Big Names in the Indian Communication Business

I have always felt that people who visit this site need to know a little more about the creative brains that create great stuff that often gets showcased here. Which is the reason behind posting a few profiles of Indian Creative Gurus in this post.

I shall try and do a round 2 very soon. Maybe some of you can tell me if there is someone who should be a part of that series. A hat-tip to each of you brilliant creative minds. You guys are the creative inspiration for many young creatives across the planet. "Thank You" for showing us the way! For now, read on:
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A metallurgist by formal education, Abhijit Avasthi got into advertising after a mixed bag of experiences that included working in a steel plant, manufacturing textile dyes, exporting playing cards and match-boxes from India, and trading in saris.

Currently a Senior Creative Director at Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, he started out as a copywriter with Enterprise Nexus in 1997 and joined Ogilvy in 1999. Abhijit has won over 150 International & National awards at shows including Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Clio Awards, Asia-Pacific Adfest, Abbys etc.

He has worked on some landmark campaigns in India, campaigns that have been popular with the man on the streets of India as well as with juries across the world. These include Fevicol, Center Shock, Cadbury, Asian Paints, Bajaj Pulsar & Bajaj Discover, Alpenliebe Lollypop and Sprite amongst many others.

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Vikram Gaikwad has over 15 years of experience in advertising. He started his career at Lintas (now Lowe) in 1990 after a BFA from the Sir J J Institute of Applied Art. He has since had stints at Enterprise Nexus, SSC&B Lintas and Leo Burnett.

He joined Grey Worldwide in 2004. He has worked on many major brands such as Cadbury’s, Skoda, Thums Up, Smirnoff, Complan and MTV, amongst others.

His work has won three Gold and Silver each at the Ad Club Bombay Awards, two One Show Merit Certificates, one Asia Pacific Silver, one Montreux Gold and has also been finalist at a prestige shows like New York, Clio and Cannes.

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Before getting into advertising, Sajan Raj Kurup has been a newspaper boy, an animal caretaker, a spoken English tutor, pizza maker, a sales guy, stage actor, masseur and a bartender.

He holds an Honours degree in Mathematical Economics and is proud to be a ‘management studies dropout. His previous experience in advertising includes stints at Lowe, Leo Burnett and Mudra. He has also worked on deputation at Leo Burnett Sydney, and Burnett Sri Lanka.

Raj’s most recent work includes the Frooti ‘bindaas’ campaign and Melody chocolates. He has also worked on Top Ramen, Toyota, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, LG, Shaw Wallace, ICICI Insurance, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Cellular, Proline, Acer Computers, Parle, and Kinetic, amongst others.

Apart from numerous Advertising Awards at Abby and other Ad Club awards, A&M awards Asia Pacific Adfest, Creativity Annual Ohio, London Advertising awards and New York festival short lists, Raj also won the Indira Gandhi Super Achiever award 2004. He was also a speaker at the Profile Intermedia Hocshule Fur Kuntz in Bremen, Germany and is on the panel of judges for the Bombay Ad Club Awards.

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Manish started his career as a site engineer at a Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation plant after a Diploma in Civil Engineering. But he soon got bored with, in his own words, machines, boilers & chimneys and decided to enter the world of advertising. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, he joined Contract - New Delhi in 1995.

Today, ten years later, he is ranked No.3 in the ‘Hottest Creative People from India’ list, compiled by Campaign Brief Asia Magazine, Australia. Till date, he has won over 30 international Awards / Finalists at acclaimed shows like D&AD, One Show, Cannes, Clio, Asia Pacific Awards etc., apart from over 25 national awards.

His TVCs for Planet M “peeing” and Tata Press yellow Pages were selected by BBC ONE for a prime-time programme on the world’s funniest TVCs.

At McCann, Manish has worked on leading brands like Hanes Undergarments, Vaseline, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Marico, UTI and NDTV etc in McCann Erickson.

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Bhupal Ramnathkar has over 23 years of experience in advertising and is one of the most celebrated Creative Directors in the country. He brings to clients a vast experience gained in both Indian and international markets and at some of the most high profile brands in the country, Brands like Complan, Bajaj, General Motors, VST, Lakme, etc.

In the process, his work has not only helped build some of the biggest brands but has also gained recognition internationally with awards at Cannes, Clio and One Show.

He also brings to the table expertise in not only developing outstanding campaigns but also the ability to produce it extremely cost efficiently, thereby adding immense value to the clients businesses.

