s why, seeing the person speak is more powerful than just reading or hearing an opinion. The idea was to create a short film which is in fact a person’s opinion. Who she is as a person is clearly reflected in the content and delivery of her talk. Just as the personality of thousands of other video uploaders will be evident from what they have to say on YouSpeak.”

     

    YouSpeak, which was launched in March, allows users to express their views/ opinions via a 30-second comment on any topic on Firstpost.com and also allows them to start a conversation of their choice. It is also available for Android Mobile users, which will allow users to upload their points of view anytime, anywhere.

     

    The full ad can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGa3R4yCYg and the app can be downloaded at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.youspeak.

     

    Creative Agency: Contract India

    Art Director: Ravi Deshpande, Chairman and CCO, Contract Advertising

    Writer: Malobi Dasgupta

    Concept & Direction: Ravi Deshpande

    DOP: Faroukh Mistry

    Actor: Priyanka Bose

    Account Management: Anish Kotian, Gayathri Bhaskaran

    Production: FAR productions

     

  • After two stints with Contract, Mr Deshpande will be leaving to pursue his personal passions. He will be with the agency till the end of June 2013

    Ravi Deshpande bids adieu to Contract India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ravi Deshpande

    Contract India has announced the departure of its Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Ravi Deshpande. After a long tenure over two stints with Contract, Mr Deshpande will be leaving to pursue his personal passions. He will be with the agency till the end of June 2013.

     

    “Ravi has contributed very significantly to the growth of Contract and I wish him all the very best in his future endevours. We are thankful for his contribution to make Contract one of the finest brands and organizations in the Indian advertising world,” said Rana Barua, Chief Operating Officer, Contract Advertising. The senior leadership team continues to lead the charge at Contract.

     

    “Contract has been a part of me since the beginning of my career. It has been a truly great place. I am leaving with wonderful memories. I would like to thank everyone for this amazing journey. I wish everyone the very best for the future. In the true spirit of Grow Young, reinvention of oneself must continue,” said Mr Deshpande, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Contract Advertising.

     

  • Firstpost.com has come up with its first ever campaign on television. The new TVC braces the viewer to the reality that newspapers and the planet are under siege.

    Contract creates a cliche-free TVC for FirstPost

    By A Correspondent

     

    Firstpost.com, a digital newsroom and an advocate of ‘participation’ accompanying the breaking news process has debuted a new campaign with a television commercial which is set to change the way the world perceives news, or rather newspapers.

     

    While habits suggest people are moving to the internet more often to seek news, the perception of reading news is still dominated by ‘the morning newspaper’, which does provide news, but effectively a day late.

     

    The new campaign for Firstpost.com, devised by Contract Advertising, depicts what Firstpost is set out to achieve was simply to reach out to a larger audience. In the one year of its existence, digital natives had already taken a liking to this newsroom on the web and spurred the level of participation by actively engaging with Firstpost on a regular basis. However, the challenge was to take Firstpost to internet users who still thought of the ‘morning newspaper’, whenever they thought of ‘news’. The objective was to get people turn to Firstpost.com for their dose of news and opinion on the web or any mobile medium for that matter.

     

    Explaining Firstpost’s commitment to digital journalism, Durga Raghunath, VP Products and Exec News Producer, Firstpost said: “The news has moved beyond a static newspaper. The idea was to make readers entirely rethink their view of news as-it-happens. Therefore, the lines around reading news a day late. Contract, of course, has taken this spirit and made a stunning ad, whose concept is adorable.”

     

    While Firstpost.com has its dedicated following, the task was to migrate newspaper readers to Firstpost, explained Ravi Deshpande, Chief Creative Officer, Contract Advertising: “We wanted to get regular newspaper readers interested in the Firstpost. And we needed to do that in the most persuasive and effective way since reading a newspaper first thing in the morning is a hard habit to beat.We also wanted to avoid cliches such as our reporting is better or unbiased etc when we planned the communication. We focus on the fact that you not only help protect our only planet  when you consume news in digital platform but you also help yourself get the news as it happens. You don’t really have to wait for 24 hours to learn about the news”.

     

    Mapping out the approach, he said: “We were pretty sure that once they were there, the product itself would hook them. After all, Firstpost is a truly international news product from Indiathat has not been an offshoot of a traditional newspaper attempting to replicate itself online.

     

    Right from the word go, it has been designed to cater to the needs of people on the move. It enables a dialogue, not a monologue. Challenging newspapers would have to be done at a poetic level. Thus, the direction we’ve taken in the film is to display the terrible loss of trees that the planet goes through. We wanted to cue how people could read news fast on Firstpost.com without hurting the planet. While personally I feel reading a newspaper in the morning is rather romantic, the shift to digital is inevitable.”

