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Tag: Bobby Pawar

  • Industry leaders’ thoughts on Independence Day

    Industry leaders’ thoughts on Independence Day

    Independence. We in India have had it for so many years that the India that is emerging does not know what it is like to not be free. For millions, the struggle to get freedom from the British, Portuguese and sundry other rulers are just chapters in their history books. But occasions like Independence Day and Republic Day remind us that we were once subservient and that we overcame bondage and won our freedom.

    15 August is the 67th year of our independence. For sure, the Indian flag will be hoisted in neighbourhoods all over India. Smaller flags will be mounted on cars, cycles and bikes. And even smaller ones pinned on our shirt pockets. Patriotic songs will be played out on radio and on TV.

    And hopefully for a day we will forget all our complaints against rising prices, economic upheaval, a political and administrative class that is showing little backbone for fair governance and well-being of its citizenry, corruption and the lack of respect that many in India have for women. Hopefully, we will remember the price that was paid for the valuable freedom that we enjoy today. And feel proud to be Indian. We, at indiantelevision.com surely are and even proudly carry it in our name.

    Indiantelevision.com’s young team of journalists spoke to senior professionals from the advertising, broadcasting, cable TV and marketing sectors to get a fix on their feelings on India’s 67th Independence Day. And also to gather from them on what their favourite patriotic song or movie is. Read on to feel patriotic:
    O&M India executive chairman & NCD Piyush Pandey

    I am very proud to be an Indian. I think India is a very significant country with many diverse cultures and we have come a long way. In the future, I wish the country to be in a much better shape than what it is currently.

    Mile Sur Mera Tumhara is my favourite patriotic song and truly depicts the light of Indian culture and unity amongst Indians.
    NDTV executive vice chairperson Narayan Rao

    I feel good that we live in an independent country but it shouldn’t be taken for granted.
    I’d like broadcasting to be world class and for journalism to have high standards, credibility and ethics.
    My favourite song is Saare Jahan Se Achchha.
    Publicis director, CCO south Asia Bobby Pawar

    Yes I am proud and happy as well that I am living in an independent country as an independent man.

    I really don’t have any ideas about where the industry is headed. If I did know, then I probably would make millions on it. However, I am very optimistic about the growth in the industry.

    My favourite movie is my friend’s Prasoon Joshi’s film Rang De Basanti and the title song from the same movie is my favourite song.
    Discovery Networks Asia Pacific, sr VP & GM, head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales & south asia, Rahul Johri

    I am proud of being an Indian and happy about it. I think in the coming years the broadcasting industry will evolve as the market evolves. I see many more options on offer for viewers and I see the broadcasting industry only growing further.

    My favourite patriotic song is the video Ye Mera India by Saleem and Suleiman which is on Animal Planet.

    Zee, chief content and creative officer Bharat Kumar Ranga
    I renamed myself from Mukesh to Bharat, when I was in the fourth standard. I fell in love with Manoj Kumar’s character as Bharat inUpkaar. So when I was filling my form for fifth standard, I renamed myself as Bharat. This is how deeply I feel about India. Though firangi competition is welcome, but in India only Indians will rule. I am among those, who believes in the country.

    It is in India, that media enjoys the stature of being the fourth pillar. It started with print and went on to books and films. There was a certain independence given to broadcasters, but that was not utilised to the maximum. Though India has done well in a lot of sectors, but growth in media has not been great. We need to break away from daily and weekly competitions to unleash the power of media.
    My favourite patriotic song is Mere Desh Ki Dharti from the movie Upkaar, I still get all 

    charged up hearing the song. Purab and Paschim was one movie which aptly brought out the power of India, and that is my favourite patriotic movie.

    Draftfcb+Ulka advertising ED & CEO Ambi M G Parameswaran
    I am proud to be an Indian. And I value my freedom. 

    As a nation, the change I would like to see is that the slowdown, which we are witnessing, goes away. I know it will be another 12-18 months before that happens, but then we will see double digit growth after that. The GDP growth needs to regain momentum, business confidence need to rise, rural development really needs to happen, and food prices need to come down.

    My favourite patriotic movie is the Tamil film Kappalottiya Thamizhan.
    Star Den Media Services, CEO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor
    We feel proud to be independent and we celebrated Independence Day at our workplace too on 14 August. Everyone was wearing small paper flags across their hearts proudly. We decked up the office with balloons and placed a small flag on every workstation.

    In broadcasting, freedom of expression is critical and this has rarely happened in the past, but it is witnessing a change. Things have gone through a revolutionary change and kudos to the industry for bringing in this welcome change.

