Indian Ad World: 2008

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Monday, May 5, 2008

High marketing noise brings in numbers for IPL

When
Advertisementthe first data of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament came out, senior media observers credited its roaring success on television to many factors – be its novelty, the media hype, star appearances or marketing. As per TAM Media Research, the first three matches of IPL got an all India average TVR of 5.57 (C&S 4+, All India). There are more to the impressive performance by IPL.
The first match between the Bangalore’s Royal Challengers and Kolkata’s Knight Riders on opening day, April 18, grabbed the highest TVR of 10.46 in Kolkata and 10.01 in Bangalore.A section of the media attribute this success to the star power of Shah Rukh Khan, while ones like Basabdutta Chowdhury, chief executive officer, Madison Media Plus, believe that Kolkata being a sports fanatic city provide high ratings for other international cricket matches even.
However, the role of on air promos also cannot be ruled out in the success of IPL matches. TAM analysis indicate that higher the duration and GRPs promos, higher is the TVR. For instance the Kolkata Knight Riders ran promos which consumed 46 per cent of the total airtime consumed by all IPL teams and its on air promos garnered 41 per cent of the total GRPs acquired by IPL promos. And the result could be seen from the viewership attained by the Knight Rider match. The audiences have also rooted for their city teams.
As per TAM data for the opening match, the minute on minute TVR in Kolkata started at around 7, peaked to 15 towards the close of the match and finished at around 11. In Bangalore, the minute on minute TVR opened at 11, reached a peak of 15 in about 15 minutes and gradually wound down to 7, as the city sensed that its team was losing. The match was won by the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Mahuya ChaturvediMahuya Chaturvedi, general manager, Lodestar Universal Media, also gives credit to the star factor associated with the team. “The Kolkata Knight Riders have it all – Bollywood (Shah Rukh Khan), cricket (the Kolkata crowd is known for its cricket fanaticism) and marketing. The mix of the three has brought in the entertainment value,” she says.So, what went wrong with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) floated by media tycoon Subhash Chandra’s Essel Group? The planners say that while the ICL got poor grounds to play in and next to no media hype, the IPL has more of an official status and many current international players playing for its teams.And yes, cricket is a man’s game.
The TAM data shows that clearly. In fact, the craze for cricket amongst men has only increased over time. Women’s contribution to the total viewership of the Cricket World Cup 2003 was 41 per cent; it gradually came down to 38 per cent during the World Cup of 2007, and to 37 per cent in the Twenty20 World Cup last year. Women form only 36 per cent of the total IPL viewership, taking the men’s percentage to 64 per cent from 59 per cent in the World Cup of 2003.Overall, it’s the 35+ audience that’s brought in the numbers (38 per cent), but that is a large group. What is more interesting to advertisers is the group of viewers in the 15-24 years’ age group – the numbers in this group has gone up during the current tournament, from 21 per cent for the Cricket World Cup 2003 to 27 per cent for the IPL.

TV advertising still important: ZenithOptimedia study

ZenithOptimedia

Advertisementhas released the results of its Touchpoints ROI Tracker study, the agency’s most extensive project undertaken to identify the power of individual consumer contact points to support leading brands. ZenithOptimedia has carried out more than 3,00,000 consumer interviews across 34 countries covering more than 4,000 brands. In India, it has conducted more than 10,000 interviews, covering more than 112 top brands in India across nine categories.Not surprisingly, a brief snapshot of the database reveals the growing power of the Internet as a key marketing vehicle. What is more baffling is that the influence of Internet marketing grows as consumers get older.
In India, the influence of touchpoints and the levels of overall brand recall which they generate are much higher than in the Asia Pacific or the US. While globally, the touchpoint with the greatest influence is Recommendation from Friends and Family, in India, it is Personal Use of the Brand. In traditional media, television advertising is still very important. It is 8 per cent more influential in India than in the Asia Pacific and 13 per cent more than in the US. In India, touchpoints such as Comparison Websites, In Store Demo and Specialist Recommendations would provide the best opportunities to differentiate.ZenithOptimedia’s findings for individual brand categories show that levels of brand experience generated per rupee are much higher for telecom advertisers than for automobile advertisers.However, the survey doesn’t just identify the power of individual touchpoints to support brands; it also reveals how much better some of these touchpoints can work in combination with each other. This is a vital piece of knowledge when planning integrated communications.The agency’s Dashboard of Global Norms offers marketers the chance to compare the power of all major communications channels across a variety of consumer groups, brand categories and regions.For the record, Touchpoints ROI Tracker is the consumer research based approach that ZenithOptimedia uses to measure and plan marketing effects across all consumer contacts. It identifies and quantifies the value of every consumer point of contact for a category and its brands, examining the role of each contact point in building brand preference and purchase intent. All forms of consumer contact are measured, including those at point of sale, point of consumption, one-to-one, word of mouth, sponsorship and events, the Internet and mass media.

Videocon scouting for creative agencies

Electronics

Advertisementmajor Videocon is currently in the midst of reviewing its creative duties. According to sources, the pitch is for Videocon’s entire product range (such as air-conditioners and refrigerators), as also for its corporate branding duties. Ad spends are pegged at upwards of Rs 150 crore, and some agencies have already made an initial pitch for the business.O&M is the incumbent agency on the account, but has reportedly stayed out of the pitch process. O&M had snagged the Videocon account from RK Swamy/BBDO in December 2006. At that point, the brand also underwent a positioning change – shedding its earlier thought of ‘The Indian Multinational’ to adopt ‘Whatever role life gives you, play it big’.
Frames from the Videocon corporatead created by O&M recentlyO&M released several ads for Videocon washing machines (‘Washes all kinds of dirt’), ACs (‘Dimaag ko thanda rakhe’) and televisions (‘The effects of sound’). A few months ago, O&M also worked on a mega wattage campaign for Videocon’s corporate branding – an ad featuring existing brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan with the newer one, cricketer MS Dhoni. As cricket and Bollywood are two crazes in India, an elaborate plot of two brothers getting lost in a ‘mela’ was woven, with one becoming a film star (Dhoni) and the other a successful cricketer (Khan). After the melodrama of the duo meeting years later, Videocon’s tagline – Whatever role life gives you, play it big – comes into play.That ad, while gaining high media presence, didn’t sit too well with Videocon. According to a source from the company, O&M’s campaign, while very creative, didn’t translate into the expected sales/ brand building. On the other hand, a senior executive at O&M (who wishes to be unnamed) remarks that O&M received “mixed client briefs”. “At some points, the brand wanted to go mass, while at others, we were told to go for premium imagery,” says the executive. It is also learnt that when the Dhoni-SRK ad was first presented to Videocon, top level executives rejected the script, only to approve it later once it was shot and canned.When agencyfaqs! contacted Shekhar Jyoti, vice-president, marketing, Videocon, he had this to say: “Videocon is undergoing a management change currently, and only after the new team is in place towards mid-May, will I be able to comment on the review.” It is further learnt through sources that a senior level LG employee is likely to join Videocon. This new management will then take a call on which agency to hire. In all likelihood, Videocon’s creative duties are likely to be consolidated with one agency. The media duties are not under review; GroupM continues to handle them.

Saint Gobain: Say goodbye to air-conditioners?

