Tag: Amer Jaleel

  • Virat Tandon roped in as Mullen Lintas CEO

    Virat Tandon roped in as Mullen Lintas CEO

    MUMBAI: Creative agency Mullen Lintas, which will officially launch on 1 August, 2015 has appointed Virat Tandon as its CEO. 

     

    Tandon will return to India after a three year stint with Mullen Lowe Group in Singapore where he was global business director for the Unilever brands Lifebuoy and Fair & Lovely.

     

    A part of the network for over a decade, Tandon first joined Lowe Lintas at its New Delhi office in 2004 and has undertaken numerous senior and leadership roles in the agency. A Unilever veteran of over 10 brands and 60+ countries, he has worked in India on clients including Maruti Suzuki, Nestle, Dominos, Sony Audio and Dabur among others. 

     

    Prior to joining Lowe Lintas, he worked with WPP agencies Rediffusion, Grey and Contract.

     

    Tandon said, “Mullen Lintas is born ahead of the curve and intends to remain a mash-up of the enduring and the emerging. Our founding team has the pedigree and the class of massive brand-successes under their belt. Big agencies are today, dealing with the new marketing landscape and adapting their offerings to it. Our advantage is that Mullen Lintas has no such baggage and that allows us to leap-frog this need to change and adapt. We understand that a great brand needs a great narrative that flows seamlessly through screens, experiences, shopping environments and conversations. We will equip ourselves to play a pivotal role for our brands.”

     

    Also joining the Mullen Lintas leadership team is Shriram Iyer, who takes on the role of national creative director. 

     

    Iyer said, “A great ambition for the agency and a wonderful team to work with, I am excited about what we can create. Our approach to enriching our capabilities is what we call ‘core plus one’. While we continue to practice our core skill sets, we will commit ourselves to adding people who bring with them a +1 skill or area of expertise. We believe this is critical and makes us ‘present ready’.”

     

    Currently ECD and creative head for the Delhi offices of Lowe Lintas, Iyer moves to Mumbai in this new role. He has been with the group since 1998 and has played various roles in the creative team at Lowe Lintas’ Mumbai and Delhi offices.

     

    Headquartered in Mumbai, the new agency will have offices in New Delhi (NCR) and Bengaluru.

     

    Mullen Lowe Lintas Group group CEO Joseph George said, “India has birthed several big brands over the last two decades. However, for a long time, the top agency brands have remained largely unchanged. Mullen Lintas is a product of the evolving marketing landscape, and with our “big agency” ambition, we intend to partner brands whose ambitions are driven by a passionate pursuit of leadership by presenting ourselves as a compelling challenger to the likes of Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy and JWT.”

     

    Mullen Lintas chairman and CCO Amer Jaleel concluded, “Virat has been a great business partner to me in managing the global mandate on Lifebuoy, and Shriram has been a driving force behind what Lowe Lintas Delhi has achieved in the past few years. I thoroughly enjoy working with both of them and couldn’t have asked for better friends to the start the Mullen Lintas journey with.”

  • Lowe Lintas + Partners rebrands; to create dual agency structure

    Lowe Lintas + Partners rebrands; to create dual agency structure

    MUMBAI: After the recent news of the global union of IPG agencies Mullen, and Lowe and Partners (to form Mullen Lowe Group), the India operation of the network, Lowe Lintas + Partners has been rebranded as Mullen Lowe Lintas Group. 

     

    As part of this move, the Group has also gone in for a two-creative-agency structure. In addition to Lowe Lintas, the group will be soon launching an independent creative agency called Mullen Lintas.

     

    Lowe Lintas joint national creative directors Amer Jaleel and Arun Iyer have been promoted to chief creative officers. While Iyer takes on the role of CCO at Lowe Lintas, Jaleel will take on the role of chairman and CCO of Mullen Lintas. 

     

    R.Balakrishnan (Balki) and Joseph George (Joe) will continue as group chairman and group CEO respectively, of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group. 

