MxMIndia

Tag: Robby Mathew

  • She will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office

    FCB Interface appoints Aditi Patwardhan as CSO

    By Our Staff

     

    Aditi Patwardhan
    Aditi Patwardhan

    FCB Interface has announced the appointment of Aditi Patwardhan as Chief Strategy Officer. She will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Robby Mathew, Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Office, FCB Interface, said: “With Aditi on board, I look forward to some scintillating work emanating from razor-sharp strategy.”

     

    Joe Thaliath
    Joe Thaliath

    Added Joe Thaliath, Vice Chairman & CEO, FCB Interface: “Really excited to welcome Aditi onboard. Aditi is a strong believer and practitioner of media agnostic solutions to real problems. Her well rounded experience and expertise is indeed a perfect fit to lead the agency in its next phase of growth! We look forward to creating inspiring Never Finished brand building stories with Aditi at the helm.”

     

    On joining the FCB family,  Patwardhan said: “The agency’s strong strategy fundamentals and client partnerships made for a natural fit. But it’s the strong solutioning focus of the much awarded ideas like the ‘Punishing Signal” that excites me. Solutions.. that are at the confluence of human truths, problem-solving and technology. I look forward to the mandate of taking the momentum to next level and sharpening the strategy offering.  We are in process of building a powerhouse planning team which offers clients multidisciplinary competencies. Powered by the strong philosophy of Brand Bedrock and a suite of tools that have proven results within the network.”

     

  • Ajay Devgn to launch Mahindra Truck with new ad

    By Our Staff

     

    Mahindra’s Truck and Bus Division (MTB) has announced the launch of the new Furio 7 series of light commercial vehicles with a new campaign. FCB Interface has conceptualised the ad film with actor Ajay Devgn re-enacting his famous split this time on two Furio 7 trucks. The campaign will be promoted across different media.

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Robby Mathew, Vice Chairman and Chief Creative Office, FCB Interface, said: “Some 30 odd years ago, Ajay Devgn rode into Bollywood on 2 bikes. Marry that classic image with Mahindra’s unique proposition of two guarantees and you end up with the key imagery for the 2021 campaign!”

     

    Adding, Joemon Thaliath, Vice Chairman and CEO, FCB Interface, said: “Mahindra always challenges norms. With the launch of the Furio Double Guarantee, Mahindra is also repositioning the category and putting the focus back on the customer.”

     

    Sharing more insights, Rajeev Malik, Vice President & Head Marketing – Commercial Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. added: “The Indian Light Commercial Vehicle category battleground is dominated by two players historically, with an 80% market share between them. Now Mahindra FURIO 7 is entering this market as a quintessential challenger brand with the firm belief that we have what it takes to challenge the status quo by leveraging our deep insight of customer behaviour and their unmet needs. We will achieve this with our highly disruptive ‘customer value proposition’ of Double Guarantee. And what better way than having the original Singham of the Bollywood, Ajay Devgn, to take forward this message.”

     

  • Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO, FCB Group India in a video interview with Pradyuman Maheshwari

    The Road to Being Killer-Diller

     

    By Our Staff

     

    Some five-and-a-half years back, when he had just taken charge as CEO of the FCB Group in India, our editor-in-chief Pradyuman Maheshwari  had asked Rohit Ohri about a general perception of FCB Ulka/India being an efficient, successful but a fuddy-duddy agency. We followed it with a similar question to Global CEO Carter Murray a few months later on the sidelines of Goafest.

     

    As he tells us in this interview, Messrs Murray and Ohri took this comment rather seriously and were determined to purge this perception. Fast and furiously. Which they did. From being considered a servicing- and planning-centric network, creative has gotten centerstage, which is what creative agencies are meant to be.

     

    After having asked this horribly rude question in 2016, Pradyuman Maheshwari interviews Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO, FCB Group India, on the road from to being a, as Ohri calls it, a killer-diller agency. It’s a looooong, 54-minuter, so bring along that cup of chai. Or coffee, if you are a trueblue adperson.

     

    Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

  • To provide clients with strategic direction and creativity

    FCB Group restructures

    By Our Staff

     

    Creative agency FCB Group India has announced a reorganisation of its creative agencies in India, along with key elevations. The group will undertake restructuring with three full-service agency brands in India – FCB Ulka, FCB Interface, and FCB India. These three agencies will be a part of FCB Group India.