Believe it or not, Saint Gobain, the glass brand which entered India more than a decade ago, recently launched Sun Ban, a solar control glass, which not only reduces the amount of sunlight that enters homes through windows, but also cuts down on the heat transmitted. “We came up with the name Sun Ban to make it generic to solar control glass – a relatively newer, under-advertised category in India,” says Dinesh Kumar, marketing manager, Saint Gobain Glass. In India, AIS and Modiguard are among the few brands that offer solar control glass.
Frames from the Saint Gobain adLowe, Saint Gobain’s agency since its entry in India, has created an ad which is functional in its approach, with the immediate task of creating awareness about the category, and the brand. The advertisement opens on the shot of an old man resting on his sofa, quite uncomfortable in the heat that is coming in from the open window. He begins to remove his vest because it is too hot. On seeing this, his wife who is working in the kitchen, reprimands him for doing so in front of the open window where anyone can see him. The old man is obviously too disturbed by the heat to pay heed to his wife’s argument and continues to take off his vest.
To save themselves from embarrassment, the old lady goes and closes the window. On turning back, she is shocked to see that her husband has not only put on more clothes, but is now shivering with cold (thanks to the heat being cut off by the window glass). As the old lady stares at the glass, the voiceover says, ‘Cuts the heat. Keeps you cool: Sun Ban Reflective Glass from Saint Gobain’. (Submit your opinion on this ad.)According to Deepa Geethakrishnan, group creative director, Lowe, the usability and practicality of the product was of prime importance in this ad. The old couple angle was used to add charm to the subtle exaggeration. “Old couples have a very different sort of chemistry,” she explains. “At some level, they are almost indifferent to what one person says to the other, and yet there is a beautiful bond that keeps them together.
”Another ad in the campaign has a Japanese girl who keeps fanning herself, making it impossible for a still photographer to click her photograph until Sun Ban comes to their relief. A third film in the series is under way.The product targets SEC AB, males, 25+ (as men tend to lead decisions on building/ construction items). The ad targets both direct consumers and builders.
The ad has been created by R Balakrishnan (chairman and chief creative officer, Lowe), Kevin d’Souza (senior vice-president), Vijay Xavier (associate V-P) and Sujith Sarkar (brand services director), apart from Geethekrishnan. The ad has been produced by MAD Films and directed by Francouise. The films were shot in Mumbai. Due to the nature of the product, summer was selected as the perfect time for launching this communication
. “Our success in our previous TVCs prompted us to use television as our primary medium this time again,” says R Subramanian, director, sales and marketing, Saint Gobain Glass India. For the record, French company Saint Gobain has created around eight television adverts ever since it entered India.
Memorable ones include those for its transparent glass (the waiter ‘Ha!’ ad, and the ad featuring a lady throwing cleaning water on the glass outside a restaurant, only to have the men inside flinch), and those for its mirrors, which showcased clarity of reflection (the ad in which a small boy entering a men’s toilet pisses on the reflection of the toilet, instead of the real thing).

Godrej: Change for the better

All good

Advertisementthings make way for even better things. And Godrej’s first ever corporate TV commercial echoes that thought. The creative agency for the company is JWT, and Agnello Dias (Aggie), national creative director at the agency, is the man behind the ad.The TVC seeks to tell the consumer that Godrej, one of the country’s largest business houses, has shed the bright red in its logo and given it a fresh blue-green-red look. The change in the logo colour symbolises Godrej’s new corporate identity and the refurbishment of its master brand; the aim is to consolidate its presence in the various business areas in which it is present – personal grooming, aerospace, property and lifestyle. With its splash of colours, the new logo retains the original font for reasons of continuity and empathy.
The film opens on a shot of a man dressed formally, standing alone in a room. The camera zips through a hall full of books. The man, the principal of a school, is in a pensive mood. He is talking to himself, “Respect, honour, integrity – it’s all hidden behind a wall – a good morning wall.” The principal is imagining students greeting him formally (but not with a happy look on their faces) from behind the walls of books. The camera cuts to the shot of a ruler, and in the next, zooms into a shot of the school emblem, which has respect, honour and integrity engraved on a shield. These shots represent the strong values propagated by the principal. He wears a determined expression on his face, showing that he has made up his mind, “Today, I’m going to open a door in the wall.” He takes off his tie and breaks the ruler into two. Pushing the door open, he steps out of his room.
A shot from the TVCNext, he is shown walking down the corridors of the school, and the students have an alarmed look on their faces. A casual, friendly “hi” takes the place of the earlier formal “good morning”. They can see that their school principal is not wearing a tie or a formal coat any more. Young boys are seen loosening their own ties. The principal walks around the school and smiles in relief, as he sees citrus green, sky blue and ruby red leaflets floating around. The three colours merge to form the revamped Godrej logo. The voiceover concludes, “If we open up, we can brighten up the world. Enjoy a brighter Godrej.” The film is backed all through by flute music. (Submit your opinion on this ad.)The communication brief given to JWT was based on the insight that consumers want change, but are boggled by the scope and pace of it, leading to issues of comprehension and affordability. Hence, there is “tension” within them. Innovations from a trusted brand like Godrej provide the best licence for them to embrace change boldly, as they no longer need to be evaluative and circumspect. The redefinition of the Godrej brand identity is not just an external logo change, it is a transformation in the attitude of the organisation itself. Anuj Mehra, vice-president, client services, JWT, says, “Earlier, Godrej didn’t seem to be a consumer driven organisation, but now, the company has put the consumer at the heart of its functions. A research study showed that consumers did not feel that Godrej could be part of their future outlook – this needed to be corrected. While retaining some of its core values of trust and reliability, it was important to make the brand expressive.”Mehra says, “Godrej was adding up to a specific brand, but every brand and category stood independently. With a unified logo, the company’s brands in other spaces, furniture, kitchens, etc., will also be able to leverage the biggest asset that the company has – the brand name Godrej, which stands for trust and reliability. Moreover, a consumer evaluates a brand along emotional lines, not rational lines – so, the brand needed to evolve.”Commenting on the creative of the film, Aggie says, “In the film, the “good morning wall” is a metaphorical expression of the barrier of formality that exists within the principal and his students. He loosens himself and breaks down the wall.”The film has been produced by Equinox Films and directed by Milind Dhaimade, the production house’s second hand (after Ram Madhvani). Amartya Raut, fondly known as Bobo, has composed the flute score. Godrej’s marketing spend is around Rs 30 crore.This is the first time that Godrej is undertaking a re-branding exercise of this sort. Ashutosh Tiwari, executive vice-president, strategic marketing, Godrej, reveals that most of the earlier changes in the company’s logo were for different parts of the group. In 2006, the company began to use red in its logo and harmonised the use of the logo across the group.Tiwari talks about the new logo as “a visual representation of the Godrej brand’s essence of ‘brighter living’”. “This brand essence resonates with our core consumer insights about Indians being highly optimistic. They have a strong belief in achievability, desirability, experience and, above all, expression of progress. This leads to the four value pillars of the brand: expression, progression, experience and empathy,” he explains. Dissecting the logo, Tiwari says citrus green is about expression, representing growth, harmony with nature and renewed life. Sky blue embodies progression – big ideas, blue sky thinking, technology and innovation. Ruby red reflects cherished experiences – passion, indulgence, energy and dynamism. The typeface connotes continuity, a strong sense of empathy built on the strong foundation of Godrej trust, he says.Interbrand, a UK based brand consultancy, has partnered Godrej in what is a significant refurbishment for the company. Tiwari says, “The entire project has been a result of powerful, continuous co-creation between Interbrand and the strategic marketing group of Godrej across consumer, employee and strategic perspectives. Additionally, Interbrand has played an extremely important leadership role in the design of the new visual identity across all its manifestations.”With innumerable options to choose from within India, Godrej chose to work with Interbrand, which does not have a presence in India. Why? Tiwari says, “The need was to have a partner who could complement Godrej’s strong strategic, brand and marketing capabilities. Omnicom’s Interbrand is the world’s premier agency in the arena of brand diagnostics and valuation. They approach the process of brand analysis and positioning with a strong emphasis on consumer perspective as against getting mired in hard, lag metrics alone. Additionally, their London office focuses a lot on strategy.”The corporate TVC talks about a brighter Godrej. The next campaigns will focus on the tasks undertaken by Godrej, which stand testimony to the company’s promise of enjoying a better Godrej. They will act as satellites to the core communication. The other set of campaigns, with the new logo and line of communication, is slated to be released within a fortnight.The IPL cricket tournament is the pivot around which Godrej’s media strategy revolves as of now. The company is also sponsoring the Godrej Life Banade Contest during the IPL matches. The company is looking at a number of media options, of which currently, television and outdoor can be seen. “We are actively considering cinema, on-ground and Internet,” Tiwari says. Godrej will also set up a new website soon for consumer engagement; the existing website has already been revamped.