Ramu does not believe craft is about doing something perfectly – he usually invents a whole new way to do it. Like discovering a photographer fresh out of art school to shoot the Agency’s biggest print campaign of the year and winning the Best Photography Award for it at CAG, the Indian equivalent of D&AD

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Josy was born during an earthquake. He therefore has a permanent tremor. A physics graduate, he gave up Heisenberg's principles for the uncertainties of advertising. He spent his early years with Ogilvy Benson & Mather and then served time at Lowe-Lintas.

In June 2000, he threw it all up and resigned from adulthood. He founded rmg david along with other like-minded kids (with parental guidance from the WPP Group and Ogilvy). They called themselves rmg david, the smallest worldwide agency.

The new agency, founded on the spirit of 'play', soon made its mark internationally. Josy and his playschool won India's first ever One Show pencil in 2002. The agency went on to win prized accounts like LG gsm phones, Royal Enfield Bulletmotorcycles, Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Airlines (alongside Batey.)

Last year the agency won almost every international award including itsmaiden YounGuns. This led God Father Niel French to describe them as "...the tiny,manically-keen and creatively successful outfit in India". This year they already have three One Show Award nominations and nominations at Clio and D&AD awards - more results are awaited. Josy believes in the 'david' thing: "Think like the navy, deliver like the pirates".

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Ryan began his career with Ogilvy & Mather, as a Visualizer. He has had extensive experience working in all the major advertising agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi, SSC&B Lintas, Lowe, Euro RSCG, Grey Worldwide, and Ambience D’Arcy within India. He has also helped start-up two agencies Euro RSCG India & SSC&B Lintas India. He has revamped the creative departments of Lowe Nairobi, Euro RSCG India and SSC&B India by identifying, hiring, and training the best local talent available.

Ryan has helped build major brands like Coca-Cola Africa, Hyundai Sonata, Cox & Kings, Kenya Airways, Philips Sound Systems, Zenith Computers and Esselworld Amusement Park. Some on the accounts that he worked on also include Hyundai Motors, Rasna, Smirnoff Vodka, P & G, IFB Washing Machines, BPL Televisions, Pepe Jeans, Kenya Airways, Air India, Cox & Kings, Bayer, Vimal Suitings, Bombay Dyeing Mills and Flying Machine Jeans, among others.

Ryan has won several International Awards such as Cannes Gold Lion, D&AD Automotive Showcase 2004, Clio Bronze, New York Festivals Grand (Prix) Global Award, New York Festivals Gold, New York Festivals Silver World Medal, New York Festivals Bronze World Medal, New York AME (Advtg. & Mktg. Effectiveness) Bronze, New York AME (Advtg. & Mktg. Effectiveness) Finalist, Loerie (S.Africa) Silver, Mobius 1st Place, Golden Award of Montreux Finalist, The Work 2004, Archive. He has won 37 APA (Nairobi) awards in 2 years including 2 Grand Prix (Best of Show) and Art Director of the Year: 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 in Nairobi. He was also the first to win the Cannes Gold Lion in India.

He has also been a Judge for events such as the Smirnoff International Fashion Awards, Nairobi, the Ad Club of Mumbai (Abby) 2004 Awards, The New York Festivals Awards 2004 and The AAAI Awards 2004. Ryan represented Saatchi & Saatchi India at the Procter & Gamble Regional Creative Showcase in Vietnam.

He lives with his wife Yohani and has a son, Vaugn, and a daughter, Aiyana. He loves to travel and watch movies.

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Anil got into the business of advertising when he was 17. Needless to mention, the results were disastrous. Not only did he almost flunk his board exams, he also managed to secure a job as a Copywriter with an agency he is too embarrassed to mention here.

After that, he moved on to work with Leo Burnett, Enterprise Nexus and Ambience Publicis. Along the way, he's created campaigns for The Times Of India, Pierre Cardin, Charms, Thums Up, The Economic Times, Brand Equity, Lakme, Vicks, Ravissant, Parx, Park Avenue and a few other clients who refused to buy his work.

Anil has been a finalist at many award shows and he has won over 35 awards, some from The Asia Pacific Adfest, London International Advertising Awards, The New York Festivals, The Abby Awards, CAG and Montreux.

Anil is also a member of the jury at the Abby Awards conducted by The Advertising Club of Bombay. Currently ensconced in SSC&B Lintas, he spends most of his spare time doodling on briefs and wondering what on earth his agency initials stand for.

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The Asia Pacific Ad Fest 2006, Thailand

The Ninth Asia Pacific Ad Festival ended in Pattaya, Thailand a couple of days back. Team India had a lot of reason to cheer, infact at last count 13! Yes, it's true. The Indian contingent seems to have done almost everything right in keeping the judges happy.