     

    Rohit Ohri
    Rohit Ohri

    Said Rohit Ohri, Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India: “It is imperative for us now, more than ever before, to be able to provide our clients with the strategic direction and creativity they need to navigate the new world we live in today. Our new structure allows for our best people to provide focused and dedicated partnership to our clients; to bring the disruptive creativity, agility, and fluidity that is required today to transform our clients’ businesses and create unmissable brands.”

     

    With the new three creative agency structure, agency seniors Nitin Karkare will be FCB Ulka Vice Chairman, Swati Bhattacharya will be FCB India Creative Chairperson, Robby Mathew will be FCB Interface Vice Chairman & CCO, and Joe Thaliath will be FCB Interface Vice Chairman & CEO.

     

  • The 2021 edition of Cannes Lions saw India getting three moral metals than 2019

    Dentsu Webchutney & FCB star at Cannes

     

    By Our Staff

     

    In 2019, the Indian marketing services contingent put on a very sorry figure at Cannes Lions, the annual festival of creativity in advertising. Entrants from India brought back 19 metals, just one more than what they earned the previous year. But this year, the number has grown by three, and Indian entrants bagged a total of 22 metals – in various hues – Gold, Silver and Bronze.

     

    Dentsu Webchutney bagged 50 points if one includes shortlists followed by FCB Interace with 48 points. But as a group FCB that includes FCB Ulka and FCB Interface bagged 8 metals including one Gold, three Silver and four Bronze, followed by Digital Agency Dentsu Webchutney with seven metals.

    In 2021, Webchutney beat their previous record with 20 shortlists and 7 Lions.

     

    Said Sidharth Rao, CEO, Dentsumcgarrybowen (dentsuMB) India and founder of Webchutney: “2019 showed us Webchutney was capable of creative excellence at the highest level. 2021 showed it was about doing it consistently – the wins this year have firmly planted the ‘new normal’ of what Webchutney’s north star as an agency is. The agency is home to some incredible talent and is a shining example of what the dentsuMB group of agencies and dentsu India itself wants to stand for.”

     

    Added PG Aditiya, NCD, Dentsu Webchutney added: “This year’s Cannes Lions is probably our most meaningful one yet. A huge round of applause for our teams across the country, both past and present, & gratitude to our clients who’ve shape-shifted the status-quo of Indian creativity at a global level, with us. And congratulations to the teams behind all the winning work from India.”

     

    For FCB, the metals came in for The Punishing Signal for the Mumbai Police and Times Out & Proud for The Times of India.

     

    Speaking on the win, Rohit Ohri, Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India, said: “Our pride of Lions bears testimony our commitment to putting creative excellence at the center of everything we do. Over the last three years we’ve been the best performing Indian agency at Cannes. Like they say… once is a chance, twice is a co-incidence and three times is a habit. I’m really proud of how far we’ve come on our creative transformation journey.”

     

    Added Robby Mathew, Vice Chairman & CCO, FCB Interface: “I am absolutely delighted with our performance at Cannes this year. Looking forward to many more bountiful years for my agency.”

     

    Said Swati Bhattacharya, Vice Chairman & CCO, FCB India: “When I have grandchildren I think I will skip telling them about Cinderella. I will tell them about the FCB Group India story. It’s a fairy tale without evil stepsisters. Just perfect!

     

     

    The following Special Awards were also presented: 

    Holding Company of the Festival 2020/21

    1. WPP

    2. Omnicom

    3. Interpublic Group

     

    Network of the Festival 2020/21

    1. FCB

    2. Ogilvy

    3. BBDO Worldwide

     

    Agency of the Festival 2020/21

    1. AMV BBDO, London, UK

    2. Publicis Italy, Milan, Italy

    3. FCB Chicago, USA

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival 2020/21

    1. Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, USA

    2. The Bloc, New York, USA

    3. Rethink, Toronto, Canada

     

    Palme D’Or 2020/21

    1. Chelsea Pictures, USA

    2. Pulse Films, USA

    3. Division, France

    4. Smuggler, USA

    5. Prettybird, USA

     

    Creative brand of the Festival 2020/21

    1. Burger King

    2. Bodyform/Libresse

    3. Dove

     

    Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Communication

    Publicis Italy, Milan, Italy

     

    Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Craft

    AMV BBDO, London, UK

     

    Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Entertainment

    72andSunny, Los Angeles, USA

     

    Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Experience

    McCANN, New York, USA

     

    Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Good

    VMLY&R Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil

     

    Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Reach

    FCB Chicago, USA

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Communication

    Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, USA

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Craft

    Work & Co, New York, USA

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Entertainment

    =1. Edelman, London, UK

    =1. GUT, São Paulo, Brazil

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Experience

    Uncommon, London, UK

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Good

    FARM, Stockholm, Sweden

     