Virgin Mobile sets foot in India with 2 great TV advertisments

have said this repeatedly earlier and I am saying it again. I love Indian TV advertisements. They not only pass across the message in those limited 10 seconds, but the fun element in it keeps the viewers wanting for more.
The 2 recent addtions to my favorite list are 2 maiden ads released by Virgin Mobile to set their footprint in India. Both of them are very funny and leaves viewers craving for more.

Brand Building is definitely an exercise

Brand Building over the new media is just an emphasis or a new route to the traditional media which means “Give customers what they want”. The business means the same today, as it was yesterday. However with the rising trends like Competition, Globalization and Virtualization, the options to reach consumers are broadened.
The simple steps to build a brand are to fulfil the requirement of the end users, relentless attention to make such brands and the third step that follows the two which is consumers become part of the marketing and sales force (Word of Mouth). Engaging customers in a way that value deliverance is the embedded keyword behind your core strategy is a concern, however leveraging customers’ value acceptance is given more priority

Indian TV advertisements: Very Creative and funny?

There is something I enjoy in India that most of the other people hate.
The Indian TV commercials.
I find them very very creative. Some of the best advertisements in recent years have been from Pepsi and Coke. The rivalry between these two soft drink giants in India has bought out the best of creativity in their TV commercials.
The Indian TV advertisement market size is estimated to touch 3 billion dollars (12,000 crore rupees) in year 2007.
The following advertisement is my choice of best creativity in Indian TV advertising. Many of the readers may not agree,however, according to me it has an exaggerated creativity and brand image that Happydent white chewing gums has created due to these ads is just amazing ! This one is actually third ad in their series. The earlier two got progressively better (The Photoflash by teeth and the Cow Teeth), but I thought this was way better than previous two and very expansive. I have not been in India in last year and half, so if there is another ad which has come in, please let me know !

INDIAN AD LEGENDS

Every country has its own legends in a given field. The Indian advertising industry has many all times greats who have contributed in various capacities to develop world-class creatives. This section in magindia.com is exclusively dedicated to those people who have made Indian brands popular not just in India but beyond, through their creative genius. Run through the entries (arranged alphabetically) in this section to view and admire their work, and definitely everyone in the advertising industry will have something to learn from these Ad Legends.

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A G Krishnamurthy

Everybody knows A G Krishnamurthy as the Captain who steered his agency from a Rs. 35 lakh company to a Rs. 7 billion corporation in a remarkably short 23 years. But little is known of his considerable contribution in the agency’s creative reputation - doubling up as copywriter/art director and quite often even as creative director. Here is a sampling of AG Krishnamurthy’s own award-winning (The President of India’s 14 awards included!) ‘portfolio’.Awards: 1995-A&M Advertising Person of the Year1997-Inducted into the Hall of Fame, Ad Club, Calcutta 1998-Nominated as one of the 25 key figures in the international ad industry 1999-The Premnarayen Award by the AAAI

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Brendan Pereira

From his palette of skills, Brendan Pereira has been imparting knowledge to a wide audience over his 40 years in the business of art, advertising design and communications.His work with agencies in London and a stint as Brand Manager at Beecham's International, London, for a range of consumer products, created a firm base for the task of leading Aiyars Advertising in Bombay as Creative Director, and one of the first in the industry to be elected to the Board in that capacity. As Deputy Managing and Creative Director, he was one of the major shareholders who founded Chaitra Advertising, and led it on to produce some of the outstanding work of that era. Spreading his talent, he published his first book "Changing Faces" in 1999.

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Elsie Nanji

Elsie Nanji began her career in advertising 20 years ago. Since then she has been with O&M, Lintas, Enterprise and Ambience. Over the years, Elsie has amassed many awards, including an international award at the London International award and the art director of the year award in India for three consecutive years. She was selected as the first jury member at the Asia Pacific Adfest in Chiangmai, Thailand in 1997. From a creative director in Ambience, she became a partner in 1987. Ambience has been voted as one of the three top creative agencies in the country, by the Marg agency track, '95 and '97, for study conducted in every alternate year. Elsie still maintains that her best creative products are her two children Yohaan (6) and Aria (3)

Freddy Birdy

Freddy Birdy began his career around ten years ago at Enterprise. Has since worked in Rediffusion, Trikaya and Mudra. Is the only Indian Copywriter to win the coveted Copywriter of the Year award a record ten times. Has worked on campaigns for Thums Up, Vimal, Rasna, Lakme, Polo, Bata, Samsung, Yves St. Laurent, Mitsubishi Lancer and Sil jams. Loves travelling and good food, as is evident from his ample waistline

Gopi Kukde

Gopi Kukde obtained his Commercial Art Diploma in I Class from J.J. Institute and the Gold medal for his campaign for the film Meera, by Gulzar. After working for a decade with leading ad agencies like Chaitra, Clarion and Everest, he with two others founded Advertising Avenues in 1982. His creative brilliance is on show in the campaigns of Asian Paints, Glaxo, Stanrose Fabrics, Centaur Hotel, Hawkins pressure cooker to name just a few. At Avenues, he got to work on UFO Jeans, Skypak Couriers, Paan Pasand and Onida. He has produced and directed dozens of ad-films for Avenues on various brands. Gopi has won several CAG & Ad Club awards in appreciation of his creative talent.He also has special interest in the field of Ceramics and has a studio at Goregaon

Ivan Arthur

With more than 36 years in advertising and with most of his time at Hindustan Thompson, Ivan Arthur has been the brain behind many award-winning advertisements. Be it for Air India, Sunsilk, Clinic, Hamdard, Bombay Dyeing, Handyplast, Readers Digest, Haryana Breweries, Philips or others.
Deservedly inducted into CAG Hall of Fame, Ivan Arthur has been part of a 10-member international task force that designed and launched JWT's Total Branding Protocol that is now being used internationally.
A faculty member of a number of JWT international training programmes, Ivan has also addressed a number of national and international advertising groups including the Philippine Advertising Congress held in Subic Bay, The Advista Advertising Congress held in Cairo and all the Advertising Clubs in India.
He has also written a few books including a book on Bombay, a biography of Goa's industrialist - Mr PJ Menezes -entitled Once More Upon a Time and the Official Souvenir of Pope John Paul II's visit to India.

Naved Akhtar

Naved Akhtar began his career around twelve years ago. Has since worked in Clarion, McCann, Trikaya and Mudra. Has won the Art Director of the Year Award three times. Has worked on campaigns for Nescafe, Milkmaid, DCM Toyta, Gillete, Dunlop, Vimal, Rasna, Polo, Bata, Samsung, Yves St. Laurent, Mitsubishi Lancer and Otis. Is reputedly the coolest natured person in Indian Advertising.
Select the Brand APTC Bioslim Business Standard Business Standard-Weekend Curry on the Roof Defence Colony Market Lotus Bawa McDonald's Mitsubishi Lancer Polo Singer The Business Standard-Motoring The Indian Express(PS) The Pioneer(PS) The Sunday Observer Timeless-The Art Book Studio Turouoise Cottage

Panna Jain

Panna Jain's impressive itinerary includes working with Ogilvy & Mather in London, with Everest Advertising as an Art Director and with MCM as creative Director. Then followed a phase of Creative Consulting with some of India's leading advertising agencies, including Contract, Enterprise, Trikaya, Lintas and FCB-Ulka. Recipient of the Harold Nelson Prize by the London Country Council, the Air India Trophy and Campaign of the year Award jointly given by the Ad Club, CAG and RAPA among several others, Panna has one of his photographs included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, to his credit. At present, he is working on the final draft of a book on advertising creativity.