    I love patriotic movies, but Saat Hindustani (1969) and Shaheed (1965) figure among my favourites.

    Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal
    I feel good as an Indian. We are living in a democratic country. There are lots of things we need to do to improve. We all have some amount of influence that we can use.
    We are launching an entire new initiative Bharat Bhagyavita. Our responsibility as media is to inform and empower people with knowledge and make them aware of their rights and encourage them to do something about what’s going on.

    Nothing comes to mind. I don’t go by defining a favourite. Any patriotic song is fine. I like almost all songs.

    Media Consultant, Sanjeev Hiremath
    For me patriotism is a feeling and cannot be defined in a song, though I really love the Hollywood movie ‘Independence Day’.

    In the 67th year of Independence, the biggest achievement for India is that it is no longer considered as a developing nation. A lot of Indian companies are now investing in overseas business. Our GDP is robust and we are above world average. I am proud to be an Indian and the reason is its diverse culture. My only concern is that though individually we are progressing, the country collectively isn’t. Even today 70 per cent of the population lives on 1.50 dollars a day. It makes me sad. The political scenario needs to improve.

    What is good about the cable and satellite industry is that we are not 10 years behind when we compare ourselves to other countries. We have been making gradual progress and now with DAS, in the next two years we will be up close with the world cable and satellite industry.
    Playtime Creations TV producer Hemal Thakakar

    As an Indian we feel proud that we had so many great men and women who gave their lives for freedom we enjoy today. Somewhere I think we have failed them and have misused freedom which they got for us. I hope, pray and wish we correct that.

    For broadcasters, future is shining. Digitisation is beginning of new horizon as our country gets hungry for more entertainment and infotainment. New avenues are discovered and looking at the Indian diaspora and the fact that we are a young nation, the broadcast industry is going to get a major boost.

    My favourite song is the title track from the film Swades and Kandho Se Milte Hain Kandhe.

  • J.K. Helene Curtis launches TVC to promote Park Avenue Beer Shampoo

    J.K. Helene Curtis launches TVC to promote Park Avenue Beer Shampoo

    MUMBAI: J.K. Helene Curtis, India’s leading male grooming company, cheers Man Hair with the first-of-its-kind Park Avenue Beer Shampoo’s new advertising campaign. Adding a twist of beer into the modern man’s life, this new campaign focuses on the need of personalised hair care for men.

    In the new TVC developed by Publicis South Asia, the communication reveals that men’s hair is different from that of women, and needs specialised care to keep it shiny and bouncy. The campaign tagline, “Cheers to man hair”, is an extension of celebrating manhood by offering its target audience a personalised hair care solution in the Beer Shampoo.

    J.K. Helene Curtis director Anil Kulkarni said, “J.K. Helen Curtis with its Park Avenue Beer Shampoo has created a path-breaking category in the hair care segment by launching the first-ever shampoo for men in India. This is primarily because of the main ingredient – Beer – which is associated with fun, and offers a shiny, smooth and bouncy feel to the hair. We, in our research, have found that men do not invest in personal hair care products and instead use female shampoos. With Park Avenue Beer Shampoo, we wanted to give the man a shampoo created specifically to meet his hair care needs and it’s time to revel in the glory of making men conscious about personal grooming.”

    Commenting on the concept, Publicis south Asia director and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar says “For years we’ve sold the feminine idea of hair care. Our idea was to create a male counter-point to that, one that puts a beery twist onto typical hair-care communication. We tried to capture the same as an outcry ‘Cheers to man hair’. All the elements of the campaign are a celebration of that thought. The TV is centered on a man who is ridiculously manly, making a ‘well-reasoned’ case for all men to shampoo like a man. The print ads do more of the same, but in a more functional manner, while the digital creates engagement around the idea.”

    The TVC is conceptualised by Publicis south Asia under Bobby Pawar and Zarwan Divecha. The director of the ad is Kay Kienzler, the production house is Fleet Entertainment and produced by Jignesh Maru.

    The ad will be aired across key markets starting from first week September for a period of six weeks. The communication will be extended through print, digital and BTL activities such as high visibility and innovative POS and gratification programs amongst other marketing initiatives.

  • Publicis brings in Bobby Pawar, Partha Sinha & Ambika Srivastava

    Publicis brings in Bobby Pawar, Partha Sinha & Ambika Srivastava

    MUMBAI : Big man Bobby is back. Bobby Pawar that is. Publicis Worldwide today announced that Pawar has joined the agency as director, chief creative officer – south Asia.

    Pawar as readers may recollect was the fall guy in the JWT-Ford Figo scam a couple of months ago.

