4Ps B&M's Monojit Lahiri checks-out with the Adfrat
The Toast of the Fest! The Stars of the event! The Flavour of the day! India – with an unprecedented tally of 23 metals (including the first-ever Grand Prix, Integrated Lion & Cyber Lion) swept across all categories, and re-enforced by physical presence in all major juries – scored big, both at the hustings and the mind space of the global guru’s gracing the glamorous, glitzy and hi-profile ‘Oscars’ of the ad world! Accolades came thick and fast from hot-shots like Terry Savage (“They have done extraordinarily well this year”), Craig Davis (“brilliant ideas can come from anywhere. Bravo!”), Mark Gross (“Their work is beginning to stand out because they are getting to know more about the medium, its nuances and what should be done in that medium. They will now move only upwards …”), Rodney Fitch (“India has indeed scored very high!”) and Colleen DeCourcy (“India is already thinking on the new media as well and the creative talent is being groomed to think in that direction. That is a good sign. Clearly the expectations will be more, next time.”)
Looking back today, does all this indicate ad-India’s coming of age in the global platform? Or are these early days? Or is too much being read about a hyped firang awards, which has no connection with the ground realities defining India’s market space?
Siddhartha Roy (Executive Director, RESPONSE, Kolkata) fires the first salvo. He believes that in today’s globalised world, “Cannes is important and our work being awarded there demonstrates our worth in the international arena – reason enough to celebrate!” His main reason to rejoice however is “an exciting climate of creativity, powered by the new-age client’s genuine desire to buy into fresh, cutting-edge ideas is clearly visible. This augurs well for the future.” Equus Red Cell’s Swapan Seth is not so sure. He reckons that while modest jubilation is in order, too much shouldn’t be read into this scoring. Why? “Because, barring some outstanding (produced and released) work, Cannes continues to be claimed by … Scams!”
Ujjal Sinha (CEO, Genesis, Kolkata) however refuses to be so cynical. “Globally, India today is rocking! From DAVOS to IT, its Incredible India all the way! Cannes, sort of (appropriately) seemed to fall in line.” Sinha however cautions about getting carried away and emphasises that we have a long way to go before we consistently are able to deliver world-class communication slugs.
Alyque Padamsee agrees. “Without meaning to be a kill-joy or Devil’s Advocate, I have to say that this hoo-haa shouldn’t be taken with a pinch of salt!” The revered ad-guru believes that to be actually perceived, recognised and respected as a creative powerhouse, a country has to have at least ten ad agencies consistently producing cutting-edge stuff, time and time again. UK is a classic case in point. “Otherwise you are nothing more than a hyped, glamorous, flavour-of-the-day! Brazil, Spain, Australia, Japan … all these countries, at some point or other, were huge, but where are they now? Incidentally Americans aren’t too enamoured by Cannes. They view it, as an European event. For them, ONE SHOW, D&AD, CLIO, MOBILIS .. appear hotter.” The flamboyant Dorian Grey (or is it Dev Anand?!) of Indian advertising signs off with style. “At the end of the day, while being jubilant and energised about the success is fine, we must decide whether we are looking for Sprinters … or Marathon men?” The red-hot ad-land – Bollywood star Prasoon Joshi refuses to enter the fray and strikes a benign, Buddha-like pose. “Why are we always chasing labels, arrivals and departures? Has India arrived? There must be a zillion personal takes. For me, its important to enjoy this awesome journey instead of doing a paralysis through analysis! We have definitely covered significant distance and are poised to cover lots more. Lets – individually and collectively – try and contribute as much as possible to take this forward instead of hysterically trying to play judge & jury!”
TBWA’s big daddy George John warmly congratulates all the winners and believes, “it can only act as a terrific confidence-booster to set our sights even higher. Regarding going over-board, lets not play spoil-sport and rain on their parade. Savour it…” Sushil Pandit of THE HIVES adds his own spin to it. “For quite some time now, we have been doing excellent work – both in the area of ideas and execution – that has moved our markets, consumers and brands. The trend continues. The difference is that this time, it resonated there as well! If Cannes acknowledged and rewarded our stuff … then yes, it happened this time.” Pandit is convinced that the dramatic zoom in our fortunes have occurred largely due to the fact that “we have learnt to intelligently leverage the processes of Cannes … context stuff that works with these guys.” Hence to the question of whether India has finally arrived at Cannes, the answer is: ‘yes’. To the (bigger) question whether India has (generally) arrived, the answer has to be: Long Time Back!” Dentsu’s Gulu Sen agrees. “The buzz has been around for some years now, but with this, we’ve actually struck ‘big’! It’s a lot like the Olympic gold! And the Grand Prix for the brilliant Lead India campaign was most appropriate. It was a magical combination of passion, purposes and perspective.”