Subrata Bhowmick

Subrata Bhowmick is one of India’s leading graphics designers. Based at Ahmedabad, India, he has over the last 34 years, created workable and cost-saving design solutions. Which have won him 50 prestigious awards, including 18 President’s National Awards. His much lauded accomplishments straddle various fields - textiles, photography, environment, graphics, book design, and advertising. A frequent invitee to various international exhibitions, the World Graphic Biennale being one of them, Subrata represents India this year, as the Biennale’s prestigious ‘Guest of Honour’. In advertising, his work has contributed in building brands such as Cali-Cloth, Vimal, Dhara, Remanika, Deepam, and Handloom House, besides making them cherished and loved across a wide-cross section of people.

Sudarshan Dheer

With 20 years of experience, Dheer, the doyen of corporate design (identity programmes, communication projects, literature, packaging and Signage Systems), established Graphic Communication Concepts, his own design workshop, in 1974. Winner of several awards, his work has been exhibited and published at various International forums. With impressive Indian and international client list, Dheer is also an excellent orator participating in various seminars in India & abroad.

Sunil Mahadik

He began his advertising career as a visualiser with Trikaya nearly 20 years ago. He started an advertising agency called Equity with two colleagues in 1989, which later went on to become Nexus-Equity. He set up a design studio called FX Designs in 1992, which evolved into an accredited advertising agency - The Flagship Advertising Pvt. Ltd. by 1995.A JJ School alumnus, Sunil Mahadik, is at present managing director and creative head of The Flagship that won the A&M ‘Emerging Agency of the Year’ award in 1996. His eventful years with most of the reputed ad agencies in India have won him almost every award any Art Director could aspire to win. Some of the more prestigious among these include:A&M ‘Art Director of the Year’ in 1996 A&M ‘Art Director of the Year in 1997 ‘Art Director of the Year’ from the Communication Arts Guild (CAG), 1992 Bombay Ad Club’s ‘Advertising Campaign of the Year’, 1992 for Mother’s Recipe Pickles Mahadik has been a finalist at the International Advertising Awards, New York. His work has been featured in Luizer’s International Archive and other publications of repute.

Sunil Sen

After a good 33-year long innings in Shilpi Advertising as Art Director – involved in various media like print, film making, corporate exercises and book designing for various publishing houses – Sunil Sen retired from service in 1988.
But industrial giants like IPCL, Reliance, Castrol, Tata, Ingersoll-Rand continue to seek Sen out regularly for their corporate exercises even now.
An internationally reputed designer of exhibition stalls and pavilions, Sen has earned himself awards, acknowledgements, certificates and felicitations from national as well as international organisations. He has won 20 National Awards in designing and printing in 15 years. American Institute of Graphic Arts and Tokyo Chambers of Commerce have honoured Sen, who is also recipient of International Clio Awards for various brands. His Centaur Hotel advertising won him the first prize in the Asian Advertising Congress held in Sydney Australia 1977 and accolades for Indian Typography in the Artypo exhibition (Eindhoven).

Saturday, May 3, 2008

IPL 20:20 Cricket - Manoranjan Ka Baap

Saturday, April 19, 2008

The Official DLF Indian Premier League Promo

IPL Rajasthan Royals

Deccan Chargers - The Unstoppables

IPL ads - Delhi Daredevils VS Mumbai Indians - Dentist

Ipl ads - Knight riders vs Chennai super kings

mumbai indians ipl promotional song featuring hrithik

Kings XI Punjab IPL Promotional Video

Monday, April 14, 2008

Top Ads

Brand: AirtelAgency: Rediffusion-DY&RIn its latest ad, Airtel, yet again, rides on emotions and relationships. A schoolboy enjoying the rain calls up his father so that he, too, can listento the sound of the rain over the phone.

Brand: Asian Paints Royale PlayAgency: Contract AdvertisingThe ad shows sibling actors Soha and Saif Ali Khan at a show where Soha appreciates a painting which Saif fails to understand. However, he impresses his sister by creating a beautiful pattern on the wall when he paints it with Royale Play.

Brand: Pepsi MyCanAgency: JWTPepsi’s latest advert is all about chutzpah and individuality. The ad shows a boy sidelining actors Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham, asking them to step aside while he continues on his way to a vending machine and a new Pepsi MyCan

Brand: Lay’s Spanish Tomato TangoAgency: JWTActor Saif Ali Khan and his friends climb to the top of the college bus, only to find a group of girls already there. The girls, initially peeved, relent when the boys give them a taste of Lay’s latest offering.

Brand: Tata SkyAgency: Rediffusion-DY&RThis ad just puts the message across simply. Actor Kirron Kher reads a letter from a satisfied Tata Sky customer, which spells out one of a million reasons for subscribing to Tata Sky services.

Brand: Aviva Life InsuranceAgency: PublicisThis ad shows a child telling his father what he wants to become when he grows up. After much deliberation, he has decided to become a cricketer. The way to budget for this and achieve it is by securing the child's future with Aviva Little Master Plan.

Brand: Axis BankAgency: Ogilvy & MatherThis ad, announcing of UTI Bank features two identical create confusion teacher and to drive home only the bank's changed.

Brand: TideAgency: Leo BurnettThe latest ad of Tide, with its rose and jasmine fragrances, rides on the element of fun. A man in a white shirt is surprised to see people in dirty clothes praying for sunshine. All that is needed is the new detergent, which has the power of the sun-‘Sooraj ki shakti’.

Brand: Bingo/Red Chilli BijliAgency: Ogilvy & MatherLike Bingo's other ads, this one, too, talks about Bingo's perfect combination. A man invents a combination of man and fire engine and fails-but Bingo's new combination of red chilli and potato chips does not fail.

Brand: Sunfeast SnackyAgency: FCB-Ulka AdvertisingThe ad shows an angry Diya Mirza being offered a Sunfeast Snacky biscuit by Shah Rukh Khan. Mirza's temper mellows as she enjoys the biscuit and Khan's antics. “Crisp, karara Sunfeast Snacky. Namkeen aur chilli flakes...ke saath,” says the voice-over.

Keep on talking

FCB Ulka used the insight that people with prepaid connections are economical with words

Mobile service provider Tata Indicom's new television commercial for their Unlimited Tata-to-Tata Talktime Voucher has been voted the best ad in Mint's monthly ad survey. Created by FCB-Ulka Advertising Pvt. Ltd for Tata Teleservices Ltd, the ad features a young woman talking nineteen to the dozen into her cellphone, only to end her high-speed dialogue abruptly when the stopwatch says the time's up. Brand ambassador and Bollywood actor Kajol steps into the frame to tell consumers about the new Unlimited Tata-to-Tata plan that allows consumers to talk endlessly, without worrying about crippling mobile bills. Creative director Haresh Moorjani tells us how they zeroed in on this concept. Edited excerpts:

What was the client’s brief?The brief that we got from the client was that they were launching a recharge voucher, which would give the user unlimited Tata-to-Tata talktime. Our creative, then, was based on consumer insight that mobile users, especially those with pre-paid connections, were always scrimping on words while talking on the mobile because they were scared they would run out of talktime. Not only would the conversations be awfully restrained but consumers would also speak really fast, trying to squeeze in lots of information, in as little time as possible.
How did the team zero in on the campaign?We went through the brief and based our creative on one simple insight-that people are quite economical with their words when they are on a pre-paid connection. So, we did think of different situations, where the casting, location and scenario kept changing but the core idea - that people are careful about their talktime-remained the same. So, one scenario was a guy in a hostel, while another featured a girl in a park. However, we decided to shoot indoors due to poor weather conditions. That is the ad with the girl in the locker room.Critics maintain that the campaign and promotions would have worked better if the agency had tapped Kajol as an actor rather than “waste” her talent as the endorser?We have looked at Kajol as the voice of reason who comes in at the crucial point when the protagonist is facing a ‘problem’-whether it's limited talktime, poor network quality or a slow Internet connection. Also, it's not like she's just coming in at the end with the solution. If you look at the previous ads on poor network connectivity, especially the one with the bride and groom, Kajol is present through and through. That is the role we have envisaged for her in our commercials. And results show that this is working well for the brand.