     

    On aspects of execution he added “We wanted the execution of the film to serve up total honesty, total reality… that’s why we showed nothing fictional when it came to the process of deforestation, whereby trees get cut, transformed into pulp and ultimately into newspapers that serve up news that’s already a day old. The music we chose was an authentic country/folk song, that helped us present irony in an entertaining way, it kept the drama going till the commercial makes its statement about exhorting you to move to the digital platform.”

     

    TVC Credits
    Chief Creative Officer: Ravi Deshpande
    Creative Director: Ravi Deshpande
    Copywriter: Ravi Deshpande & Sahar
    Art Director: Ravi Deshpande & Salil Sojwal
    Account Management: Arjun Sengupta ,Anish and Namrata
    Production House: Day Dreamers
    Director: Bosco
    Producer: Deepti & Kautul
    Agency producer: Ketaki Guhagarkar

     

     

  • Financial portal moneycontrol.com’s new commercial features 'rockstar netas'

    Budget comes alive on moneycontrol.com

    By A Correspondent

     

    Moneycontrol.com recently launched its Budget 2012 campaign Rock the Sabha, which shows some well-known political personalities hitting the high notes.

    The latest moneycontrol.com commercial, which is currently on the air, has set the ball rolling for moneycontrol.com’s Budget 2012 campaign. With key politicians like P Chidambaram, M Karunanidhi, Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee playing guitars and jiving to the beats of rock music, the rock concert effect introduces the Budget 2012 coverage on moneycontrol.com in an unexpected way.

    The bold punchline, ‘Budget Comes Alive’, brings to life the brand’s rather sober attitude and creates the right amount of curiosity towards the newly incorporated interactive elements like poll, debates, slideshows, online chats, LIVE blogging and videos on  moneycontrol.com’s budget page, said a release from the company.

    Commenting on the campaign, Lakshmi Narasimhan, CEO, Web 18, said, “Apart from communicating that moneycontrol.com presents the biggest Budget coverage online, one of the key objectives of this campaign was to give a fresh perspective to moneycontrol.com and reach out to new users.”

    Ravi Deshpande, Chief Creative Officer, Contract Advertising, said, “Moneycontrol.com is the undisputed No.1 financial portal of the nation. It has redefined the way finance is presented and consumed in today’s day and age. Which is why we thought its communication too has to make a bold, emphatic statement. If the Budget campaign is disruptive, it’s only to mirror what the brand is actually doing in the marketplace.”

    Kaushik Roy Senior Creative Director & AVP, Contract Advertising said, “It’s absolutely eye-opening! The way in which moneycontrol.com is taking the boredom out of the Budget presentation. The ‘Rock the Sabha’ campaign is an attempt to make that point loud and clear. We hope it will attract newer, younger audiences, in addition to exciting millions of existing users.”

    The ad can be viewed at http://t.in.com/budget2012.

     

  • The theme of AdAsia – Uncertainty – underlines the need to keep up with change if one is not to be left behind. Industry attendees weigh in.

    AdAsia: Change, the only constant

     

    By Shruti Pushkarna and Tuhina Anand

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VswkUKXre-I[/youtube]

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The AdAsia 2011 conference opened to a jam-packed hall at the Taj Palace yesterday in New Delhi. Welcoming over 1200 delegates, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ms Ambika Soni said who else but the government of India could understand the theme of this conference better, for which “uncertainty is truly the only certainty”. Going further with the Minister’s perception of change being the only constant, MxM India’s Shruti Pushkarna and Tuhina Anand caught up with a few delegates to see what ‘Uncertainty: The New Certainty’, the theme of this edition of AdAsia meant for them and their respective businesses.

    Through the sessions, speakers and delegates seemed to be in general agreement on how the world is changing rapidly, especially in terms of technological advancements, and it is the pace at which one adapts to this change that will determine how successful or unsuccessful one is.

     

    Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO, Interpublic

    Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO, Interpublic said that the focus is on change, and with the global economy changing, the highlight of this conference is the need to stay ahead of the curve in terms of new technology and new economies. While Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, South Asia Ogilvy & Mather also agreed that the focus of the theme is about keeping our minds open to change, he added, “It does not mean that you have to change tomorrow morning… but prepare yourself for the change, if you are not ready for it, you will get left behind.”

     

     

    Tom Doctoroff, JWT North Asia Area Director Greater China, CEO

     

    Tom Doctoroff, JWT North Asia Area Director Greater China, CEO, however also put some stress on consistency. He said while the theme of the conference might be provocative, we have to acknowledge that which remains timelessly true, like robust brand equity and big brand ideas.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, GroupM South Asia

    Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, GroupM South Asia put it in simple terms, saying, “Uncertainty is the new certainty in the context of marketing primarily because communication to consumers has moved from a sequential, controlled, advertiser talking to consumer, to much more devolved, fluid and instant conversation with a consumer”.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Ravi Deshpande, Chairman and CCO, Contract Advertising

    Talking about the correlation that the politico-social world shares with the sentiment or the idea of a brand in a consumer’s mind, Ravi Deshpande, Chairman and CCO, Contract Advertising said, “…You are bound to have an impact on marketing or advertising when the world around us keeps changing… if the world is uncertain, so are we in our business.”