     

    Iyer said, “I’ve spent most of my career at Lowe Lintas and have thoroughly enjoyed the journey so far. Right now, we’ve got great momentum on all fronts and we’re committed to making it better. I am delighted at the opportunity to run the creative function at the agency in the rapidly evolving marketing landscape, and confident that we will keep Lowe Lintas ahead of that curve.”

     

    Jaleel added, “I’ve always worked in large and established setups. To be entrusted with building a new agency from scratch is both humbling and exciting at the same time. I am looking forward to the journey of growing and nurturing Mullen Lintas to fulfill the group’s ‘large agency’ ambition for this independent venture.”

  • Lowe Lintas executes slick TVC for Micromax featuring Hugh Jackman

    Lowe Lintas executes slick TVC for Micromax featuring Hugh Jackman

    MUMBAI: Micromax has teamed up with Hugh Jackman for Micromax Silver. The strategy was to elect Jackman to introduce the slimmest phone ever, in all its communication.

     

    The television commercial, conceptualised by Lowe Lintas Delhi, has been shot like an action-packed thriller and introduces the slimness of the phone. Jackman plays the role of a tough character trying to escape a high security prison. And the only weapon he has is the Canvas Sliver 5.

     

    The story demonstrates how he uses the slimness of the phone in the most innovative ways and manages to escape. Thereby showcasing the sleek design of the phone throughout the TVC.

     

    Speaking on the campaign, Lowe Lintas national creative director Amer Jaleel said, “We wanted to give Micromax consumers a thrilling ride with a favourite star. The fact that Jackman gets himself out of a sticky situation using the slimness of the phone provided exactly that opportunity. We crafted the film to look like a movie. We designed the experience to be one where the slimness is an after-realisation. It’s ‘Oh, so that’s what was happening with the phone’ rather than ‘Oh, look how he’s using the slim phone’.”

     

    Similarly, the print campaign places the stylised looks of Jackman against the sleek design of the phone, to create impactful visuals that will be spread across newspaper and magazine ads, hoardings and points of sale.

     

    Through each medium, the campaign aims to showcase not just the slimness and the light-weight feature of the phone but also the fact that the Canvas Sliver 5 is packed with some good features.

  • Portfolio Night’s ‘All Star’ winner was Mayank Bhayana

    Portfolio Night’s ‘All Star’ winner was Mayank Bhayana

    MUMBAI: For the ones who want to create a mark in the creative world, 21 May was the night. Lowe Lintas and Partners hosted the Indian twelfth edition of the world’s largest advertising portfolio review-cum-recruitment event- Portfolio Night.

     

    The event that was conducted simultaneously in 20 plus cities across the world sought to unite the advertising and design communities in every continent for a common purpose – to identify young and upcoming talent and mentor them on the opportunities that lay ahead.

     

     Mayank Bhayana from Bangalore bagged the Portfolio Night – ‘All Star’ title from India and will be flown to New York to take part in a week-long creative challenge on a specific brief.

     

     The evening saw an impressive turnout of 75 young creative aspirants who presented their work to top 25 creative directors of the country.

     

     Sharing his views on the over-whelming candidate participation and turnout, Lowe Lintas and Partners CEO Joseph George said, “With advertising arguably having lost its monopoly over being the coolest job to have, it was critical that as an industry we kept looking at ways to spot talent who are not just promising but fans of the profession. It was also very gratifying that all the creative stars from across the industry agreed to participate without any hesitation whatsoever. With the kind of response that we received from the candidates as well as the creative directors, it demonstrates the industry’s shared priority of ensuring that this profession remains exciting and attractive to young talent.”

     

    Lowe Lintas and Partners NCD Amer Jaleel said, “It was like the IPL of advertising. It was the place where raw ‘quickies’ and talented ‘big-hitters’ got spotted. There were many from the industry who were on a keen lookout for rising stars of the night. Seeing the enormous energy being exuded by the participants, I wished I too were playing under the floodlights!”

