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Tag: Nakul Chopra

  • Indian media industry gives thumbs up to GST despite minor concerns

    Indian media industry gives thumbs up to GST despite minor concerns

    MUMBAI: Former Finance Minister of India P. Chidambaram dubbed the move “good sense triumphed” while commenting on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill that was okayed earlier in the week by the Indian Parliament. And, probably, it is a good move, though lot of fine-tuning still needs to be done and Indian industry is still calculating the pros and cons.

    But a seven-hour debate in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) on Wednesday is nothing compared to the discussions on the issue that have been going on for over a decade in India during which time several Finance Ministers have come and gone pitching in for tax reforms that have been mired in political discussions and fights.

    Now that the Parliament has given the green signal to GST to be ushered in the country the ifs and whys still need answering leading to more questions like ‘what’ and ‘how’ because the rate of taxation under GST regime is still to be firmed up though 18 per cent is an indicative figure that is being bandied around in political and industry circles.

    Here are a few reactions from the media and entertainment industry where execs are still trying to read the fine prints of political-speak.

    Minister of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu termed the passage of GST Bill as “historic” adding that “it’s a victory of people” as “good days” beckon the country.

    MIB Junior Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore also said that it was a historic day for India and tweeted “a new era is about to begin as uniformity across markets in India would pave way for unity in diversity”.

    ZEEL, MD and CEO Punit Goenka:  GST will certainly bring in uniformity across businesses in the media sector. Especially for the film studios who can now lower their costs. Multiplex chains will also benefit a lot with uniformed taxes, resulting into reduction of the average ticket prices!

    Colors TV CEO & Advertising Club of India President Raj Nayak: I think it (proposition of GST) is the best thing that has happened to our country. I must congratulate the Finance Minister and leaders of all political parties for setting aside differences for a common purpose, which will help in the progress of the country. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it is `the best example of cooperative federalism.’ The passage of the Bill, along with a good monsoon, will usher in an overall positive business sentiment. I see this translating into advertising spends seeing an upward trend in the coming months, which will be good for broadcasting sector.

    Publicis India -South Asia CEO & AAAI President Nakul Chopra: Everyone is hopeful that in the long run this will benefit our economy. While right now we are concerned about its implications on our (advertising) industry as we are a multi-locational service providers. If GST positively impacts our client, it would eventually benefit us as well. Though there are some legitimate concerns that the advertising industry has over GST, we will try to address them as an association.

    Videocon d2h  CEO Anil Khera: GST is a welcome step. It will unify the indirect tax administration in India and help the country in two ways. First, it will simplify (the tax regime) and make it easy for the consumers to understand their tax split up. Second, it will significantly improve the ease of doing business in India. As a DTH operator, GST will help us to be more efficient in our business.

    Travelxp and  Media Worldwide CEO Prashanth Chothani: There won’t be much impact (on the broadcasters’ ad revenues). The current rate that stands at 15 percent may increase to 18 percent. This might mean that the advertising cost will go up but advertising is directly related to consumer needs. If people have money to spend and they are consuming products,  brands will market and advertise.

    From the reactions it seems that the media and entertainment industry, by and large, has reacted positively to the proposed tax reforms. As it is in all such cases there are some creases, but the media and entertainment industry is willing to look at the brighter side of GST and the promised economic growth.

     

  • Indian media industry gives thumbs up to GST despite minor concerns

    Indian media industry gives thumbs up to GST despite minor concerns

    MUMBAI: Former Finance Minister of India P. Chidambaram dubbed the move “good sense triumphed” while commenting on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill that was okayed earlier in the week by the Indian Parliament. And, probably, it is a good move, though lot of fine-tuning still needs to be done and Indian industry is still calculating the pros and cons.

    But a seven-hour debate in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) on Wednesday is nothing compared to the discussions on the issue that have been going on for over a decade in India during which time several Finance Ministers have come and gone pitching in for tax reforms that have been mired in political discussions and fights.