Unlimited mobility

Some of the most popular advertisements are not necessarily known for their superb creatives. They make it to the top because they are able to strike a chord wth consumers and communicate simply.The Tata Indicom film, which topped Mint's survey for August, proves the point, yet again. It scored the highest in brand recall and awareness, the two factors which decide the reach of the advertisement. Around 94% of the respondents surveyed remembered the Tata Indicom advertisement, showing a girl in a locker room chatting on her cellphone with a stopwatch in hand because she is worried her limited talktime will run out. The use of an actor as a character rather than a celebrity in the series of Tata ads has worked.

Top Ads

Brand: Infomedia Yellow PagesAgency: Ogilvy & MatherA shopkeeper's assistant directs the goons robbing a store to the Yellow Pages when their gun gets stuck. The voice-over says: It's good to help others

Brand: I-PillAgency: Network AdvertisingA woman mimes her worries about pregnancy to her husband as a voice-over details the benefits of emergency contraceptive pills.

Brand: Hutch Prepaid CardAgency: Ogilvy & MatherAnother in the “Who doesn't want a little extra in life” series, this clip shows a customer bullying his barber into giving him an add-on neck massage.

Brand: Bingo Mad AnglesAgency: Ogilvy & MatherSome combinations work, some don't. You can't ‘combine’ a brother with a pop-up toaster. But Bingo's khakra-tomato flavour? It works.

Brand: Motorola Moto Razr 2Agency: Ogilvy & MatherA man on a train inadvertently slits a woman's dress with his Razr. The two then duel, using their phones. The ad ends with the signature, “Hello Moto!”

Brand: VisaAgency: RK Swamy/BBDO AdvertisingJackie Chan can't qualify for the Olympics, but still gets there-“Easiest way to get to Beijing Olympic Games. Visa.”

Brand: Bingo Premium SaltedAgency: Ogilvy & MatherA scientist puts a man through a blind test, under varying levels of duress, and he decides that the brand's potato chips are the crunchiest, each time

Brand: Candyman LicksAgency: FCB-Ulka AdvertisingA prospective groom, a suitable girl, a child-a naughty take on the line, “Swaad (taste) so good, bachche ban jaye (kids become) too good.”

Brand: Reliance MobileAgency: Leo BurnettThe sponsor of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup plays on the short format game with the line: “Chote match, bade sapne (short matches, big dreams)”

How the café idea clicked for Indicom

A lot of research has gone into making the Tata Indicom Plug2Surf Whiz ad, says its maker

Mobile service provider Tata Indicom's ad for its high-speed Internet device, Tata Plug2Surf Whiz, created by FCB-Ulka Advertising Pvt. Ltd, features a group of girls at a coffee shop. One, a model, gets a call from her agent asking for her photographs immediately. Brand ambassador Kajol steps in to offer them the new Net device. Nitin Karkare, chief operating officer, FCB-Ulka Advertising, tells us how the team zeroed in on this concept. Edited excerpts:

What was the client’s brief?The brief was quite simple: The number of people using laptops is growing rapidly, as is the need for good wireless Internet connectivity-that is why the company launched Tata Plug2Surf Whiz.
How did you zero in on this ad?We decided not to just promote the service. In the Tata Indicom ads, we have always highlighted the problem consumers face with other service providers. A service like this could be life altering. The urgency of the matter is communicated when the girls say “Now? How?”. The whole idea was to dramatize the problem and come up with a solution. While we could have executed the same idea in a corporate set-up, likeability is a very important consideration. The scenario of the girls at a café fit right in. It was something our consumers could identify with. And, the concept worked for the clients, too. It went like a hot knife through butter.You have a dedicated team that researches consumer insights on the brand. How does it work?The first step is asking consumers what they like and don't like about the product. We then base the creative on the aspects they like, and do a creative pre-test with a storyboard.That is when we assess factors such as likeability and comprehension. Another pretest is done before the launch. This process is extremely long, but we are adequately staffed to meet deadlines.

The smooth connect

For the second month running, FCB-Ulka Advertising Ltd has grabbed the top honours in Mint's monthly television ad survey.This time, their ad film for Tata Indicom's Plug2Surf Whiz scored the highest in both brand recall and awareness. On awareness, the commercial scored 86%, way ahead of runner-up Ogilvy & Mather Ltd's flick for Infomedia Yellow Pages. Also, as many as 71% of the respondents could recall the brand, compared with only 67% who could name Infomedia.Interestingly though, the ad film featuring Tata Indicom's brand ambassador, actor Kajol, ranked much lower in ad diagnostics. In terms of softer issues of enjoyment, likeability, belief and claim, the repondents ranked the Tata Indicom ad at the No.9 spot, with an average score of 81. The top slot went to Havells’ CFL lamps, with an ad diagnostic score of 86. The ad film-set in a Tibetan village where a little boy is declared the Rimpoche (Dalai Lama incarnate), thanks to the glow of Havells’ CFL lamps?was liked by many, but it did not aid brand recall or awareness. It ranked No.16 in the ad reach index.

Top Ads

Brand:
Cadbury’s Celebrations Rich Dry Fruit CollectionAgency: Contract AdvertisingBrand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan meets up with an old classmate. The line: Aisi mithas jo banaye dosti ko khas.

Brand: Reliance MobileAgency: Leo BurnettA montage of questions-from, ‘Does she love me?’ to ‘Am I looking fat?’-with the voiceover: Bol India bol. Unlimited free local calls on Reliance.

Brand: LG RangeAgency: Lowe LintasActor and brand ambassador Abhishek Bachchan talks about bringing new life to Diwali, with LG's range of household durables.

Brands: Maruti Zen EstiloAgency: Ogilvy & MatherA police officer is so busy admiring the features of the car that he fails to notice his daughter is in that car, eloping with her boyfriend.

Brands: ICICI Prudential Retirement SolutionsAgency: Lowe LintasA man wants to “retire” from the alarm clock-his wife tells him exactly how much it would cost to realize his dream.

Brands: Dish TVAgency: Lowe LintasActor Shah Rukh Khan tells the world not to settle for second best, including poor quality cable TV transmission-go for DTH instead.

Brands: Idea CellularAgency: Lowe LintasActor Abhishek Bachchan as the sarpanch provides a novel solution to caste rivalries: People should be known by their mobile numbers, not names.

Brands: Parle Kaccha Mango BiteAgency: Everest Brand SolutionsA boy decides the argument between mango and candy - candy wins. The voice-over? It's the inimitable style of Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

Brands: Amway Personal CareAgency: RediffusionDYRA woman wants to look younger, a boy wishes to be taller, a toilet seat and an exhaust fan need cleaning-Amway products promise solutions for all.