The only regret being that there were no golds amongst the 13 awards that were brought home by our champions!

The final tally of the Indian Sub-continent at the end of the Asia Pacific Festival read as follows:

Saatchi & Saatchi, India: 3 Metals - 2 Bronze & 1 Silver (All for its work on Aerial)

Grey Worldwide India: 3 Metals - 1 Silver & 2 Bronze (Lion's Eye Bank & Childcare India)

Tribal DDB, India: 3 Metals - 2 Bronze & 1 Silver (Itch Guard & Times Jobs)

JWT, India: 2 Metals - 1 Bronze & 1 Silver (Levi's & Red Cross for JWT, Chennai)

McCann Erickson, India: 1 Metal - 1 Silver (Film for Heal Foundation)

Ogilvy & Mather, India: 1 Metal - 1 Bronze (Perfetti Corporate)

Well, that looks like almost 5 of the top 10 Indian Agencies had some reason to cheer and carry a metal home! Congratulations to all the winners. Thank you for making us proud! :)

Prasoon Joshi, Regional Creative Director, South and South East Asia, McCann-Erickson, was amongst the esteemed jury members this year.

The Asia Pacific Ad Fest received a whopping 4,738 entries this year! A record for the fest itself. The event also saw the introduction of 2 new categories Print Craft and Creative Media.

That's the update from Pattaya for now! The winning creatives will follow very soon! Cheers...

Pandey Ji & the Scam Saga!

Looks like some controversies never die and the debate shall go on. Found this Interview with Mr. Piyush Pandey via agencyfaqs. I thought it would be great to know your opinion too. Read on and speak your mind:

‘Scam ads’ is all about bad losers spoiling the party

Ogilvy & Mather India's chairman & national creative director, Piyush Pandey, has been in the eye of a storm lately with virtually half the Indian advertising industry speaking in hushed voices against his domination of the Abbys and even accusing him of indulging in 'scam ads' to win awards.

Pandey, who has maintained a low-profile during all this time, comes out in the open for the first time to takes on these accusations and his detractors in the industry head-on. And in-between, he also speaks on how advertising is selling itself cheap and creative trends to watch out for this year.

Excerpts:

You have been accused of running Abbys as O&M extension?

People shouldn't blame O&M for their failures. Please stop behaving like bad losers or you'll spoil the game for young people who're the future of this industry. Some people have short memories in this industry and they should refresh it a little bit. They may like to do a little homework too. And this isn't about Abbys. They must check from the inception of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) till when O&M stopped participating - who's work dominated the AAAI awards? Till the A&M awards closed down, who dominated these awards?

Till such time O&M stopped participating in the big-bang awards in Bangalore and Chennai, who dominated it? Basically, if young people at O&M did good work and you did not, why blame us? So therefore, if you have a personal agenda of either living up to your secretarial responsibilities this year, please don't blame O&M for it. Life is too short, let's try and admire the good work and get on with it.

Some people also point out that some of your award winning work is basically 'scam ads'?

I think people should look into their own work, their own one-offs. Look at their own victories before they start pointing fingers at others. And those who have issues against awards and one-offs should look at their own awards and their acceptance of being on the jury of international awards, despite claiming not to believe in them.

What are the 'creative trends' in advertising for this year?

Manifestations of reaching out to people will change with availability of new mediums in mobile, internet and radio. What will not change is the value of an idea. Human emotions will not change. But, there will be experiments on new ways of presenting it to consumers. Communication will have to keep in line with the evolution of a society. For even while we have the new-age bold cinema in India, the Advertising Standards Council of India bans a VIP Frenchie ad, which does not show any people, least nude or semi-nude models!

The society will find its own balance, and if need be, will go back to its roots to find answers. Look at the new film, Rang De Basanti. I think it's good, for it tries to address today's problems by using the past. The message is clear, you can't write away your past.Do you see advertising discipline maturing in India?In India, the ad industry is little less aggressive than it should be. It usually sells itself cheaply. It is sad that this industry doesn't behave like MF Hussein, who doesn't work on a turnover target but a dream, an idea.

If you plan your life around (financial) targets, clients will use those targets against you. But an idea doesn't come cheap. The ad business should, once again, start living the ideas, start valuing ideas, take more pride doing what we're doing and charging clients for it. We should get into a scenario of a stronger sales-driven compensation.

How does the ad market look this year?

The market is looking good. Clients are doing well, and they'll be experimental this year. They will invest in new media in a small way. I hope you won't call it a 'scam ad' next year.