    Now that the Parliament has given the green signal to GST to be ushered in the country the ifs and whys still need answering leading to more questions like ‘what’ and ‘how’ because the rate of taxation under GST regime is still to be firmed up though 18 per cent is an indicative figure that is being bandied around in political and industry circles.

    Here are a few reactions from the media and entertainment industry where execs are still trying to read the fine prints of political-speak.

    Minister of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) M Venkaiah Naidu termed the passage of GST Bill as “historic” adding that “it’s a victory of people” as “good days” beckon the country.

    MIB Junior Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore also said that it was a historic day for India and tweeted “a new era is about to begin as uniformity across markets in India would pave way for unity in diversity”.

    ZEEL, MD and CEO Punit Goenka:  GST will certainly bring in uniformity across businesses in the media sector. Especially for the film studios who can now lower their costs. Multiplex chains will also benefit a lot with uniformed taxes, resulting into reduction of the average ticket prices!

    Colors TV CEO & Advertising Club of India President Raj Nayak: I think it (proposition of GST) is the best thing that has happened to our country. I must congratulate the Finance Minister and leaders of all political parties for setting aside differences for a common purpose, which will help in the progress of the country. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it is `the best example of cooperative federalism.’ The passage of the Bill, along with a good monsoon, will usher in an overall positive business sentiment. I see this translating into advertising spends seeing an upward trend in the coming months, which will be good for broadcasting sector.

    Publicis India -South Asia CEO & AAAI President Nakul Chopra: Everyone is hopeful that in the long run this will benefit our economy. While right now we are concerned about its implications on our (advertising) industry as we are a multi-locational service providers. If GST positively impacts our client, it would eventually benefit us as well. Though there are some legitimate concerns that the advertising industry has over GST, we will try to address them as an association.

    Videocon d2h  CEO Anil Khera: GST is a welcome step. It will unify the indirect tax administration in India and help the country in two ways. First, it will simplify (the tax regime) and make it easy for the consumers to understand their tax split up. Second, it will significantly improve the ease of doing business in India. As a DTH operator, GST will help us to be more efficient in our business.

    Travelxp and  Media Worldwide CEO Prashanth Chothani: There won’t be much impact (on the broadcasters’ ad revenues). The current rate that stands at 15 percent may increase to 18 percent. This might mean that the advertising cost will go up but advertising is directly related to consumer needs. If people have money to spend and they are consuming products,  brands will market and advertise.

    From the reactions it seems that the media and entertainment industry, by and large, has reacted positively to the proposed tax reforms. As it is in all such cases there are some creases, but the media and entertainment industry is willing to look at the brighter side of GST and the promised economic growth.

     

  • Publicis’ Nakul Chopra elected AAAI president

    Publicis’ Nakul Chopra elected AAAI president

    MUMBAI: Publicis Communications India CEO Nakul Chopra has been elected president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2016-2017 at its Annual General Body Meeting. This comes after he successfully served as the chairman of Goafest Organising Committee for year 2016.

    Following this announcement, AAAI also selected Dentsu Aegis Network south Asia CEO and chairman Ashish Bhasin as the vice-president of the association.

    Other members of the Executive Committee in alphabetical order are:

    C V L Srinivas Group M Media India Pvt Ltd

    Ganesh Baliga Fifth Estate Communications Pvt Ltd

    Kunal Lalani Crayons Advertising Ltd

    Pranav Premnarayen Prem Associates Advertising & Marketing

    Rana Barua Contract Advertising (India) Pvt Ltd

    Srinivasan K Swamy R K SWAMY BBDO Pvt Ltd

    T Gangadhar Mediaedge:Cia India Pvt Ltd

    Vivek Srivastava Innocean Worldwide Communication Pvt Ltd

    Immediate Past President, Dr M G Parameswaran will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI Executive Committee.