The final words – cataclysmic? – must come from Lowes’ celebrated iconoclast Balki.
“We have always believed that clients are way ahead of agencies (in their understanding of the market pulse and judgement of quality work) and consumers miles ahead of the so-called august members of international juries! They don’t deal in esoteric abracadabra or corny jargons, but material that resonates with the precise target group they are meant to address – consumers! In short, we don’t believe in awards and Cannes is most certainly not a reflection of any individual agency’s – or the ad community’s – creative prowess. Period. ‘Touche’!
Looking back today, does all this indicate ad-India’s coming of age in the global platform? Or are these early days? Or is too much being read about a hyped firang awards, which has no connection with the ground realities defining India’s market space?
Siddhartha Roy (Executive Director, RESPONSE, Kolkata) fires the first salvo. He believes that in today’s globalised world, “Cannes is important and our work being awarded there demonstrates our worth in the international arena – reason enough to celebrate!” His main reason to rejoice however is “an exciting climate of creativity, powered by the new-age client’s genuine desire to buy into fresh, cutting-edge ideas is clearly visible. This augurs well for the future.” Equus Red Cell’s Swapan Seth is not so sure. He reckons that while modest jubilation is in order, too much shouldn’t be read into this scoring. Why? “Because, barring some outstanding (produced and released) work, Cannes continues to be claimed by … Scams!”
Ujjal Sinha (CEO, Genesis, Kolkata) however refuses to be so cynical. “Globally, India today is rocking! From DAVOS to IT, its Incredible India all the way! Cannes, sort of (appropriately) seemed to fall in line.” Sinha however cautions about getting carried away and emphasises that we have a long way to go before we consistently are able to deliver world-class communication slugs.
Alyque Padamsee agrees. “Without meaning to be a kill-joy or Devil’s Advocate, I have to say that this hoo-haa shouldn’t be taken with a pinch of salt!” The revered ad-guru believes that to be actually perceived, recognised and respected as a creative powerhouse, a country has to have at least ten ad agencies consistently producing cutting-edge stuff, time and time again. UK is a classic case in point. “Otherwise you are nothing more than a hyped, glamorous, flavour-of-the-day! Brazil, Spain, Australia, Japan … all these countries, at some point or other, were huge, but where are they now? Incidentally Americans aren’t too enamoured by Cannes. They view it, as an European event. For them, ONE SHOW, D&AD, CLIO, MOBILIS .. appear hotter.” The flamboyant Dorian Grey (or is it Dev Anand?!) of Indian advertising signs off with style. “At the end of the day, while being jubilant and energised about the success is fine, we must decide whether we are looking for Sprinters … or Marathon men?” The red-hot ad-land – Bollywood star Prasoon Joshi refuses to enter the fray and strikes a benign, Buddha-like pose. “Why are we always chasing labels, arrivals and departures? Has India arrived? There must be a zillion personal takes. For me, its important to enjoy this awesome journey instead of doing a paralysis through analysis! We have definitely covered significant distance and are poised to cover lots more. Lets – individually and collectively – try and contribute as much as possible to take this forward instead of hysterically trying to play judge & jury!”
TBWA’s big daddy George John warmly congratulates all the winners and believes, “it can only act as a terrific confidence-booster to set our sights even higher. Regarding going over-board, lets not play spoil-sport and rain on their parade. Savour it…” Sushil Pandit of THE HIVES adds his own spin to it. “For quite some time now, we have been doing excellent work – both in the area of ideas and execution – that has moved our markets, consumers and brands. The trend continues. The difference is that this time, it resonated there as well! If Cannes acknowledged and rewarded our stuff … then yes, it happened this time.” Pandit is convinced that the dramatic zoom in our fortunes have occurred largely due to the fact that “we have learnt to intelligently leverage the processes of Cannes … context stuff that works with these guys.” Hence to the question of whether India has finally arrived at Cannes, the answer is: ‘yes’. To the (bigger) question whether India has (generally) arrived, the answer has to be: Long Time Back!” Dentsu’s Gulu Sen agrees. “The buzz has been around for some years now, but with this, we’ve actually struck ‘big’! It’s a lot like the Olympic gold! And the Grand Prix for the brilliant Lead India campaign was most appropriate. It was a magical combination of passion, purposes and perspective.”
The final words – cataclysmic? – must come from Lowes’ celebrated iconoclast Balki.
“We have always believed that clients are way ahead of agencies (in their understanding of the market pulse and judgement of quality work) and consumers miles ahead of the so-called august members of international juries! They don’t deal in esoteric abracadabra or corny jargons, but material that resonates with the precise target group they are meant to address – consumers! In short, we don’t believe in awards and Cannes is most certainly not a reflection of any individual agency’s – or the ad community’s – creative prowess. Period. ‘Touche’!
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