Via: The Economic Times

Campaign Brief Creative Rankings 2006

Campaign Brief, one of the world's leading advertising magazines has just released its list of top twenty five agencies in Asia, top ten agency networks in the world, the top ten agencies in India and the top ten creative individuals in India. The lists are as below:

Top Twenty Five Hottest Agencies In Asia::

1. Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore
2. BBDO, Singapore
3. Dentsu Inc., Tokyo
4. BBDO, Bangkok
5. TBWA, Singapore
6. Saatchi & Saatchi, Bangkok
7. TBWA, Tokyo 8 Leo Burnett, Singapore
9. Euro RSCG Flagship, Bangkok
10. Creative Juice\G1, Bangkok
11. Ogilvy & Mather, Bangkok
12. Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore
13. JWT, Bangkok
14. FCB, Singapore
15. McCann-Erickson, Singapore
16. Naga DDB, Kuala Lumpur
17. JWT, Malaysia
18. Ogilvy & Mather, Malaysia
19. Leo Burnett, Bangkok
20. Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai
21. M&C Saatchi, Singapore
22. BBDO/Guerrero Ortega, Manila
23. Leo Burnett, Mumbai
24. Ogilvy & Mather, Hong Kong
25. JWT, Singapore

What is not surprising is the fact that 9 agencies from the above list are from Singapore. They are probably the very best in the world today. Amazing levels of hard-work, talent and great ideas.

India does figure twice in that list. Ogilvy, Mumbai at 20 and Leo Burnett, Mumbai at 23.

When it comes to the top 20 creative individuals in Asia, unfortunately we did not have a name! Stunning isn't it. I guess the creative guys from Singapore, Thailand and HK really must have all those positions filled. Tough fight.

Top Ten Hottest Creative Individuals in India::

1. Kalpesh Patankar: McCann-Erickson, Mumbai
2. Manish Bhatt: McCann-Erickson, Mumbai, Raghu Bhat: McCann-Erickson, Mumbai (Shared)
4. Puneet Kapoor: McCann-Erickson, Mumbai
5. Mahesh Parab: Ambience Publicis, Mumbai
6. Rahul Mathew: McCann-Erickson, Mumbai
7. Amit Nandwani: David, New Delhi
8. Syed Mohd. Talha Nazim: Leo Burnett, Mumbai
9. Ayon Sarkar: Leo Burnett, Mumbai
10. Santosh Padhi: Leo Burnett, Mumbai
11. Charles Victor: JWT, Chennai;
12. Joono Simon: JWT, Chennai;
13. Rohit Devgun: David, New Delhi
14. Shruti Nayak: O&M, Mumbai
15. Vinod Lai Heera Eshwer: ex-Saatchi & Saatchi, Bangalore

What is notable is the fact that Abhijit Avasthi of O&M, Mumbai, has dropped down from fourth position in 2004 to rank 16 this year! He shares that rank with new entrant Jignesh Maniar from O&M, Mumbai.

A big hat-tip to all you guru's out there! Thank you for the inspiration!

The Top Fifteen Hottest Networks in Asia::

1. Ogilvy & Mather
2. TBWA
3. BBDO
4. Saatchi & Saatchi
5. Leo Burnett
6. JWT
7. Dentsu
8. McCann-Erickson
9. Euro RSCG
10. Foot Cone & Bending (FCB)
11. DDB
12. Young & Rubicam
13. Lowe Worldwide
14. Publicis
15. M&C Saatchi

Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore has also been chosen as the Regional Agency of the Year. Looks like they really know their creative output! Great stuff!

India's Hottest Top Twenty Agencies::

1. Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai
2. Leo Burnett, Mumbai
3. Ambience Publicis, Mumbai
4. McCann-Erickson, Mumbai
5. Saatchi & Saatchi, Mumbai
6. Ogilvy & Mather, New Delhi
7. David, Mumbai
8. Lowe Worldwide, Mumbai
9. JWT, Chennai
10. JWT, Mumbai
11. Saatchi & Saatchi, Bangalore
12. Saatchi & Saatchi, New Delhi
13. Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore
14. Mudra DDB Communications, Mumbai
15. David, New Delhi
16. McCann-Erickson, New Delhi
17. Adfactors Advertising, Mumbai
18. Contract Advertising, Mumbai
19. Lowe, Chennai
20. Quadrant Communications, Mumbai

12 out of the above 20 agencies are from Mumbai. Not a surprise at all. Just 4 from Delhi which is quite a surprise. And 2 from Bangalore and 2 from Chennai.

For those of you curious as to how these ranking are done, Campaign Brief ranks agencies on the basis of awards won at the 4 big international shows: D&AD, Cannes, One Show and Clio and AdFest and Asian Ad Awards. India was included in the ranking from 2002. VIA

India at Cannes 2006!