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the national organisation of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation. The AAAI today is truly representative, with a very large number of small, medium and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country.

  • Publicis’ Nakul Chopra elected AAAI president

    Publicis’ Nakul Chopra elected AAAI president

    MUMBAI: Publicis Communications India CEO Nakul Chopra has been elected president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2016-2017 at its Annual General Body Meeting. This comes after he successfully served as the chairman of Goafest Organising Committee for year 2016.

    Following this announcement, AAAI also selected Dentsu Aegis Network south Asia CEO and chairman Ashish Bhasin as the vice-president of the association.

    Other members of the Executive Committee in alphabetical order are:

    C V L Srinivas Group M Media India Pvt Ltd

    Ganesh Baliga Fifth Estate Communications Pvt Ltd

    Kunal Lalani Crayons Advertising Ltd

    Pranav Premnarayen Prem Associates Advertising & Marketing

    Rana Barua Contract Advertising (India) Pvt Ltd

    Srinivasan K Swamy R K SWAMY BBDO Pvt Ltd

    T Gangadhar Mediaedge:Cia India Pvt Ltd

    Vivek Srivastava Innocean Worldwide Communication Pvt Ltd

    Immediate Past President, Dr M G Parameswaran will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI Executive Committee.

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the national organisation of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation. The AAAI today is truly representative, with a very large number of small, medium and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country.

  • Goafest 2016 Young Abby Gold Winners donate their winning prize to fight gender violence

    Goafest 2016 Young Abby Gold Winners donate their winning prize to fight gender violence

    MUMBAI: In a refreshingly selfless move, the winners of Goafest 2016 Young Abby Awards – Bodhisatwa Dasgupta & Nitesh Sah – have requested the Abby Awards Governing Council to cancel their trip to the Cannes Advertising Festival that they won and donate the money to an NGO that woks in elimination of gender violence. 

    Bodhisatwa and Nitesh, both currently employed at JWT, had won the coveted Gold medal of the newly launched Young Abby Awards at the recently concluded Goafest 2016. The duo had won the metals and much accolade for their campaign against gender violence and were scheduled to undertake a fully funded trip to the Cannes Advertising Festival in mid-June this year. 

    Honoring the request of the inspiring young achievers, The ABBY Awards Governing Council has decided to contribute a sum of INR 8 lacs (the monetary equivalent of the trip cost) to reputed NGOs doing significant work in the field of gender violence and sensitization.
    Talking about their intent behind this noble initiative the young guns Bodhisatwa Dasgupta & Nitesh Sah “It all started with the brief, really. The task was to do an ad campaign that lessened the number of incidents of gender violence in India. Now I have huge respect for advertising. Advertising can do many great things. But lessen the incidents of gender violence on-ground – Not so much to the last mile. We knew what we had to do. We though if you’re really serious about gender violence, don’t send us to Cannes (as was promised to the winners).  Instead, donate the money you would spend on a lavish trip to an NGO that works closely with rehabilitating victims. We’re glad our entry won and happier still that the Goafest team agreed to donate the money, as was humbly requested” .

    Speaking about the encouraging move by the duo, Goafest Organizing Committee chairman Nakul Chopra said, “Such thoughtful steps by the young showcase their greatness and acts as a great motivation for all around. It is uplifting and humbling to see the two super achievers from the advertising fraternity take such an inspiring stance. We are happy to able to contribute in their cause and hope that more and more youngsters continue to be moved and inspired by their contribution.”

    Lauding the decision taken by the duo, Awards Governing Council of Goafest 2016 chairman Ramesh Narayan  said “The advertising fraternity prides in its power and potential to be agents of change in society.  These two young guns Bodhi and Nitesh and their highly honorable initiative is an inspiration for all of us to walk the talk. I have always been honored to be a part of this industry but today I’m honored that I work among such talented and compassionate individuals.”