    He brings with him oodles of creative experience right from his days as a copywriter at Tara Sinha McCan Erickson, then on to Ogilvy in Mumbai and New York and then Mudra and finally his last stint at JWT where he was managing partner & CCO.

    He is reportedly replacing vice-chairperson and national creative director Ashish Khazanchi, who is moving on.

    Publicis also announced other hires: Partha Sinha – who is being pushed upstairs from his managing partner position at group agency BBH – as director, chief strategy officer South Asia; and media vet Ambika Srivastava as director, marketing and new business – India.

     The three will also be on the Publicis India management board and will report to CEO, south Asia Nakul Chopra. With Sinha moving on to Publicis from BBH India, his replacement at the agency is senior strategy director Sanjay Sharma who has been redesignated as planning head.

    These announcements were made by Publicis Groupe chief operating officer & executive chairman Publicis Worldwide Jean-Yves Naouri . Both Naouri and Chopra said that they were glad to strengthen the leadership team at Publicis Group in India with these additions, and that clients will draw the benefits of the value they bring to the table.

    Chopra was reportedly eyeing Pawar as a leadership hire much before the entire Ford Figo incident broke out.

    Publicis global creative director Erik Vervroegen believes that both Partha and Bobby make for a very potent team and that Bobby can take the group’s creative product to the next level.

    And what does the duo have to say? Quoting them from the press note issued by Publicis: “We have been wanting to work together as a team for some time now – Publicis has provided us the perfect platform to do so. Brand communication in today’s world has changed substantially – thinking and creativity need to be more concurrent and seamless – we want to approach it that way. Being involved from the root of the problem to the final delivery of the solution is the best way to add value to a brand.

    And finally, Ambika Srivastava. Said she in the press note: “I am excited about my new role. For me it is literally ‘back to the future’ where in today’s environment paid, earned and owned media are bringing complete perspective to a client’s business. And this is a great way to Lead the Change.”

  • Bobby Pawar: Post JWT

    MUMBAI: He may be out of JWT India, but he definitely is not down and out. We are referring to former JWT India managing partner and chief creative director Bobby Pawar who put in his papers after Vijay Simha Vellanki, creative director at Blue Hive, a WPP unit dedicated to managing the Ford business, was asked to resign for creating a few posters with which got the client auto company Ford all choked up after some consumers got upset with the so-called sexist depiction in the ads.

    Pawar earlier today put out a post on facebook which said: “My friends, I am touched by your concern and affection. I am the luckiest man in the world, despite what the tabloids might say. I cannot repay your spontaneous outburst of support, so as my meagre offering I give you this for your viewing pleasure, a Santa Claus made with condoms. Oops, will that get me in trouble gain?”

    Pawar has not been reachable since he jettisoned from the agency he joined around 15 months ago. He had issued a comment, saying he was resigning because “as a leader, this incident happened on my watch. I have to take moral responsibility for it.”

    But he has been active on facebook since, posting pictures of his family as they take some time out in Srinagar.

    And an avalanche of support has poured in for him.

    Said Scarecrow Communications branch head and executive creative director Anindya Banerjee, “Still trying to figure out the ‘sexist‘ portion in the ads. Looks like a mystery that‘s not going to be answered.”

    Added Pinstorm Technologies boss Mahesh Murthy, “While the JWT India scam ad for Ford was dumb, sacking the ECD Bobby Pawar for it is dumber. Smacks of testicular deficiency all around I think. Stand up for your creatives, @Colwyn Harris. Don‘t sell them out at the first sign of trouble. Now who with a brain and a backbone will work for you?”

    Said Bang Bang film founder and managing director Roopak Saluja, “At the end of the day, that‘s all that matters, Bobby. And you know the whole industry knows what this is all about. A $2Billion ad budget is a tough thing to be weighed against. Yet you walk away with an unscathed rep…Godspeed!”

    Said media veteran Bhaskar Das (currently with Zee News) : “It‘s so true, Bobby. You will rock always.”

    On 23 March, Pawar had an interaction with former McCann and Ogilvy & Mather professional Rob Ichelson which went as follows:
    Rob: “Hi BubbaHave you read Kenney‘s Book”

    Bobby: “No Rob would like to. What‘s it called?”

    Rob: “Truth in Advertising”

    Bobby: @Rob. “Is there any truth to it?”

    He could not have been more prophetic.

  • JWT to host Portfolio Night 11 in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: JWT India will be hosting Portfolio Night 11, a platform to nurture young talent in the industry in Mumbai. The event gives them an opportunity to showcase their ideas to the most creative minds of the country.