A record 58 shortlists across the six categories:

- 24 in Press

- 23 in Outdoor

- 6 in Media,

- 3 in Direct

- 1 in Promo

- 1 in Radio.

In Press:

JWT India - 6 entries shortlisted

O&M India - 6 entries shortlisted

McCann Erickson - 3 entries shortlisted

Ambience Publicis - 3 entries shortlisted

Grey Worldwide - 3 entries shortlisted

Leo Burnett India - 2 entries shortlisted

Contract - 1 entry shortlisted

In Outdoor:

McCann - 7 entries shortlisted

O&M - 4 entries shortlisted

Mudra - 2 entries shortlisted

Rediffusion DYR - 2 entries shortlisted

Contract - 2 entries shortlisted

Vyas Giannetti Creative - 1 entry shortlisted

Ambience D'Arcy - 1 entry shortlisted

Lowe - 1 entries shortlisted

Leo Burnett - 1 entry shortlisted

Adfactors - 1 entry shortlisted

Everest - 1 entry shortlisted

In Media:

Madison - 3 entries shortlisted for P&G, Cadbury and Marico

MindShare - 1 entry shortlisted

Mudra - 1 entry shortlisted

Burnett - 1 entry shortlisted

In Direct Marketing:

Rediff - 2 entries shortlisted

iContract - 1 entry shortlisted

In Promo:

JWT - 1 entry shortlisted

In Radio:

Rediffusion - 1 entry shortlisted

India at the D&AD Festival 2006!

Directors & Art-Directors Annual - A showcase of work considered by most creative people as the biggest recognition in the advertising industry will see 8 Indian entries this year. However, only one of them - an entry from Rediffusion DY&R for Midland Bookshop, has made it to the final list of nominees this year for the D&AD awards.

The 8 pieces that have made it include 3 from JWT, Bangalore all for Levi Strauss, India! All the 3 entries are a part of the much famed ‘Slim Figure Poster Campaign'.

O&M has 2 entries in the Art Direction / Poster Advertising and Typography / Graphic Design categories.

1 pointsize has 1 entry in the form of photography by Sharad Haksar in the Wildlife / Paparazzi / Fashion category and Mudra DDB has 1 entry for the Cancer Patients Aid Association titled ‘Cigarette Lighter’ in the Ambient / Guerrilla category.

Rediffusion DY&R, however, has much to celebrate. Its work for Midland Bookshop titled ‘Lord of the Rings / The Communist Manifesto / 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ has got 2 accolades – it’s been selected for the D&AD Annual in the Writing For Design / Graphic Design category, and also nominated for the D&AD Awards in the Graphic Design / Direct Mail category. This is the sole nomination from India this year for the D&AD Awards.

The British D&AD is one of the most prestigious creative awards in the advertising and design industry. D&AD Global Awards received over 24,000 pieces of work this year from 61 countries and had 309 judges from around the world, including Prasoon Joshi of McCann-Erickson India, Agnello Dias of JWT Mumbai and Elsie Nanji of Ambience Publicis Advertising.

VIA: agencyfaqs!

Scam, Bam, Thank You Mam!

SCAM ADS:

Come December and every other creative guy like me is busy digging his head and trying to come up with that next big creative idea. Is December a month for the finest advertising or is it just an opportunity to satisfy our own creative desires and show the client the finger? Well, the debate can go on. I recently found two different points of view from two of India's greatest advertising professionals. Read on and do tell me what your opinion is, may be you have a point that can change the way we all look at things!

via: agencyfaqs.

One-offs & December ads are not Scam Ads

This issue has been debated in the industry around the world for perhaps decades now with no clear resolution ever emerging. Sometimes, even one-off ads are also categorised as Scam Ads. To my mind, it is incorrect since many ideas such as Mother's Day, World's AIDS Day are anyway one-off opportunities. And equally, every unplanned ad is not a Scam Ad. For instance, there is this case of where we (O&M) did 'Hamara Walla Blue' for Asian Paints during the cricket world cup 1996.

The very next day India lost to Sri Lanka in the semi-final. We changed the ad to say “Tumhara Walla Blue...congratulations Sri Lanka you were a shade better'. Johnson & Johnson in the 1980s did this one-off of 'Nude Models Wanted', judged the best print ad of the century in 2000. Anything that a client is willing to put his name to is not a Scam Ad. Lot of people do make ads sometimes for non-existent clients or non-advertisers, which is obviously not desirable. However, there could be a small shop that can decide to do a one-off ad - who is to decide only big- budget campaigns are on?