    The winning campaigns by Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Nitesh Sah – Question, Kidding, Old Fashioned is centered around the evils of gender violence and the need to eliminate it.  The duo endeavored to make a real difference with their campaign and their move towards giving up their winning prize trip is another step towards bringing change and awareness on the issue of gender violence in India.

  • Goafest 2016 Young Abby Gold Winners donate their winning prize to fight gender violence

    Goafest 2016 Young Abby Gold Winners donate their winning prize to fight gender violence

    MUMBAI: In a refreshingly selfless move, the winners of Goafest 2016 Young Abby Awards – Bodhisatwa Dasgupta & Nitesh Sah – have requested the Abby Awards Governing Council to cancel their trip to the Cannes Advertising Festival that they won and donate the money to an NGO that woks in elimination of gender violence. 

    Bodhisatwa and Nitesh, both currently employed at JWT, had won the coveted Gold medal of the newly launched Young Abby Awards at the recently concluded Goafest 2016. The duo had won the metals and much accolade for their campaign against gender violence and were scheduled to undertake a fully funded trip to the Cannes Advertising Festival in mid-June this year. 

    Honoring the request of the inspiring young achievers, The ABBY Awards Governing Council has decided to contribute a sum of INR 8 lacs (the monetary equivalent of the trip cost) to reputed NGOs doing significant work in the field of gender violence and sensitization.
    Talking about their intent behind this noble initiative the young guns Bodhisatwa Dasgupta & Nitesh Sah “It all started with the brief, really. The task was to do an ad campaign that lessened the number of incidents of gender violence in India. Now I have huge respect for advertising. Advertising can do many great things. But lessen the incidents of gender violence on-ground – Not so much to the last mile. We knew what we had to do. We though if you’re really serious about gender violence, don’t send us to Cannes (as was promised to the winners).  Instead, donate the money you would spend on a lavish trip to an NGO that works closely with rehabilitating victims. We’re glad our entry won and happier still that the Goafest team agreed to donate the money, as was humbly requested” .

    Speaking about the encouraging move by the duo, Goafest Organizing Committee chairman Nakul Chopra said, “Such thoughtful steps by the young showcase their greatness and acts as a great motivation for all around. It is uplifting and humbling to see the two super achievers from the advertising fraternity take such an inspiring stance. We are happy to able to contribute in their cause and hope that more and more youngsters continue to be moved and inspired by their contribution.”

    Lauding the decision taken by the duo, Awards Governing Council of Goafest 2016 chairman Ramesh Narayan  said “The advertising fraternity prides in its power and potential to be agents of change in society.  These two young guns Bodhi and Nitesh and their highly honorable initiative is an inspiration for all of us to walk the talk. I have always been honored to be a part of this industry but today I’m honored that I work among such talented and compassionate individuals.”

    The winning campaigns by Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Nitesh Sah – Question, Kidding, Old Fashioned is centered around the evils of gender violence and the need to eliminate it.  The duo endeavored to make a real difference with their campaign and their move towards giving up their winning prize trip is another step towards bringing change and awareness on the issue of gender violence in India.

  • “This year’s’ was the best lineup of speakers at Goafest,” Nakul Chopra

    “This year’s’ was the best lineup of speakers at Goafest,” Nakul Chopra

    MUMBAI: Be it statistics or experience, Goafest 2016 has outdone previous editions by a healthy margin much to the pride of Goafest Organising Committee chairman Nakul Chopra.

    “We got lot of feedback on the spot in Goa, and most complimented the speaker sessions. They all also appreciated the leadership summits. For many, this year’s was the best line up of speakers atGoafest. Broadly speaking, the feedback has been good on the whole production of the event as well,” Chopra added.

    While on the one hand the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga,  Rajdeep Sardesai, Shobha De, Karan Johar, R Balki upped the ante of the celeb factor at the three day conference, international creative geniuses like Benny Thomas, Fergus O’Hare, Tara Marsh, Carter Murray and Jean Lin gave industry insights and look aheads from a mature market perspective.