Kennel capers

‘We used the pug as a link between the old brand and the new one-it was a simple, charming story’

The winning ad for mobile service provider Vodafone Essar Ltd was created by O&M India Ltd and features the trademark Hutch pug leaving his red kennel, only to find a bigger, better one on his return. The Hutch brand icon settles into his new Vodafone kennel quite comfortably, indicating a smooth shift to Vodafone. Group creative director Rajiv Rao tells Mint how

What was the client’s brief?The brief was simple: to launch the Vodafone brand. We couldn?t just go ahead and launch the brand. The idea was to communicate the change in brand to consumers. To tell them that brand Hutch was now going to be known as Vodafone. That is what we wanted to communicate.
How did the team zero in on the campaign?We decided to keep the communication as simple and uncomplicated as possible. We were absolutely sure that we wanted to use the pug, which was synonymous with brand Hutch. In the past, the pug was used to make that seamless transition from brand Orange to Hutch. We used the pug as a link between the old brand and the new one, this time round as well. And, I think it worked beautifully. It was a simple, uncomplicated, charming story. Even the music in the background, which is the original Hutch You & I jingle, was tweaked a little to make it sound fresh and happy... to signify a new beginning. These are also the values that brand Vodafone stands for internationally.Critics say the ad campaign isn't a patch on the campaigns you have put out for Orange and Hutch.The response to this campaign has been very positive. We really didn?t want to try too hard and complicate the whole thing. I guess people were expecting more. The story, about the little boy and the pug that follows him everywhere, was essentially a network story. This campaign was about how the network had found a new house.

Winning the name game

When respondents in India's metros were asked whether they could recall an ad featuring a pug, an overwhelming majority of them remembered not just the clip, but also that the Hutch pug had switched to Vodafone. Scoring high on both brand recall and awareness, Vodafone's television commercial topped Mint's ad rankings for October, with an ad reach index of 85.The highly visible campaign heralding the global telecom giant's entry into India has topped the ad diagnostics chart as well. Everybody liked it and believed its message. The trademark pug even managed to slip past superstar Amitabh Bachchan's latest clip for Cadbury's Celebrations Rich Dry Fruit Collection. Woven around a witty script involving Bachchan in search of his schoolmate ‘Lalten’, the Cadbury ad came second with an ad reach index of 74. It slipped, however, in the ad diagnostics index, scoring low on believability and claim. Reliance Mobile's Sawal campaign, riding on a series of quirky questions, came a close third with a score of 71 in the ad reach index. Ninetyeight per cent of those who saw it liked the ad, but only 86% believed it.

Top Ads

Brand: ICICI Prudential Health SolutionsAgency: LowePart of the “Jeete Raho” series, it shows a husband realizing the need for health cover after watching a teleserial.

Brand: Nescafé MildAgency: Capital AdvertisingA late night exchange between a radio jockey and his father sets off the tag line: “Ek cup baaton bhara (a cup full of conversation).“

Brand: Maruti SwiftAgency: Capital AdvertisingThe boss slips out of office to take his junior’s car for a spin, giving his more expensive one a miss. “Technology you love to drive,” goes the voice-over.

Brand: Parle Milk ShaktiAgency: Produced by Black Magic Motion PicturesM.S. Dhoni effortlessly lifts a sofa, with a grandmom on it, to look for car keys. The message: Get used to extra strength.

Brand: Cadbury Dairy Milk Éclairs CrunchAgency: Contract AdvertisingA couple collide while running across a field in Bollywood style. Some things should be enjoyed slowly, is the advice.

Brand: Vodafone Call FilterAgency: Ogilvy and MatherAn animation clip demonstrates how the Vodafone service helps block unwanted calls when you don’t want to be disturbed.

Brand: Maruti Suzuki WagonRAgency: Hakuhodo PerceptA reporter rescues an actress from the paparazzi, speeding away in his car-only to ask her for an exclusive interview.He ends up getting it.

Brand: Parle Krackjack CrispyAgency: Ogilvy and MatherA namaste with just one hand can have the opposite effect of what’s intended. Two is better than one, goes the voice-over, announcing a cream variant.

Brand: Parle Gol Gappa (candy)Agency: Grey WorldwideA man on his way to work is amazed to see everyone he passes by eating gol gappas. He only understands why when his boss gives him one.

Top Ads

Brand: Vodafone prepaid cardAgency: Ogilvy & MatherIrrfan Khan compares using an exhausted recharge card till its validity ends to pushing a car low on petrol. He then says the validity on a Vodafone card can be carried over

Brand: Dabur ChyawanprashAgency: McCann-EricksonAmitabh Bachchan explains why a boy needs to be given Chyawanprash by sending the mother to school and putting her through the exertions of school life.Amitabh Bachchan explains why a boy needs to be given Chyawanprash by sending the mother to school and putting her through the exertions of school life.

Brand: Tanishq diamond jewelleryAgency: Lowe LintasNafisa Ali is the centre of attention at her farewell, wearing the diamonds her daughter gave her. In a role reversal, the daughter is asked to dance by an elderly gentleman.

Brand: Sony Ericsson Walkman phoneAgency: Saatchi & SaatchiBrand ambassador Hrithik Roshan pairs up with a girl at a club, and they dance to a range of tunes, from hip hop to salsa. The voice-over says: “I love to shake up my music.”

Brand: Titan RegaliaAgency: Ogilvy & MatherAamir Khan visits a French studio, and is told that the pieces of art on display are not for sale. When the artist admires his watch, Aamir sends it with a note saying, “Not for sale”.

Brand: Bournvita SuperchargersAgency: Ogilvy & MatherThe ad features two finalists from the Cadbury Bournvita Confidence Academy reality show on Pogo, with folk singer Ashraf Khan challenging Kabir Aurora to dance to his song

Brand: HDFC Standard Life pension plansAgency: Leo BurnettA retired gentleman is shown telling his wife they will have to get rid of the maid to save money, only to surprise her with flight tickets to Singapore.

Brand: Chocoduet AlpenliebeAgency: McCann-EricksonMr Munch, the crocodile, is shedding tears and listening to sad songs, but cheers up when actor Kajol feeds him the candy. The two then dance to a catchy jingle.

Brand: Cadbury 5 Star Fruit & NutAgency: Ogilvy & MatherThree boys, new to Mumbai, spot the chocolate bar in a shop. Two of them bite into it and disappear, leaving the third to pay up. The voiceover: “Jo khaye, kho jaaye”.

The right pitch

‘After the product was repositioned, it was clear that the brand would have to talk to the family’

The Hindustan Unilever Ltd television commercial for its soap brand Lifebuoy has been voted the best ad in Mint's monthly ad survey.Created by Lintas India Pvt. Ltd for the consumer products company, the ad features a neighbour complaining to the mother of a boy who had picked up a grubby puppy off the street. The mother, a doctor, however, says children should be encouraged to do the right thing-especially with Lifebuoy soap around to take care of the germs. Lintas’ executive creative director Amer Jaleel tells Mint the story behind the ad

What was the client’s brief?Lifebuoy is the only health soap that stands opposite to beauty soap brands. The focus was to underline the difference between the two.
The brand, which was positioned as an allmale brand a few years ago, has softened its stand. Will we see more changes in brand strategy in the days to come ?A few years ago, the brand communication which focused on health and hygiene, moved from talking just to men, to talking to the entire family.After the product was repositioned as a family health soap, it was clear that the communication would have to talk to the family.So, the germ story has evolved over the years, from an all-male campaign, to those featuring experts such as doctors, and the latest one-“Koi dar nahin!”-featuring a generation of young people that is not scared to change the world.Every six months, we launch a new commercial. Over the next year, each variant of the brand will have its own story to tell, and each story will be carried forward with a series of commercials, which will focus on its strengths.

