Read Between the Ps

I am not an ardent follower of advertising agencies – I simply admire their creativity, and respect the marked improvement agencies have made in the quality of their work. However, rarely have I seen agencies applying their own creativity on themselves. So when I noticed this piece from Rediffusion, Mumbai, I could not stop talking about it. The ad is for the promotion of the yearly Brand Equity Agency Reckoner, published by Economic Times to enlist advertising agencies, rating them across relevant parameters, relative to each other. The event has built a blog as well around it, but does not pick anything exciting from the ad circles. It would have definitely created more buzz, had it been built more strongly, and engaged a larger audience. There are other interesting ads as well uploaded on the blog, that reflect an out-of-the-box attempt - However, this one is definitely an impressive one For now, look at the “ Fox Pass ” of the advertising world – the biggest blunders made in com...

The previous phase is moving to its closure – the phase that ignored the Ps – the phase that did not have a place for this expression. As a result, even though a conscious effort was made to keep the breathing alive - I knew this was in a semi-conscious state. The phase isn’t yet over, but the closure is visible – not the end of this phase, but definitely the beginning of another. The phase was full of reflection – of establishing an identity within a system – and then, of forming a framework that breathes its life of its own – of revival of a white elephant. Now, as it begins breathing on its own – as it moves closer to forming a self-sustaining system – it is time for one to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect…. The old set of challenges would drift away and new ones would emerge – priorities would always remain priorities – and as long as passions are attached to those priorities – they won’t come down – they would always be cleped as “ top priorities ”. But at the point of refl...

Cartoons and caricatures have long been one of the best modes of expression – to voice out the sentiment of the public, to express implicit reactions, and to use satire to get your point of view across. One strip that has done this wonderfully for generations ( since 1961 ) has been RK Laxman’s most famous Common Man’s strip “You said it” – There was a time when we used to look forward to the daily strip in the Times of India whenever something happened, for the strip reacted responded effectively on any issue – truly echoing the sentiment of the public - it mocked at the current issues at hand, but ensured it made relevant points strongly. Such was the power of print media then. Then came our dear Amul Moppet , coming out with silent billboards almost every fortnight that talked about issues at hand, or latest Bollywood or Cricket gossip – taking a topic every time, and interpreting it in a humorous manner – called “ topicals ” by the Da Cunhas. Instant connect was what this gir...

There are some campaigns that get your attention and your “ share of wallets ” as well – and there are some campaigns that manage to just get your attention, but get ignored by the latter. Most of these campaigns get your attention, not because of the brand, but because of their innovative execution & excellent creatives – very few, however, of them manage to ensure even the brand recall at the end of it. Such campaigns, at best, can be appreciated and blogged about, and that’s where they stay for most part of their lives (till the time they get archived!).. One such campaign is for AT&T coverage, done by BBDO Atlanta/New York, titled “ the best coverage of any carrier worldwide ” – Have a look at the set of 6 creatives, representing various “exceptional” geographies in which AT&T is present (200 to be specific) – China, India, Japan, Zimbabwe, Jamaica and Egypt. Undoubtedly, one of the finest work of art I have seen till now – a perfect blend of mapping geographies wit...

I have earlier talked about the problems of deprived children and the solutions that the marketing world has offered - how NGOs/ ad agencies have been brilliantly communicating their problems, adapting innovative ways and tools to connect to the social world. Be it about providing shelter to homeless children or pushing them out of begging , or fighting against Child Labor , campaigns have always managed to get a lot of attention, and possibly encouraged a lot of us to come forward and contribute in solving the issues at hand. What such campaigns fight against is not to apprise us of the issues and communicate the problem – today, all of us are cognizant of the problems around us, the problems these deprived souls face - but to fight in breaking the barriers that we consciously setup, the shells we hide into, the walls of “ conscious social ignorance ” that our built around us - where we attempt to ignore and work around these social issues for our own convenience. All said and done ...

I just read some quite interesting facts about how the brains of women work, but there is something to be added in that entry,so might post that by tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, found an equally interesting piece on kids this time – and how a brand has leveraged insights into kids’ psyche to promote its brand. And guess what it is about? Not diapers or food items, not chocolates or balloons, not games or toys, but the batteries on which their toys run – Energizer batteries , and how critical they are to a child’s growth – in ensuring that his/her highly energized brains stay constructive, keeps them occupied and do not distract them to resorting to naughty pranks like these… ..so much so to put it professionally – but worth the insights, and worth the effort. How else do you think you can market batteries to kids/parents? Brilliant execution! The agency that did this creative, was deservingly awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes as well. DDB South Africa won the Grand Prix for this ca...