  • French design and visual communication school ecole intuit.lab ties up with veteran adman Ravi Deshpande to set up design school in Mumbai

    Yes, the French do have designs on India!

    Students and guests at the formal unveiling of ecole intuit.lab last week

     

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

    École intuit.lab is a design and visual communication French school cofounded in 2001 by Patrick Félices along with Clément Derock and Frederic Lalande.

    The aim of the school has been to produce high quality professionals whose profiles meet the specific needs of the graphic design and visual communication sectors in India, France and across the world. With the newly begun school in India, the syllabus has been especially skewed to meet the professional demands of the visual communications industry in India and to tap the potential that design holds in the country.

    The average fee across various courses is 3.5 lakh annually. The institute will provide the students with high class faculty,French graphic designers which will provide the students an edge over others.

    Mr Ravi Deshpande, co-founder, école intuit lab, India,said, “Over the last few years we have seen a massive talent dearth. I thought of being a part of the solution rather than being a part of the problem. The school has been established to cater to and encourage talented students.”

    École intuit.lab through its students have built solid relationships with over 800 companies in France and other countries.

    The setting up of top French design school, école intuit.lab in Mumbai is a step in the direction of the marked improvement that is required in the field of education related to graphic design, art and advertising.

    Mr Rajesh Kejriwal, founder, CEO, KYOORIUS, said, “India really needs such design institutes; the China government is planning to open 500 design institutions across the country, Indian government should also  try and do something similar as the existing and upcoming institutes are expensive and not everyone can afford them. Hence a lot of talent will still be left behind without opportunities.”

    Ms Preeti Vyas, Chairwoman, VGC, mentioned, “These institutes are extremely important. If we put 20 more such institutes in our country, it will still be a lesser number. The courses are expensive but the kind of inputs, technology and faculty that goes into such institutes, it is impossible to have a low cost institute for such courses until and unless it’s a government funded institute.”

    École intuit.lab has achieved success by incorporating professional exposure in the academic curriculum – a much needed position that has been so far vacant, in the design and art education milieu in India.

    École intuit.lab through its students have built solid relationships with over 800 companies in France and other countries. école intuit.lab’s excellent success rate in finding work placements for its students makes it a real standard setter in vocational training for the visual communications sector.

  • Behind every great commercial is super strategy. Every week, MxMIndia will bring you the brief and the strat as given by the client and whatever else that went into creating a winning ad. AdStrat is compiled by Shubhangi Mehta

    AdStrat: Survive the World by Contract Advtg

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcts1imOOuk&feature=related&noredirect=1[/youtube]

    The campaign:

    Survive the World

     

    The client:

    American Tourister

     

    The agency:

    Contract Advertising

     

    The brief:

    Created in the rough territory of Jodhpur, ‘Survive the World’ captures a roller coaster ride. Conceptualized by Ravi Deshpande, the new brand campaign depicts the regular travel woes in a typical congested city anywhere in the world.

     

    The film showcases a tourist, who is caught in a traffic frenzy on the way to the airport. With his trusted 4-wheeler American Tourister luggage in tow, the tourist sets off on an enthralling escapade across the city to reach his destination in time.

     

    Any specific advisory from the client:

    The specifics given by the client to the agency was to focus on the ‘four wheel’ feature of the brand and create a creative revolving around the same

     

    Research insights:

    The agency already had an idea which came from the success of ‘Survive Mumbai’ and ‘Survive Istanbul’. The idea was to take that a step ahead and hence the creation of ‘survive the world’ took place. The main focus of the sagency was to tell a story based on  this particular theme.

     

    Media vehicles:

    The main media focus was extensive television and cinema coverage, and some OOH innovations.

    Key issues kept in mind while executing the ad:

    In the words of Ravi Deshpande, Chairman and Chief Creative Director, Contract Advertising: “The most pertinent question before us was, how do we make sure that the emphasis is on the product while we also tell an entertaining story to the consumers? The second issue was to look into the safety aspect of the person on roller skates in a place like Jodhpur, which was ultimately managed well.”

     

    The differentiating factor about the ad:

    The differentiating factor (as per the agency) about the campaign is that it is unlike other campaigns of similar products, it’s a seamless journey told in a span of 60 seconds. Other than this, the ‘Survive the World’ campaign is being innovatively marketed with it being  released as a music video on television on September 24 following a release in cinemas nationally in the second week of October.

     

    Market and client feedback and follow-ups:

    Ravi Deshpande: “The client is extremely happy with the final product and we have received amazing feedback from them.”

     

    Credits:

    Music: Ashutosh Phatak

    Creative team: Ravi Deshpande, Malobi Dasgupta

    National Creative Director: Ravi Deshpande

    Production House: Far Commercials

    Director: Jeff Balameyer