    Independent Agency of the Festival by track 2020/21 – Reach

    GUT, Miami, USA

  • It is trying to encourage our consumers to strike a chord of playfulness

    Oreo urges consumers to ‘Disconnect to Connect’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Oreo recently launched a new campaign that urges consumers to ‘Disconnect to Connect’, getting away from their technological devices and enjoy moments of playful connections, with family and friends.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Sudhanshu Nagpal, Associate Director – Marketing (Biscuits), Mondelez India, said, “In order to connect with people, it’s important to give them utmost time and attention. With our ‘Disconnect to Connect’ campaign, we are trying to encourage our consumers to strike a chord of playfulness with their loved ones by snoozing away from the automated world. Oreo’s brand purpose is to fill the world with more playful moments that bring people together to break through the monotony of adulthood’s seriousness. For over 70 years now, Mondelez India has garnered consumer love and trust on the back of light-hearted, yet meaningful and progressive storytelling, supported by cutting-edge Marketing Excellence. Through this campaign, we aim to continue this momentum by taking forward our company’s vision to ‘Empower People to Snack Right’.”

     

    The new TVC has been conceptualized by FCB Interface. Shedding light on the insight, Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface added: “The innocence of the little girl sending an Oreo by email lent itself to a really cute story.”

     

     

  • It urges Mumbaikars to honk less, and create a noise-free and stress-free commute

    FCB Interface executes ‘Punishing Signal’ campaign for the Mumbai police

    By A Correspondent

     

    You’ve already seen this on the Whatsapp circuit or read about it on the front page of The Times of India a few days back. FCB Interface has enable the Mumbai Traffic Police to offer an innovative solution called The Punishing Signal. FCB Ulka has of course been partnering the Mumbai Police with billboard creatives at the Chowpatty-Gamdevi-Babulnath Road junction.

     

    Said Madhukar Pandey, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mumbai Police:  “Honking is bad habit and an act of traffic indiscipline. Unfortunately, many Mumbaikars indulge in reckless honking. Honking causes noise pollution, hurts the eardrums, increases heart rate, creates traffic confusion and causes stress. Unnecessary honking is a menace which everyone recognizes but does little to curb. This small experiment is one of many attempts by Mumbai Police to create better road discipline in Mumbai. Hopefully, it will encourage Mumbaikars to honk less, and create a noise-free and stress-free commute.”

     

    As a part of the campaign, the first leg of activation was tested in Mumbai at important junctions that are most prone to heavy traffic such as CSMT, Marine Drive, Peddar Road, Hindmata and Bandra. And the film gives one glimpses of the confused honking Mumbaikars who honked, waited, honked and learnt it the hard way, that honking is not the way out.

     

    Shedding light on the creative idea, Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface, said: “Sometimes, the stick works better than the carrot. And a signal that gave us a gentle rap on the knuckles for honking unnecessarily, seemed like a good idea to me”.

     

    Added Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman and CEO 0 FCB Group: “We have been partnering Mumbai Police for many years now. Noise pollution is a big problem in our cities. This new initiative is a fantastic creative solution for bringing about awareness and a behaviour change amongst the drivers in Mumbai.”

     

     

  • Nivea highlights the essential need for skincare especially during the festive season

    With winter setting in, Nivea’s ad for new hand cream

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the festival of lights around the corner, skincare brand Nivea has launched its first ever hand cream range in India with a new digital film called ‘Busy Hands’ focusing on the importance of hand care this Diwali.

     

    Speaking on the new campaign, Sachin Killawala, Director – Marketing, Nivea India said: “Our hands are how we interact with the world around us. They are exposed to more sun, weather, rough surfaces and other harsh cleansing products than any other part of our body. We also express ourselves the most with our hands and yet we tend to neglect them. As we move into the time of festivities with an abundance of planning and bonding with family and friends, the hands are the most exposed yet, not cared for part of the body. With this, NIVEA, as a complete skincare brand, is enabling consumers to take care of the most important part of our body during the most important festival of our lives.”

     

    Added Robby Mathew, National Creative Director – Interface Communications: “Our attempt with the NIVEA Hand Cream film was not to celebrate the festivals, but to celebrate the hands that are so busy making those festivals special. Since we were launching the hand cream category in India, we wanted to create something that was visually stark and stood out from a sea of other festive ads. The treatment of super-slow motion shots of the hands juxtaposed against quick, high energy festive shots give the film a fresh energy and make it an interesting watch.”