    Looking at logistics and itinerary, “This year was a huge improvement on timings. While last year wasn’t bad either, for this one we managed to stay on time for the most part,” Chopra shared. While day one saw a slight delay at the Abbys, the organisers tried their best to make day two and day three awards nights within enjoyable timings and kept the delays under check.

    Speaking about the highlights of the three day Abbys Chopra said, “I am definitely happy about Publicis’ performance at the Abbys. We have won several metals for meaningful work and that makes me proud of the team.

    Between several small and big tweaks, the organising committee did manage to address several logistical and experiential issues, and introduced a fresh fervour to the advertising festival. “We tried introducing Wifi for all at the venues and the Goafest 2016 app kept everyone tuned in with the proceedings of the day, those inside the auditorium or outside on the lawn alike. The innovations were a huge success and we plan to work and make it even better for the coming year as well.”

    Going by sheer numbers, Goafest outweighed its predecessors fairly well. “The total number of organisations who participated, either through their delegates or through their entries in the creative Abbys has gone over 350 this year, which is saying something,” revealed Chopra..

    This year also saw the biggest number of sponsors for the advertising festival. While this couldn’t be confirmed, the very obvious branding on display for various media showcased the collective interest in making the festival more interactive and fun. Starting from the Times Network branding at the entrance to the several fun booths that TLC, ABP Live, Magic Bricks Now, Movies Now Plus, and ZOOM etc., set up across the festival, the sponsors truly livened up the three days in creative and interactive ways.

    Given the successful execution of this year’s Goafest, the bar is definitely set higher for next year. Chopra however is optimistic that this ‘ By the fraternity, of the fraternity and for the fraternity’ festival will only get bigger and better in years to come.

     

  • “This year’s’ was the best lineup of speakers at Goafest,” Nakul Chopra

    “This year’s’ was the best lineup of speakers at Goafest,” Nakul Chopra

    MUMBAI: Be it statistics or experience, Goafest 2016 has outdone previous editions by a healthy margin much to the pride of Goafest Organising Committee chairman Nakul Chopra.

    “We got lot of feedback on the spot in Goa, and most complimented the speaker sessions. They all also appreciated the leadership summits. For many, this year’s was the best line up of speakers atGoafest. Broadly speaking, the feedback has been good on the whole production of the event as well,” Chopra added.

    While on the one hand the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga,  Rajdeep Sardesai, Shobha De, Karan Johar, R Balki upped the ante of the celeb factor at the three day conference, international creative geniuses like Benny Thomas, Fergus O’Hare, Tara Marsh, Carter Murray and Jean Lin gave industry insights and look aheads from a mature market perspective.

    Looking at logistics and itinerary, “This year was a huge improvement on timings. While last year wasn’t bad either, for this one we managed to stay on time for the most part,” Chopra shared. While day one saw a slight delay at the Abbys, the organisers tried their best to make day two and day three awards nights within enjoyable timings and kept the delays under check.

    Speaking about the highlights of the three day Abbys Chopra said, “I am definitely happy about Publicis’ performance at the Abbys. We have won several metals for meaningful work and that makes me proud of the team.

    Between several small and big tweaks, the organising committee did manage to address several logistical and experiential issues, and introduced a fresh fervour to the advertising festival. “We tried introducing Wifi for all at the venues and the Goafest 2016 app kept everyone tuned in with the proceedings of the day, those inside the auditorium or outside on the lawn alike. The innovations were a huge success and we plan to work and make it even better for the coming year as well.”

    Going by sheer numbers, Goafest outweighed its predecessors fairly well. “The total number of organisations who participated, either through their delegates or through their entries in the creative Abbys has gone over 350 this year, which is saying something,” revealed Chopra..