The other thing that people say is that December ads are Scam Ads. Again, who's to decide whether the ad needs to come out only in October and not in December? In every business, much like limited overs cricket, there is desperation, commotion at the fag-end when targets needs to be met. Marketing guys get desperate and there the proverbial 'Katori' promotion that comes along - the stocks are overloaded, does it make it a sale or a scam? A creative person is no different from any other person - he sometimes begs, borrows his client to let his great creative ideas see the light of the day.

'Great oaks from little acorns grow'. Sometimes it is beneficial for the client to try out something new in a small way. Some five-six years ago, Pidilite wasn't doing any print ad for Fevicol. One of O&M's creative person went on a train journey and came up with this idea of everyone stuck to the train. The client liked it, we ran it and it seeded the idea of the now legendary 'Fevicol Bus' television ad.

Not for a moment am I defending Scam Ads, only that it is important to differentiate. One-offs and small ideas have the right to see the light of the day, and should be done, provided there is brand-fit and appropriateness. Though youngsters in the industry must remember that they will never make a career out of doing just one-offs. Much like Tendulakar, you need to have the grandeur of your tons for you to cut loose once a while. There is hardly anyone who is someone in the global ad world who I know has just done one-offs. And equally, there is no one who is someone out there who has not done one-offs.

Piyush Pandey, chairman & national creative director, O&M India

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How long are we going to fool ourselves?

Nothing is a scam ad if we were all lawyers. Or if we were all in an artistic village. According to the legal definition, a scam is something that has a fictitious advertiser or something that has not been released even once by a non-fictitious advertiser. Till this scam of a definition is changed, of course almost no ad is a scam! How long are we going to fool ourselves?

Today, except for some fools who insert ads for fictitious advertisers, most people at least ensure that the advertiser exists. It takes nothing to get one release of an ad today. There are friendly newspapers and channels all over the place. There are understanding clients who are generally happy to lend a signature to prove authenticity as long as they are on talking terms with their agencies. It's called motivation sometimes!

I blame our award system for this stupidity. Almost every award system (Effies is something we have created to assuage our conscience) has no clue or way to differentiate, respect or glorify an agency only on the great work done for the crores and crores of rupees clients actually spend! All they have is categories! A Balbir paasha aids awareness campaign, which put the fear of god in millions of merry bonkers, is judged along with a clever, oh so clever, non-smoking ad spoofing the Marlboro man whose existence few in this country are even aware of! And it's supposed to make the universe stop smoking! Ha ha ha ha ha!

And it wins at Cannes! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! A thanda matlab Coca-Cola needs four posters and print ads that wouldn't sell 1 ml of coke to make it eligible for a multi-media campaign category or grab the attention of an ignorant western jury seeking quaint Indian slants that they can understand. We must open up our awards to all artists of the world. After all their work works to sell a product creatively as much as our legal scams! So what if they don't belong to the AAAI or are called advertising agencies? Oh shit! I forgot. It's the legal definition we are concerned about! Sorry! Sorry!

R Balakrishnan, executive creative director, Lowe India

Namaskaar India!

Advertising Agency: Bydesign India Private Limited >> Agency Location: India >>

Goa Fest Exclusive - Friends India Community

Credits: Client: Friends India >> Advertising Agency: Rediffusion DY&R >> Agency Location: New Delhi, India >> Creative Director: Varun Mehta, Partho Sengupta >> Copywriter: Faraz Alam >> Art Director: Musfar Khan >> Illustrator: Musfar Khan

Beggar Boy from Grey, India

This really nice Guerilla Effort from Grey in India is sure to turn a few heads and hopefully members of the International Jury at the Ad Festivals. The effort for Childcare, India aims to help more than 20 Million Indian Children who beg on the streets each day. I love the fact that it depicts the true reality in the way we deal with them - push them away. Great use of medium and an equally amazing message too. Stunning work! VIA

Category: Personal Products

Client: Friends

Credit: Madison Creative, India.
Art: Sanjay Kudale
Copy: Shardul Shaligram
Source: Magazine - Sakhi - (Gujrat, India)

Country: India

Simply great work out here. I don't think there's someone who would not understand this campaign because of its relevance and its clarity. Madison comes up with this stunning campaign that is not only great execution but true in terms of a problem that exists in reality. Great work!