     

     The agency’s NCD Arun Iyer added, “The event was a great opportunity for Lowe Lintas to give back to the community and the industry of advertising. The way the young creative guys came in and engaged the attention span of the CDs for over three hours was worth the whole effort. They not only got a sense of what the real world is all about, but also received enough encouragement and opportunities from a widely appreciated platform such as Portfolio Night.”

     

     Extending his gratitude to the numerous clients who made it a point to support the event, George said, “It was heartening to see the speed with which the clients wanted to participate with us on Portfolio Night. We are thankful to them for realizing a shared passion of spotting young and aspiring talent and giving them the opportunity to see their dreams come true.”

     

     Portfolio Night is a platform for young creative aspirants to have their work sampled by at least three top creative directors from the industry in a single evening. While it helps youngsters gain constructive feedback and guidance on their skill sets, the top Creative Directors get to spot potential talent.

     

     For the review process, aspirants were divided into three batches and each aspirant got the opportunity to get their portfolio reviewed by three CDs. Each CD met three candidates individually for 15 minutes and reviewed their work, ideas and offered them valuable feedback.

     

    The creative heads who reviewed the work at the event included Ogilvy & Mather executive chairman and creative director south Asia Piyush Pandey, Ogilvy & Mather NCDs Abhijit Avasthi & Rajiv Rao, Publicis CCO Bobby Pawar, Josy Paul, BBDO chairman & CCO Josy Paul, FCB Ulka NCD K S Chakravarty (Chax),  TBWA India Nation head – art Deepak Singh, TBWA India CCO Parixit Bhattacharya, Scarecrow Communication ECD Kapil Tammal, Grey Worldwide NCD Malvika Mehra, McCann Worldgroup NCD Pradyumna Chauhan, Scarecrow Communication, founder/director Raghu Bhat,  , Cartwheel Creative Consultancy owner Ramki D Ramkrishna, JWT NCD Tista Sen, Underdog founder Vikram Gaikwad, Contract India NCD Ashish Chakravarty.

     

    The creative heads from Lowe Lintas who were part of the judging panel included Amer Jaleel, Arun Iyer, Shriram Iyer, Ashwin Varkey, Sagar Kapoor and Rajesh Ramaswamy.

     

     As part of its association with Portfolio Night, India’s leading classifieds entity – Olx.in, will offer one candidate a chance to work as an intern for three months on a brief set up by the client. The candidate will be chosen from the final set of nominees shortlisted from the various individual stages.

     

    This year’s Portfolio Night was supported by global sponsor – Shutterstock, Twitter and SquareSpace. In India, the event was supported by Godrej HIT, Idea Cellular, Tanishq, Micromax, Lifebuoy, OLX.in and Myntra who came onboard as Brand Sponsors for Portfolio Night.

  • Lowe Lintas and Partners to host the 12th Portfolio Night in Mumbai

    Lowe Lintas and Partners to host the 12th Portfolio Night in Mumbai

    MUMBAI:  Think you can write a copy which will wow the creative heads of leading agencies? Then it is time to participate in the Portfolio Night. 

     

    In its constant endeavor to encourage and bring in raw, young creative talent to the shores of Indian advertising, Lowe Lintas and Partners will organise the twelfth edition of Portfolio Night in Mumbai. This is for the second time that the agency is hosting Portfolio Night in India.

     

    A global portfolio review and recruitment event is a platform for young creative aspirants to have their work sampled by at least top creative directors from the industry in one evening. In the process they not only get feedback and advice, but if they are good enough, they might land up a job as well. It is conducted on the same date in more than 20 cities all over the world every year.

     

    With this announcement, Lowe Lintas and Partners calls upon young creative professionals from advertising, digital and design agencies and senior students of art colleges from across the country to be a part of the world’s largest advertising portfolio review-cum-recruitment event.