    Portfolio Night is an annual property of ‘IHAVEANIDEA’, the creative founders and the world’s first and largest community of the international advertising industry.

    This year the event is scheduled to take place simultaneously in over 20 cities on the same date across the world, including Athens, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Costa Rica, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Tokyo and Toronto. It will be held on 22 May. This is the fourth year that the event is taking place in India.

    JWT South Asia CEO Colvyn Harris said, “We are delighted to host Portfolio Night 11 and would like it to be an entry point for unleashing creativity in the new world order. Portfolio Night is an ideal platform that identifies and recognizes fresh creative talent and offers them a unique opportunity of getting mentored and nurtured by the best in the advertising fraternity. This is also the perfect opportunity for industry experts to give back to the industry, by guiding aspiring young creatives and helping them carve a niche for themselves.”

    JWT India chief creative officer and managing partner Bobby Pawar said, “JWT India has always encouraged budding talent and Portfolio Night 11 is a platform that celebrates creativity. It is a brilliant opportunity for us to unite the advertising and design communities as the next generation of creative talent makes an exciting foray into the industry.”

    Portfolio Night director of content and communications Brianna Graves said, “Portfolio Night is thrilled to have JWT representing Mumbai on the global stage that will be highlighted in May during #PN11. We expect JWT to execute an amazing event that supports the young creative community in Mumbai and allows its best creative leadership to give back to the industry and nurture the advertising leaders of tomorrow.”

    Portfolio Night 11 is open to young creative professionals from advertising, digital and design agencies and also senior students of art colleges. JWT India will viral the promotional campaign through broadcast and digital medium. Participants will need to register on their respective city’s page on the Portfolio Night website.

  • Kit Kat presents the “Baby Break”

    MUMBAI: Chocolate brand Kit Kat has launched a new ad campaign that has been created by JWT India.

    The new campaign is a follow up to the “Squirrels” and “Birds” executions in 2010 and 2012, with a creative spin on “Have a Break. Have a Kit Kat”.

    With the new campaign too, the brand urges youth, wrapped in routine, busy schedules and caught up in the race of living in the now, to take a break and not miss out on the fun and unexpected surprises that a break can get.

    The new ad campaign is led by a TVC called “Babies”.

    The highlight of the TVC is the music track, created by music producer Mikey McCleary. The TVC has been directed by Shyam Madiraju. JWT chief creative officer Bobby Pawar and Madiraju worked closely with animation experts from Crater Film Studios, Belgrade to create the mix of real and animated “baby” shots.

    The TVC is on youtube and other digital channels, and will be followed by a music video with the same track.

    Pawar said, “The idea that something good can happen when you take a Kitkat break is in its third year. We had to raise our game and inject some freshness or the campaign would lose its impact. What worked in the first two years is that the commercials borrowed from popular culture by taking and reinterpreting classic hit songs. This time around we are taking things up a notch and trying to create a pop culture moment. So the idea was to do a baby pop concert.”

    “The first part of it is the music. It‘s made up entirely of sounds made by babies, even the drumming and the rattles rattling. They were arranged in such a way that a catchy beat and hook was created. The other part of the baby concert is the dancing, which is simple yet kinda unique. Why babies? It came from the insight that watching babies play will put a smile on anyone‘s face. If you watch them doing something you haven‘t seen before, that smile will be multiplied,” Pawar added.

    The TVC opens on a student doing the usual rounds with his Professor and fellow students. He steps back to take a break with a Kit Kat. What follows is a never before seen sequence of a bunch of happy babies playing in a day care centre suddenly turn into a baby pop group who give an impromptu concert to our man who is taking a Kit Kat break. The musical interlude is replete with babies singing, or in this case gurgling, cooing, laughing and drumming and swaying to their own dance moves on the music. The music and dance surprises and then delights the student, enjoying his Kit Kat. Once the break is over, the student returns back to his group, performing a quick dance step himself, energised and refreshed.

  • How Indian agencies can win big at Cannes

    How Indian agencies can win big at Cannes

    MUMBAI: India‘s weak performance at the Cannes Lions Festival, the worst in the last five years, is evoking criticism in the advertising world. Sinking to just 14 metals, down from 24 last year, the time has come to retrospect and build on the talent pool that has the potential to create bigger impact in the advertising world.

    The record book looks even worse as India went without a Grand Prix this year. It won three gold, one less than last year, and three silver, seven less.

    India‘s advertising minds need new ideas that are bold and fresh at a time when new markets are emerging to give competition. Some experts feel that Indian agencies lost out at Cannes because the ‘basic idea‘ ‘lacked the magnificence‘ to win big.