Making a clean sweep

Liking an advertisement does not ensure brand recall. This month again, Mint’s survey of new advertisements reveals a wide gap between the brand recall scores and softer factors such as likeability and believability.The Lifebuoy Liquid advertisement that topped the charts with a reach index of 86 ranked fifth in ad diagnostics with a score of 85. Similar is the case with many other ads in this month’s survey. HDFC Standard Life pension plans scored the highest in ad diagnostics, but ranked eighth on the ad reach index. Though 98% of the survey’s respondents liked the advertisement, only 79% could recall that it was an HDFC pension plan ad. Also interesting is the fact that as many as six ads in the top 12 in brand recall are personality (mostly actors) driven. Whether it is Irfan Khan talking about Vodafone's prepaid scheme, Amitabh Bachchan promoting Dabur Chyawanprash, or Aamir Khan selling Titan watches, these advertisements made more of an impact on consumers.Actor Kajol's pairing with Mr Munch the crocodile, however did not work its magic the second time around for Alpenliebe's Chocoduet. It secured ninth position-down from the No.1 slot, the animated crocodile had won in July for Alpenliebe milk chocolate candy.

Keeping it simple

How the idea that ‘barriers are what you make of them’ helped make the Airtel ad a winner

Telecom firm Bharti Airtel Ltd’s new television ad, which topped Mint’s monthly ad survey, was created by Rediffusion DY&R Pvt. Ltd. Amitesh Rao, its national business head, explains how the campaign took shape.

What was the client’s brief?We wanted a campaign that would go way beyond the kind of communication we have been seeing in this sector. In the past, Airtel campaigns had underlined the power of expression, such as the one featuring world leaders. There was a need to produce an iconic campaign like that. A campaign that has stature and scale, and establishes the brand's credentials beyond product and service. So, the brief essentially was to convey the thought: Communication dissolves boundaries.
How did you zero in on the script?This campaign is not about a particular situation or context, it is about people. So we picked a neutral context, which would not lend itself to any association, and focused on the core idea. The original script went through a lot of editing. It started out as a fairly complicated script around these two little boys from countries which were at war with each other and with fathers who felt strongly about the situation. We explored several routes but at the end, the only thing that mattered was the simplicity of the message.In the end, we took everything but the two kids out of the script.
Some say featuring teenagers who knew the significance of those boundaries could have strengthened the message. Comment.If we had used teenagers, then it would come across as a conscious decision to communicate, to build bridges. But we wanted to focus on the idea that “barriers are what you make of them”. And to a little kid, the space between those two boundaries looked like a good place for a game of football. It is a pure thought, there is no construction behind it. They are clueless, and their actions are spontaneous, none of them are thinking like Miss World and consciously communicating to bring world peace.

Flying high on brand recall

voted the best. Bharti Airtel Ltd’s latest television advertisement-featuring two children on opposite sides of an international border getting together to play football in the no man’s land-has scored the highest (93 in ad reach index) in brand recall and awareness in Mint’s survey of top ads in December. The ad from the cellular services firm scored a high of 99% in likeability, but slipped slightly on the believability and claim criteria. Its evocative tag line, “Barriers break when people talk”, was believed by 81% of those polled. The runner-up in December’s poll is ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd’s Health Solutions. The insurance company extended its life cover tag line “Jeete Raho” (made famous by its in-film placement in Cheeni Kum), to its health insurance offering in a seamless series. Featuring a couple who go for health insurance after watching a television serial, the ad clip captured eyeballs, matching the Airtel ad’s awareness score of 95%, but got 86% of the votes in brand recall. In ad diagnostics, or the aggregrate of scores on softer issues such as likeability, enjoyment, claim and believability, the ICICI Prudential ad notched 84 points, compared with Airtel’s 88 points.

Top Ads of the Month Jan 2008

Brand: Nestle MunchAgency: JWTActor Rani Mukherjee sings of the country of crunch. A building collapse, a cricket shot, a military salute-all end in a crunch, and a jingle: “Yeh desh hai crunchy, crunchy sa”.

Brand: LIC CorporateAgency: RK Swamy BBDOA montage of visuals of the LIC man-shielding children from sudden rain, securing belts on a merry-go-round, giving helmets to the elderly. All showcasing the promise of protection

Brand: Surf Excel Quick WashAgency: LoweA boy who has got his clothes dirty disarms his mother, sympathising with her plight, playing doctor and offering his prescription: Use the Surf Excel sixer pack for six days.

Brand: Pond’s Age MiracleAgency: Ogilvy & MatherRed tick marks float around women in a restaurant, a couple in a corridor, a pregnant woman exercising. Voice-over: About 99.9% of the women who took on the challenge are satisfied.

Brand: Nokia MMSAgency: Bates IndiaActor Shah Rukh Khan declares Nokia a friend of 10 years’ standing because it has helped him share some of the special moments of his life with loved ones.

Brand: Nokia 1208Agency: Bates IndiaAn elderly lady successfully plays saviour when battery failure leaves a bus stranded at night. Her “torch” cellphone helps her call for a new battery - and provides light.

Brand: Kinetic SYM FlyteAgency: Ambience PublicisActor Bipasha Basu, riding a red scooter, pulls the plug on an assembly line of pink “girlie” scooters-today’s girls, she declares, are neither girlie nor delicate.

Brand: Reliance Mobile BlogAgency: Mudra CommunicationsThe world comes calling on a girl seated on a park bench. The star attraction: her diary, which transforms later into a mobile phone. The voice-over: No strangers on MBlog

Brand: Cadbury WowieAgency: Ogilvy & MatherA boy is reading, and eating chocolate, when he is transported to a chocolate castle. He runs into ghosts-but the glowing cartoon characters on the chocolate wrapper help him ward off the threat.

JWT India saw the ad for Kurkure Xtreme as the perfect opportunity for the brand to take a leap

The FritoLay Division of PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd's television ad for the Xtreme variant of its snack brand Kurkure has been created by advertising agency JWT India Ltd. The ad features brand ambassador Juhi Chawla jumping off rooftops and performing other stunts to reach the Kurkure delivery van. In the ad, the actor's sudden ability to perform these stunts has been powered by one bite of the snack's flavours, which has her craving for more-lending itself to the tag line: “Seriously thoda zyada”. Creative director Sonia Bhatnagar takes us behind the frames of the advertisement.

Edited excerpts:What was the client’s brief?Since this product was meant to be an in-and-out flavour launch (would be in the market for two to three months), the client obviously wanted us to make sure the extreme flavours flew off the shelf. They wanted us to create a strong impact during the short stay of Xtreme, so that it stays in the mind of consumers. They gave us a lot of freedom to do what we thought was best, while staying true to the full-on taste the “electric nimbu” and “risky chilli” flavours promised.
How was the brief executed?We saw this as the perfect opportunity for the brand to take a leap, literally. So, the concept we went with was of a family on holiday in Jodhpur, where the housewife, Juhi, takes a leap off the fort in true extreme-sport style. I think the rest of it just flew as we took off on the name Xtreme, which is exactly what our clients wanted us to convey. Everything was unique about the shoot. Jodhpur had never seen anything like it. All of Jodhpur was on holiday that day and we had the toughest time taking the simplest of shots. The film was directed by Abhijit Chaudhary of Black Magic Productions.Isn’t the concept of jumping off buildings to reach the product delivery van similar to rival CocaCola India Inc.’s brand Thums Up ad featuring actor Akshay Kumar?See, the whole idea is to do a take on all things extreme. That includes James Bond, Jackie Chan, Bollywood action movies, the works. If Akshay Kumar is a part of that world, it will seem like we're taking off on him, too. But that's hardly the intention. The differentiating factor is obviously Juhi! Nobody's ever seen her jump off a chair, let alone a fort wall, over a cannon. Good old, smiley, bubbly, housewifey Juhi goes extreme... just for these flavour

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Funny Indian Bangla Ad from Kolkata

Award winning , funny Indian ad on eve teasing for AAJ TAK

Virigin Ads

Virgin Mobile sets foot in India with 2 great TV advertisments

Image from Wikipedia
I have said this repeatedly earlier and I am saying it again. I love Indian TV advertisements. They not only pass across the message in those limited 10 seconds, but the fun element in it keeps the viewers wanting for more.