Picture Perfect :: Top 10 Production Houses ::

Their well of imaginative thinking never runs dry, and they manage to churn out optimum output 365/12. But it’s the quality of their work — the critical factor that separates the creative from the clutter — that sets them apart. Here are the men (and women) who turned on the magic

1) Prahalad Kakar - Genesis Films

Bang on target! The relationship between fun, masti and good work at Genesis just refuses to stop. With Prahlad Kakar, the maverick, multifaceted ‘madman’ of the ad world at its helm, Genesis has literally nowhere to go - but stay at the top. Here’s what brought them good cheer this year: 7 Up Curvy; Maggi Tomato Ketchup; Bank of Baroda; Nestle Orange 100%; JK Lakshmi Cement; Parachute Aftershower; Kit Kat; HDFC Standard Life Insurance.

2) Prasoon Pandey: Corcoise Films

THE PRODUCER - director duo of Cyrus Pagdiwala and Prasoon Pandey seems to have got the formula for success right. It’s only been a short time since inception, but Corcoise is no stranger to awards; this year too, the production house bagged quite a handful at the Abbys. To name a few: Toyota Innova - Best Director - Silver, Best Performance (Actor) - Gold, Best Editing - Gold; SBI - Best Financial Advertising Campaign; Fevicol - Best On-going Campaign of the Year; Anacin - Best Performance (Actress ) - Silver; Franklin Templeton.

3) Rajiv Menon Productions

MENON’S name has been associated with a number of leading brands like Airtel, Colgate-Palmolive, Titan and Raymond. This association seems to have helped pump the adrenaline of the production house. Leaping five places to capture the third spot, Menon’s films include: ICICI Prudential; BRU; Raymond; Parachute Advansed Hair Oil; Brooke Bond Red Label; Vatika Saffron Soap; Ujala Supreme; Clinic Plus; Nescafe Classic; Emami Fairness Cream.

4) Chatterjee & Ghose: White Light Films

Shy guys White Light SLIPPED a place but White Light’s still safely ensconced in the Top 5. They may shy away from publicity, but the no-nonsense work of Subir Chatterjee and Namita Roy Ghose manages to garner enough attention from behind-the-scenes. Here are the ones that hogged the spotlight: Orra Heritage; UNHCR — Office, Child and Marital Abuse; Lifebuoy; World Literacy Day; Monster.com; Kissan Squash; Lakme Hairnext; Tanishq; Boroplus Body Lotion; Medimix Soap.

5) Prakash & Sneha Verma: Nirvana Films

Thanks to Prakash Varma’s good directorial work, Nirvana continues to impress. Awards at the Abbys, the Big Bang and the AAAI have helped the production house stay put at the No 5 spot. Its Greenply commercial was the most visible one, with a gold each at the Abbys and the Big Bang. Nirvana’s famous five are: Greenply — Gold at the Abbys and the Big Bang; Mirinda — Silver at the Abbys and the AAAI, Gold at the Big Bang; Hutch Delhi Half Marathon 2005 — Silver at the Abbys and Gold at the Big Bang ; Hutch Manners — Bronze at the Big Bang; Suzlon.

6) Gourisaria: Black Magic Films

BLACK Magic cast quite a spell on the international audience this year, with its TVC for Happy Dent and the public service film, Friends Without Borders. Happy Dent was the only Indian film shortlisted for the finals of Cannes 2005, while its variant, Happy Dent International, was released in the UK, Scandinavia and other European countries. Friends Without Borders also has the credit of being the first Indian public service film to be telecast by CNN Pakistan. Here are the ones that helped: Happy Dent; Happy Dent International; PSA Campaign — Condoms; PSA Films — Breast cancer, Lung cancer; Band-Aid; PSA Film — Friends Without Borders; Videocon; World Gold Council; Leela Kempinski; Parle Marie; Chlor-mint; Coke.

7) Pradeep Sarkar and Team: Apocalypso Films

Apocalypso has jumped five places to take the No 7 spot this year — probably it is Pradeep Sarkar’s spontaneity that’s helped the production house in its ascent. Some of its notable campaigns are: Kurkure; Rin; Cadburys Dairy Milk; Tata Indicom; Heroes AIDS campaign; Maruti; Parachute Hair Oil; Marico’s Hair N Care; McDowells; Camelia Soap and HDFC Home Loans.

8) Manchanda: MAD Films

MAD Films Down four places, MAD still features at No 8 because of the following campaigns: Bajaj Avenger; Parker Pens; Idea Cellular; Saint Gobain Glass; British Airways; Frooti; Thums Up; Bajaj Discover; VIP luggage; CreamBell Ice-cream; LG; Deutsche Bank; Airtel and Breeze Soaps.