    This year also saw the biggest number of sponsors for the advertising festival. While this couldn’t be confirmed, the very obvious branding on display for various media showcased the collective interest in making the festival more interactive and fun. Starting from the Times Network branding at the entrance to the several fun booths that TLC, ABP Live, Magic Bricks Now, Movies Now Plus, and ZOOM etc., set up across the festival, the sponsors truly livened up the three days in creative and interactive ways.

    Given the successful execution of this year’s Goafest, the bar is definitely set higher for next year. Chopra however is optimistic that this ‘ By the fraternity, of the fraternity and for the fraternity’ festival will only get bigger and better in years to come.

     

  • Publicis bags the ‘Best In Category’ award; JWT leads metal tally with 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze

    Publicis bags the ‘Best In Category’ award; JWT leads metal tally with 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze

    MUMBAI: There couldn’t have been a better closure to the three day long celebration of advertising genius than the final night of Abbys 2016 that unfolded amidst the hedonic mix of music, creativity and intoxication. While the abundance of alcohol kept everyone in elevated spirits, the winners of the night were seen enjoying a different level of high as they walked up the stage to receive their metals.

     

    Continuing its winning streak, JWT once again snared the most number of metals, with five golds, 21 silver and 21 bronze that put it on the top spot with a metal tally of 47 metals. While the absence of a Grand Prix let down many, the newly introduced Best In Category award drew a lot of attention. It was Publicis Communication that bagged the Best In category award for its ground breaking work in ‘A Giant’s Story’ for Ambuja Cement, in the film craft category.

     

    On the newly introduced award, Percept Limited director Ajay Chandwani shared “You can consider it as a recognition above the gold awards, but not equal to Grand Prix. To evaluate the best in gold in each category, the jury was given an option to either select a grand prix or a best in category. Usually grand prix is awarded to a piece of work that has made a path breaking and game changing effort in the category. There was no work that amounted to that this year.”

     

    Apart from the Best In Category award, Publicis claimed four golds, four silver and four bronze metals, putting its total metal figure to 13. DDB Mudra also shone at the Abbys with four golds, four silver ad 15 bronze setting its total number of metals to 23. If one went by metal tally, Taproot Dentsu emerged as the clear second with 40 metals to its name – two gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze.

     

    A total of 10 categories’ winners were revealed on the third day. The category wise break up of winners is as follows.

     

    Ambient Media: Out of a total of fifteen metals, the jury gave away one gold, four silver and 10 bronze. JWT Mumbai bagged the one gold and bronze leading the category, followed by DDB Mudra with two silver and four bronze.

     

    In Design, Alok Nanda and Company took home a gold, three silver and three bronze making it a category leader. Alok Nanda and Company was followed by Publicis Communications with one gold, two silver and one bronze metal. Out Of Box was closely behind with a gold, silver and a bronze; and McCann World Group India with a gold and silver. A total of four gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze were given away in the category.

     

    Digital: As per the Goafest Organising Committee chairman Nakul Chopra Digital saw the most number of entries this year – a first in Goafest. There were a total of 614 entries, as compared to 548 last year. DDB Mudra took home gold and silver in the category making it the genre leader. R K Swamy BBDO brought home the second gold, followed by Experience Commerce taking home the final gold in the category. Taproot Dentsu also shone in the category with four silver awards.

     

    Integrated: DDB Mudra and Publicis Communications each received a gold and bronze metals in the category. Star India too was recognized with a silver for its exceptional work for Mauka Mauka.

     

    Out of Home:  With a total of 15 silver and 21 bronze given away in this category, there were many intense contests for the top position. JWT scored five silver and five bronze followed by Ideas@work bagging two silver and four bronze. There were no golds awarded in this category.

     

    Film Craft: Early Man Film bagged one gold, three silver and a bronze in the category followed by Flying Saucer pictures with a silver and gold.

     

    Film Single:  While Publicis Communications claimed the freshly introduced Best In Category award followed by a bronze, it was DDB Mudra that bagged the most number of metals with a gold, a silver and four bronzes.