The 2 recent addtions to my favorite list are 2 maiden ads released by Virgin Mobile to set their footprint in India. Both of them are very funny and leaves viewers craving for more.

Funny ads

Every now and then I get on Youtube and search for new advertisements coming on Indian television. Most of the times I find quite a few interesting and appealing ads. I have earlier shared some of my favorite advertisements appearing on Indian TV.

I can say without a doubt that Indian ad agencies have some of the most creative and talented people around ! It is attested by the fact that now global companies are approaching Indian ad agencies to handle their media campaign.

You can find many funny and best indian ad videos in YouTube

From Down Under, with finesse

Vinay Kamath
Meet Danny Pope, cinematographer for many Indian commercials, including those for Fevicol and Hutch.

Danny Pope. Heard of him? It's a good bet that not many would have. But, mention some of the more memorable television commercials in Indian advertising of late like the Hutch boy-and-dog TVC and the Fevicol bus ad or the Chevrolet commercial, and if you were told that it was Pope, a 44-year-old Australian cinematographer, who shot those TVCs, recognition would be easier. Among the top cinematographers in the world for commercials, he brings to his work, according to ad film-makers like Rajiv Menon and Prakash Varma, who he's filmed for, a great deal of meticulousness and technical expertise. "He's able to translate the mental picture on the director's mind into film," says Varma, who's shot the Hutch commercial with Pope in Goa. Film-makers are using talented cinematographers like Pope for the fresh perspective he brings to a commercial, which comes out of his experience of shooting around the world. In Chennai recently to shoot a Titan commercial for Menon, Pope took time off to talk to Catalyst about his Indian experience. Excerpts:

How did your Indian affair begin?

I did a commercial for Live-in jeans in Sydney with an Australian crew for an Indian agency and director and that was the first one I did. Later, I worked on a couple of other commercials; one was for Lakme and the other Levi's. When I finished a little stint in India and went back to Sydney I was asked whether I would like to work on another Indian commercial, but I was fairly busy at that time. They asked me if I would see the reel of the director and I had a look at it and it was brilliant - this was Prasoon Pandey's (Corcoise Films) reel. I then worked with him for a Wills cigarettes ad; we shot all around Sydney and we got along well. The next project he asked me to work on with him was for Fevicol, so I came over to shoot in Rajasthan. I met Piyush (Pandey, group president & national creative director, O&M)), and we all went and shot the Fevicol ad together and it then went on to wi<15,3m>n the Silver Lion in Cannes. I loved shooting that commercial, it was beautiful.

Then I did a Grasim suit ad with Prasoon, then one for Limca and a motorbike commercial for Bajaj Pulsar. After that I got a call from Prakash Varma and we then did the Chevrolet ad in Rajasthan, which was a really difficult ad to make because of the dusty terrain.

So, I had a nice thing going; I was working with two of the best directors, Prasoon and Prakash Varma; then we did Hutch together with Prasoon and Piyush. So, what's really brought me back here is the Titan ad I'm doing for Rajiv Menon.

The Hutch ad that you shot is among the most endearing commercials seen in Indian advertising. How did you manage to get the dog to follow the boy around faithfully?

That ad was shot in Goa. We first had a little snouted dog which came with its dog handlers. The first shot we wanted was of the dog taking a straight run to the beach, but it never did anything like that. The dog didn't look nice anyway, apart from not performing and we were at it for hours. And here I was, trying to catch the overcast light for the shoot. This dog just wasn't doing anything right. So, we had a bit of panic on hand because we wasted hours on the first day. We needed to find another dog; that was a big call; we were stuck in Goa and we needed a new dog the next morning. So, everyone started hunting around. The production team did a great job in finding the pug, Chika. I saw the pictures and said everyone would fall in love with the dog.

The next day we arrive on set and found that it was a Goan couple who had this dog and we didn't have to go anywhere for one. We allowed the dog and the little kid, Jairam, to spend some time together and they became friends and it would follow the boy everywhere and all we had to do was shoot. Every shot was done in a couple of takes; the dog was really lovable; in fact when he was climbing stairs, his stomach would drag on the stairs — he had such short legs!

At the end of the commercial we needed to show the boy and the dog asleep. We had worked both really hard and Jairam fell asleep instantly. And then we put the dog beside him to see what he would do and even the dog fell asleep immediately. Being a pug, he started snoring as well; he was so tired! Trying to get a dog to do that is really difficult. Some things just work out well; we were blessed, that was a really lovely shoot.

What about the Fevicol ad, was that a difficult shoot as well?

That shoot went off very well. In fact, it won the Silver Lions at Cannes. We shot the ad in winter so the lighting was quite perfect. We just had four pieces of polystyrene to bounce light. We wanted the bus to bump around a bit, so we dug small ditches for it to go through while ensuring the lighting was uniform. It was very simple and we really enjoyed the shoot. The actors too were fantastic and sat patiently for hours and hours.

You've been around the world to shoot various commercials, what are the most memorable ones?

Oh, I think the Fevicol and Hutch ads are right up there among my best. I've shot around the world; I like shooting in Europe but I like coming back to India as well; it's going places. The clients are willing to trust the agency and the agency is trying to come up with innovative ideas. They like a bit of fun; Indians enjoy their cinema and their commercials; there's a big passion for cricket and cinema so the audience knows the celebrities in the ads too. Sydney is a different market altogether. I've shot in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai often, and Europe, of course, when it comes along. I've shot for Qantas; recently I've done a big ad for Petronas in Cambodia ...

How do you rate Indian advertising on technical aspects?

You've got better equipment here now, the best that's around; I won't be surprised if India wins an award in the foreign films category soon at the Academy Awards. India is in the news and becoming popular all over. Even in London you can watch Bollywood movies in cafes. Your cinema is going places and its commercial directors are right up there. I will see more quality advertising coming out of India; I love coming here because of the freedom that you show in your cinema. I come from Sydney, which is more restrained. Indians like their story-telling and fun in their advertising and that's making Indian advertising further itself because the Indian people watch a lot of commercials and movies and people need to lift the bar, otherwise they're not going to like it. But Indian directors are able to adapt, their ads are not always up to story-telling; some of them are making very stylish ads as well. They've got a compositional balance.

The directors you work with compliment your meticulousness and technical expertise. Where did you have your training as a cinematographer?

I had all my initial training in Australia under Graham Lind, who was probably one of Sydney's best commercial photographers. I was taught by him; he had an outfit called Rosswood Productions. Later I worked with Peter James, who shot movies like Driving Miss Daisy and then Andrew Lesney, who won an Academy award for The Lord of the Rings. I used to operate as a cameraman with them and then for products like watches and foods I picked up the skills from Lind; you don't want to forget such skills even if I like shooting ads like Fevicol in Rajasthan.

The work that I've seen from the commercials shot by Indians are wonderful. I admire their work. I think they're doing well and that's why I think I'm lucky to be working here and with them.

Do you see yourself shooting in Indian commercial cinema?

Indian cinematographers would probably do it better than me; but I'm open to offers. I don't know whether it would be a traditional Bollywood movie; the films I've been talking about are a little more offbeat, a bit more of the cross-over movies, with a Westernised approach, a real story with a situation as opposed to the normal Bollywood film. I am interested in doing an Indian film because I'm getting to know the place and people and eventually I expect to be doing it. If it's the right project and right director ... I have to be prepared to change my business around. I'll probably lose money on it because if I stayed on in Sydney I would be pretty busy with more commercials and I would probably make more money. But as I get older, I guess I would be doing work which satisfies me more. (Laughs heartily) Who knows, we may be doing an interview again after I've shot a commercial film!