Time has passed. Things have moved ahead. But the “ Chinese Irony ” still remains at the top of my entries. Maybe, a lot of entries have assumed so much importance before, but this one seemed to hurt a little more than the previous ones. At least when I was offered to sell my blog because it seemed I am no longer interested in it!! Well, no more sabbatical for this blog – maybe a few off days would be more of the norm as my understanding goes – more of the professional calling if so. But no so long that I am made another selling offer! No way. So much to say – I am out of the box, and thinking! Taking the out of the box and thinking part forward, this is a nice piece that leverages today’s occasion of Father’s day wonderfully, to ensure a strong recall, even though, it hits out at its competition. This piece has been doing the ad-blog rounds for quite some time, since I have seen this print before as well. Nonetheless, worth picking it up again – maybe to get cues on more creative i...

Ask anyone about China, and more often than not, you would get few catch words like “ Increasingly Progressive ” or “ Biggest economy with youth getting more and more westernized ” or “ Conservative yet fastest growing ” .. Walk into the streets of Shanghai and a strange contrast would hit you in your face – “ Modernized westernized youth ” along with “conservative” elders, progressive culture coupled with core Chinese values, openness but within restricted norms, or westernized business aspirations camouflaged under socialist intentions and termed as, what’s my favorite, “ Capitalistic Socialist Economy ” – that is today’s China…wow! Indeed, this is China…. Consciously confusing but sub-consciously ironic ! And if you haven’t got enough to nod at this point of view, munch on and you would figure out where is this coming from. This incident is a recent one picked from the media & advertising sector - how the government played around for their own convenience and satisfaction, and...

FMCG Industry in India is witnessing a change – a change in the pattern in which it is growing – needless to say, with the changing demographics, the pattern of marketing would also change. As rural penetration increases, the rural markets would command more and more share of the overall FMCG space. Though the urban markets are growing too, the incremental addition in consumers / households is much more in rural space as compared to urban markets. According to an article in Mint, posted a couple of months back , not only have the media investments by FMCG companies moved towards rural India, but also a larger piece of the cake has started coming from the rural belt itself. Rural India, mostly termed as “ high opportunity ” market, is no longer just an opportunitiy, but is now yielding results. As the article mentions, “ 180 million rural and semi-urban people’s attention has already been diverted towards FMCG products, according to latest estimates released by industry chamber, Asso...

Whenever a new medium emerges, marketers run behind it, exploiting it till the time it is coined as “ common media ” or till the time their infatuation with that medium is over. Look around, and you would say the same thing for newspapers, magazines, and now Billboards as well. Initially, they were billboards – just plain simple billboards. An advertiser just wanted to stand next to the road. Not speak anything, but simply stand. If someone passed by, he would talk silently, without caring much if the other person listened or not. Then slowly, more people came, and everyone wanted to stand next to the road. The bigger ones then wanted to move a step further. They shouted! Some….just went on the road itself! And so emerged much more aggressive forms of Outdoor Advertising - ambient, guerilla, virals and so on and so forth What is exciting about Ambients? Well, if nothing, they do grab attention. And some of them move into the viral phase as well, creating more and more attention. The ...

This blog has been sleeping for long now...pretty long! Maybe the blogger too. Atleast that is what I have been hearing, and getting comments about. On one hand, it is great to find regulars visiting my den, even during its dormant days (months!) but on the other hand, the sleep has been fairly long now...probably a lot of regulars moved to the occasionals club! Anyways, I intend to rejoin the regulars club, and hope to find more members there to give me company.. Needless to say, while I was sleeping I did not waste my time and dreamt a lot :). Some of it can be written here, some can simply be applied. With time, I would share a lot of my dreams - atleast the ones that are helpful to the larger and saner mortals... I just got up this morning, with loads of energy and that freshness that sensitizes you to the world around you – that positive smell of freshness that one aspires to internalize , that translates not only to your thought process but also to your passion and perspect...