9) Madhvani: Equinox Films

Can do better Equinox Losing its No 6 position, Equinox appears at the bottom of the ladder this time even though its made many of India’s best loved films in the past. It does seem to be a favourite with the cola companies, though, with films for Coca Cola; Pepsi (Oye Bubbly); Thums Up; Tata Indicom; SBI Mutual Fund and Cadburys Perk

10) Ramesh Deo and Team: Ramesh Deo Productions

Ramesh Deo Production collected a total of seven awards — two gold and five silver at the Abbys this year. While filmmaker Abhinay Deo won gold for Outstanding Direction on The Times of India ‘Pakya’ film, his production house won other gongs including Outstanding Music Score for Tata Safari Dicor . Three of the five silver tophies were for Outstanding Editing — one each for Supreme Sunflower Oil, Tata Safari Dicor and The Times of India. Their other work includes: Surf Excel; Tata Safari and SBI.

Pril Squeaky Clean!

Advertised Brand: Pril >> Advert title(s): Squeaky Clean >> Translation of headline to English: N.A. >> Advertising Agency (Name, City, Country): TBWA\INDIA, New Delhi >> Agency website: http://tbwa-india.com >> Creative Director: Probir Dutt >> Art Director: Tulika Seth >> Copywriter: Tulika Seth >> Illustrator: N.A. >> Photographer: N.A. >> Other additional credits: Time of publication or release (Month, Year): 30/11/06

Finalist at Adfest '07 in Outdoor Media. (Single Execution for Innovation Use of Non-conventional Media)

Century Ply!

Century Ply products would require the use of a certain natural resource. Therefore as part of their corporate social responsibility the company is distributing 5000 saplings across the city of Jaipur (Rajasthan, India). The bird poo is related to growing more trees and thereafter, the coming of more birds to the city.

Advertising Agency: Bates David Enterprise >> Agency Location: Kolkotta, India >> Creative Directors: Anurag Hira, Souvik Misra >> Art Director: Anirban Guha >> Copywriter: Ranadeep Dasgupta >> Photographer: Supratik Chatterjee

www.stolenchildhood.net

Brand Advertised: www.stolenchildhood.net >> Advert title(s): My Birthday / Our Picnic/ Raghu Bhaiya >> Advertising Agency (Name, City, Country): Grey Worldwide (India) pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India >> Agency website: http://greysouthasia.com >> Creative Director: Sandipan Bhattacharyya, Manoj Deb >> Art Director: Manoj Deb >> Copywriter: Aparaksha Mukherjee >> Illustrator: Xavier Dayanandh >> Time of publication (Month, Year): December 2006

Rationale: To make parents aware of the fact that paedophiles areusually among those known to them, putting their kids at a higher risk.

Indoor Advertising!

Advertised Brand: www.delhishomeless.org >> Advert title(s): Indoor Advertising >> Advertising Agency: Grey Worldwide (India) pvt. Ltd., >> Agency Location: New Delhi, India >> Agency website: http://greysouthasia.com >> Creative Director: Sandipan Bhattacharyya, Manoj Deb >> Art Director: Manoj Deb >> Copywriter: Aparaksha Mukherjee >> Time of publication or release (Month, Year): December 2006

Rationale: This hoarding was put up to urge people to log on and donate money towards relief for homeless people.

Goa Fest Exclusive - Happydent Dentures!

Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson >> Agency Location: Mumbai, India >> Client: Perfetti Van Melle India Ltd. >> Brand: Happy Dent >> Credits: Parag Cavle, Team McCann >>

Goa Fest Exclusive - Happydent Flash!

Advertising Agency: McCann Erickson >> Agency Location: Mumbai, India >> Client: Perfetti Van Melle India Ltd. >> Brand: Happydent >> Credits: Team McCann

The Thief!

Advertised brand: Eye-Q, Eye Clinic >> Advert Title: The Thief >> Agency: (Name, City, Country): Grey Worldwide (India) pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India >> Agency website: http://greysouthasia.com >> Creative Directors: Sandipan Bhattacharyya, Manoj Deb >> Art Director: Manoj Deb >> Copywriter: Sandipan Bhattacharyya >> Photographer: Raghuvir Singh >> Graphic Artist: Ashish Roy >> Time of publication or release (Month, Year): December 2006

Bless You!

Advertised brand: Haier, Air Conditioners >> Advert title(s): Bless You >> Advertising Agency (Name, City, Country): Grey Worldwide (India) pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India >> Agency Website: http://greysouthasia.com >> Creative Director: Sandipan Bhattacharyya, Manoj Deb >> Art Director: Manoj Deb >> Copywriter: Sandipan Bhattacharyya >> Time of publication or release (Month, Year): December 2006