     

    “Advertising has been the nesting place for too many media related professions. And we have lost people to these newer options. PN is also a great platform for young people to discover the joys of advertising. And since we have to cast this net wider PN should only get bigger!” said Lowe Lintas and Partners NCD Amer Jaleel.

     

    The agency’s NCD Arun Iyer added, “It’s a great opportunity for Lowe Lintas to give back to the community and the industry of advertising. We would want young creative guys to come in and get the chance to talk to some of the best known CDs in the country. Not only to get a sense of what the real world is all about, but also for the encouragement that they deserve and opportunities that advertising offers.”

     

    Founded by IHAVEANIDEA in 2003 and now presented by Art Directors Club, New York, the 2014 Portfolio Night 12 event will be held simultaneously in more than 20 participating cities worldwide. In addition to Lowe Lintas in Mumbai, confirmed Portfolio Night 12 cities and City Hosts include:

    · Athens, hosted by Bold Ogilvy & Mather

    · Austin, hosted by LatinWorks

    · Beijing, hosted by Ogilvy & Mather

    · Beirut, hosted by Havas Worldwide Middle East

    · Boston, hosted by SapientNitro

    · Budapest, hosted by Kirwoskiisobar & Umbrella

    · Cape Town, hosted by McCann

    · Chicago, hosted by Chicago Portfolio School

    · Detroit, hosted by Doner

    · Dubai, hosted by Havas Worldwide Middle East

    · Johannesburg, hosted by McCann Johannesburg

    ·  Kansas City, hosted by VML

    · Los Angeles, hosted by Team One

    · Montreal, hosted by Tank

    · New York, hosted by Huge

    · Paris, hosted by AACC

    · Shanghai, hosted by Ogilvy & Mather

    · Singapore, hosted by BatesCHI & Partners

    · Tel Aviv, hosted by Habetzefer Advertising School

    · Tokyo, hosted by Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Tokyo

    · Toronto, hosted by The Hive

     

    Each City Host is responsible for bringing together the top creative directors in its city with up-and-coming advertising talent; which will provide junior talent with the opportunity to learn from the best, and to provide leading industry creative directors with a chance to mentor and give back to the advertising industry.

     

    With 25 top CDs from the industry slated to attend and review the work of young, enthusiastic and creative, this highly anticipated evening will unite advertising and design communities in every continent as the next generation of creative talent makes an exciting foray into the industry.

     

    The idea is to not just create a platform for young talent, but to also actively look for the unique, different and gifted. For the review process, aspirants will be divided into three batches and every aspirant will be given a chance to get his/her portfolio reviewed by three creative directors. Each creative director will meet three candidates individually for 15 minutes and review their work, ideas and offer them feedback.

     

    The best portfolio out of the lot will be identified as ALL STAR and will be flown to New York to take part in a week long creative challenge on a specific brief.

     

    Portfolio Night 12 is made possible by the support of global sponsors – Shutterstock, Twitter and SqaureSpace.

    Tickets for Portfolio Night are on sale since 16 April. More details are available on http://www.portfolionight.com/12/mumbai/

  • JWT discloses theme for Portfolio Night 11

    JWT discloses theme for Portfolio Night 11

    MUMBAI: Portfolio Night has grown to be a global event, reaching creative hubs in every continent in an evening where the best of the present meet the best of the years to come. Now in its eleventh year, the event brings together thousands of young creative’s, hundreds of creative directors, dozens of city hosts in cities around the world, and a select few global sponsors, all in a one night only event across the planet.

    JWT India brings to light the theme and its first video for Portfolio Night 11, scheduled to be held at the JWT India office on 22 May.

    Given that aspiring advertising students foster a multitude of misconceptions about the industry and its people, JWT has suitably chosen their theme for this year’s Portfolio Night as ‘An Eye-Opener’. The entire concept is built around the hash tag #WhatIThinkAboutAdvertising. Students were asked to use this hash tag and tweet @pnmumbai11 their thoughts on what they think advertising is all about.