    Laments Leo Burnett chairman and CEO Indian sub-continent Arvind Sharma, “Cannes is a contest of great ideas executed brilliantly. This year unfortunately we had very few big bold ideas. We won some gold metals but they were for execution specialities like typography and film direction. For winning in ideas, we bagged smaller trophies. What we need is bigger, bolder and fresher ideas across categories like we had in the past with the Luxor and the Lead India campaign.”

    In a fast-changing global environment, exposed to new technologies and market situations, Indian agencies need to realise that every year is a different ball game and the need of the hour is to adapt.

    Says JWT chief creative officer and managing partner Bobby Pawar, “We need to understand that every year the game changes and you just have to keep doing better and smarter from year to year. Take the example of Usain Bolt. Every time he fails to make it, he tells himself ‘I am going to train harder and get where I want‘. That is a lesson we all got to learn.”

    The most glaring under achievement of the Indian agencies perhaps is the failure to make it to the Digital and Mobile Lions shortlist. In an age where every advertiser is vying to go online or be present on the mobile platform, and where every day sees a new innovation in the digital space, the Indian agencies failed to impress the jury enough to even make it to the final lap.

    The accent for digital is rapidly evolving across the world and the subtle tone is to come out with bolder ideas. For executing these ideas, one needs the apt technology and infrastructure.

    “When you compare India to other developing nations even in the realm of digital, I would say we are in The Stone Age. When the bandwidth for an exceptional online campaign is not available, how can you expect any path breaking work? In the case of mobile too, I feel we need ‘imagineers’ and not just programmers and engineers. It is the imagination that needs to grow and develop that will then translate into award winning work,” says Pawar.

    Expanding reach across platforms is also becoming an important tool reflective of the changes in the advertising world. Says Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt, “The definition of creativity is changing. Creative is not just a clever idea or stunning execution anymore. It also includes factors like how much response a campaign manages to evoke. Entries that have evoked stunning response can change the world and look superior than the other works. Entries which go beyond the common benefit of the product and do something for the society have cut ice with the jury.”

    Cannes Lions Tally
    Year
    Awards
    2008
    23 (including Grand Prix)
    2009
    25
    2010
    17
    2011
    24
    2012
    14

    Worse, India‘s achievement in the traditional categories wasn‘t too impressive. Admits Law and Kenneth CEO and managing partner Anil Nair, “The traditional categories – print, TV and outdoor – have become fiercely competitive, and there is a lot of innovation within them. Our work is one-dimensional, which in a way suits our local requirements. But this did not catch the fancy of the jury. Some of the work like for Nike and Google have a lot of spin in new media technology, but we have not been able to demonstrate that kind of thinking. The works we have sent are majorly in print.”

    So what are the key learnings from this year’s somewhat disappointing performance at the biggest ad fest?

    “The learning for me is that we should win more in the traditional category like Films which is a major medium here. We don’t have any metal in films apart from one that is in film craft. We should have won more metals even in radio, outdoor and now digital,” says McCann Worldgroup India chairman and CEO Prasoon Joshi, the man who led his agency to win a gold for Outdoor.

    Sharma, though, likes to see the glass half full. “I‘m sure India has the talent and the passion it takes to win big at Cannes. This year‘s results will push us harder and I‘m sure we will do well next year,” he concludes with a note of optimism.

  • Mudra creates national anthem for Big Cinemas

    Mudra creates national anthem for Big Cinemas

    MUMBAI: Mudra Group has created a new National Anthem video for Big Cinemas, part of the Reliance ADA Group.

    The video has been shot in sign language and enacted by children with a hearing/speech impairment.

    Says Mudra Group CEO Bobby Pawar, “The idea is centered on the thought, ‘Patriotism knows no language‘ and it is brought to life by hundreds of special kids singing the National Anthem with their hands.”

    The anthem was released on 26 January across Big Cinemas screens and will be played before the start of a movie.

    “Our idea was to use the Anthem to make people do more than just stand and sing; it is to make them feel a little differently about their country while driving home a strong message about unity in diversity. The film is the first part of a programme to engage people, on ground and on line, in a dialogue about how we can free our nation from the prejudices that can divide us,” adds Pawar.

    The Anthem has been directed by Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures, based on the concept by Mudra Group.

    Says Sharma, “What appealed to me most was the challenge this idea posed at me as a film maker. It needed to be handled very sensitively without losing out on the impact. I went and met these kids and was really touched by the spirit they showed. So I decided not to use any actors – but got these real special kids to do. Special thanks to all the teachers and the kids for their cooperation and their spirit with which they displayed.”