     

     

  • The film shows that a non-recyclable plastic bag chokes and clogs our oceans and landfills

    Mahindra urges people to #CutTheCrap with new campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Mahindra Group reinforced its long-term commitment towards the environment through the launch of a new campaign that builds a case for waste management. Its new #CutTheCrap campaign has been launched with a film that equates the problems caused by single use plastic bags to weapons of mass destruction.

     

    Highlighting the purpose behind this new campaign, Vivek Nayer, Chief Marketing Officer, Group Corporate Brand, Mahindra & Mahindra said:- “Through our new #CutTheCrap campaign, we are putting our Rise For Good philosophy into action to bring about greater environmental awareness and societal change. We have consistently focused on bringing issues concerning the environment to the fore, and waste management is a crucial topic within this. Our aim is not only to sensitise people but to also enable them towards behaviour change.”

     

    Added Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface: “The idea was to help the viewer see the harmless looking plastic bag from a whole new perspective. By equating it with some of the deadliest weapons known to mankind, we drew attention to the looming threat that is already upon us. And who better than Mahindra, with their track record of relentlessly focusing on waste management, to take this message to the world.”

     

     

  • The communication shows ads being made from wasted food, urging for ideas to put an end to food wastage

    Did your agency waste food this year? Adfest Young Lotus Contest call for ideas…

    By A Correspondent

     

    FCB Interface has conceptualised the theme for Adfest 2019 Young Lotus contest, inviting ideas to end food wastage. The thought was to take up issues within the industry and further narrowing it down, to issues within our own agency. The communication shows ads being made from wasted food, urging for ideas to put an end to food wastage.

     

    The ads have been completely made by the food wasted in leading advertising agencies where there is a huge kitchen space. FCB Interface collected all the food waste and then designed posters on a life size canvas. The production house McTolan Films collaborated with FCB to execute these posters.

     

    Lending perspective, Robby Mathew, CCO, FCB Interface said: “The idea was simple – make a ‘food-wastage’ poster using the food wasted by advertising people, every day. The difficult part was rummaging through the waste bins of all the leading advertising agencies, carting away the food in mini trucks, then creating the 14 feet by 19 feet layouts with putrefying food, hanging from a crane to shoot the artwork, all the while shooing away the crows and dogs that were hell bent on eating the poster!”

     

    Speaking about the campaign, Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB India and Chairman, Young Lotus Selection Team at AAAI added: “This piece of work was not just a call for entries it was a call for behaviour change. The ‘personalisation’ of our communication helped shatter the ‘we don’t waste food’ illusion. Making the need to address this issue urgent and immediate.”

     

     

  • Blue Star aims to communicate trust by way of this film

    Blue Star’s latest film celebrates 75 years of trust

    By A Correspondent

     

    On the occasion of company’s 75th anniversary, Blue Star has rolled out its latest film that is just not a celebration but a reflection of what has been achieved in all these years.

     

    Said B Thiagarajan, Joint Managing Director, Blue Star: “Blue Star is much more than air-conditioning and refrigeration, with its presence extending to electrical, plumbing, fire-fighting projects as well as facility management, and water and air purification, amongst others. The brand caters to a wide range of residential and commercial customers, along with being market leaders in several categories. We are proud to be celebrating our 75th anniversary this year, and the new TVC attempts to showcase our multi-faceted identity. The ad conveys, in a subtle yet evocative manner, that our pedigree over the decades has been built due to the trust that our customers have in us, with a focus on our new tagline ‘Built on Trust’, and a promise to keep reinventing ourselves as we move forward towards our centennial.”

     

    Added Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface: “Very few people are aware of Blue Star’s omnipresence in India. They rely on Blue Star’s products and services on a daily basis without actually knowing that they are doing so. The creative task was to simply bring this alive. And with the invisible Blue Star Expert we were able to do just that.”

     

     

  • The campaign aims to get consumers to ditch their regular deodorants and try the new Nivea Men Duo

    Ranveer Singh new face of Nivea Men Duo

    By A Correspondent

     

    FCB Interface has launched a campaign for Nivea Men with the brand’s new face, Ranveer Singh.

     

    Said Robby Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface: “When the idea is in the product itself, the task then is to show it as it is. And Ranveer, despite his larger than life personality, makes the product the undisputed hero of the film.”

     

    Added Neil George, Managing Director, Nivea India: “Nivea India is addressing needs of young consumers by tapping into the trend of ‘modernity’ and Ranveer is the perfect evangelist for the brand to increase its engagement with young India. Just like him, our innovations are hard-working, modern and care for you.”