    “Bust the myths and unveil the truth in the most realistic, simple fun way, that’s the effort on the “Eye Opener”. The truth may be a bitter pill to swallow but just like your work it’s time to come face to face with what advertising and you are really worth,” said JWT India national creative director Tista Sen.

    The campaign will include social media, posters, TVCs, hoardings and radio spots on Radio Mirchi. As part of the overall campaign, a few advertising students were asked what they thought about advertising and these videos were seeded on the Portfolio Night Facebook page, urging people to tweet about what they thought about advertising.

    The craziest of these tweets were selected to create posters, films and radio spots for JWT-Portfolio Night 11 campaign. The people whose tweets are being selected will be given prizes.

    JWT- Portfolio Night 11 promises an evening with the country‘s top creative directors like Prasoon Joshi, Piyush Pandey, Ashish Khazanchi, Sonal Dabral, Amer Jaleel, Manish and Raghu Bhatt, Malvika Mehra, Santosh Paddy, Russel Barett, Carlton D’Silva, K S Chakravarthy (Chax), Ravi Deshpande, Josy Paul and Sagar Mahabaleshwar.

    Scheduled to take place simultaneously in over 20 cities on this date across the world, including Athens, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Costa Rica, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Tokyo and Toronto amongst others, Portfolio Night is an annual property of ‘ihaveanidea’, the creative founders and the world’s first and largest community of the international advertising industry.

  • Lifebuoy rolls out ‘Saving Lives’ campaign

    MUMBAI: Lifebuoy has announced the launch of a campaign with a three-minute film that seeks to inspire action from viewers to pledge support for Lifebuoy’s hand washing programs on the ground.

    According to the brand, the objective of the campaign is not to sell a product, but share a lofty brand purpose. Also, the brand wants to tap the “technology-savvy” audience by inspiring them to spread this message of saving lives. The campaign aims to create an act that will make a real difference.

    Lowe Lintas chairman and chief creative officer R. Balki said, “A small act like washing hands with Lifebuoy can save a child‘s life. This message needs to reach far and wide. So, we created this campaign that can open one‘s mind to this amazing message. A campaign that moves people to the extent that they care to share it with others”.

    Lifebuoy global vice president Samir Singh said, “Lifebuoy’s goal is to change the hand-washing behaviours of a billion people by 2015 in order to help save lives and reduce disease. On top of the work we have been doing on ground for the last 10 years, we needed people to support our cause in huge numbers to reach our goal. We wanted to tell the world the Lifebuoy story in a deeply emotional way. Our brief to Lowe was to translate the statistic of “2 million children still die in the world before the age of 5 due to preventable infections like diarrhoea and pneumonia” into something real, personal and powerful. And through this film, they have done just that.”

    “We wanted this ad to evoke a meaningful response towards the initiative and not to say ‘what a beautiful ad’. It‘s a real, true and honest programme and the work should embody that. Judging from the responses we have from people and industry alike, I think we‘ve managed to achieve this,” Lowe Lintas NCD Amer Jaleel added.

  • Lowe Lintas creates the new Havells Standard Wires campaign

    MUMBAI: Standard, a sub-brand of Havells, has recently ventured into wires and Lowe Lintas and Partners has created an ad campaign for the same.

    The task for communication is to position Standard wires as “high heat-resistance” wires that can withstand extra load, when ordinary wires would get heated up and burn. The communication is intended to convey the message through an “interesting” and “endearing” creative.

    The TVC is based on the insight that when the wires get heated up because of extra load, they leave a burning smell of plastic/PVC. The TVC brings this alive through a humorous execution where Ranvir Shorey is seen sniffing like a dog around the house and figures out that the source of the burning smell is an AC socket. It closes with the discovery that he had used an ordinary wire instead of Standard wire.

    The campaign will also be extended to print and in-shop point of sales materials (POSM).

    The creative team that has worked on the campaign is Amer Jaleel and Shriram Iyer while the planning is done by Anurag Prasad. Directed by Nikhil Rao, the ad film is produced by Jamic Films.