     

    Print Single: Dentsu Creative Impact got one gold and four bronze metals to its name followed by Contract Advertising with a gold and bronze. Taproot Dentsu dominated the genre with five bronze and three silvers to its name.

    This year saw the Goafest Committee introducing two new categories or special Abbys as they are otherwise being called.  They were the Young Abby and the Gender Sensitive Abby. “Since last year there has been a growing interest in introducing this award. For this category we accepted entries that were especially made to address gender issues, but were just another advertisement made for a brand that naturally took a gender sensitive approach. Hectic Content from Mumbai won the gold in this category for The Calling done for Anouk.

     

    The Young Abby invited entries from creative and art director teams from agencies who were under the age of 30. The creatives were required to especially tailor campaigns on ‘Gender Violence’ in the medium of their choice which was then later judged by a special jury.  Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Nitesh Shah from JWT Gurgaon bagged the gold in this category along with the golden chance to ravel to Cannes for the Cannes Lion Awards this year.

     

    Going by sheer numbers, 2016 proved to be a very exciting year for Goafest as well as the advertising fraternity with a total of 4460 entries submitted for the Abbys as compared to 3475 last year.  In terms of metals awarded, the number went up from 359 in 2015 to 418 in 2016, with 245 bronze metals and 134 silver metals given away. The number of gold however went down from 71 last year to 38 this year.

  • Publicis bags the ‘Best In Category’ award; JWT leads metal tally with 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze

    Publicis bags the ‘Best In Category’ award; JWT leads metal tally with 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze

    MUMBAI: There couldn’t have been a better closure to the three day long celebration of advertising genius than the final night of Abbys 2016 that unfolded amidst the hedonic mix of music, creativity and intoxication. While the abundance of alcohol kept everyone in elevated spirits, the winners of the night were seen enjoying a different level of high as they walked up the stage to receive their metals.

     

    Continuing its winning streak, JWT once again snared the most number of metals, with five golds, 21 silver and 21 bronze that put it on the top spot with a metal tally of 47 metals. While the absence of a Grand Prix let down many, the newly introduced Best In Category award drew a lot of attention. It was Publicis Communication that bagged the Best In category award for its ground breaking work in ‘A Giant’s Story’ for Ambuja Cement, in the film craft category.

     

    On the newly introduced award, Percept Limited director Ajay Chandwani shared “You can consider it as a recognition above the gold awards, but not equal to Grand Prix. To evaluate the best in gold in each category, the jury was given an option to either select a grand prix or a best in category. Usually grand prix is awarded to a piece of work that has made a path breaking and game changing effort in the category. There was no work that amounted to that this year.”

     

    Apart from the Best In Category award, Publicis claimed four golds, four silver and four bronze metals, putting its total metal figure to 13. DDB Mudra also shone at the Abbys with four golds, four silver ad 15 bronze setting its total number of metals to 23. If one went by metal tally, Taproot Dentsu emerged as the clear second with 40 metals to its name – two gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze.

     

    A total of 10 categories’ winners were revealed on the third day. The category wise break up of winners is as follows.

     

    Ambient Media: Out of a total of fifteen metals, the jury gave away one gold, four silver and 10 bronze. JWT Mumbai bagged the one gold and bronze leading the category, followed by DDB Mudra with two silver and four bronze.

     

    In Design, Alok Nanda and Company took home a gold, three silver and three bronze making it a category leader. Alok Nanda and Company was followed by Publicis Communications with one gold, two silver and one bronze metal. Out Of Box was closely behind with a gold, silver and a bronze; and McCann World Group India with a gold and silver. A total of four gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze were given away in the category.

     

    Digital: As per the Goafest Organising Committee chairman Nakul Chopra Digital saw the most number of entries this year – a first in Goafest. There were a total of 614 entries, as compared to 548 last year. DDB Mudra took home gold and silver in the category making it the genre leader. R K Swamy BBDO brought home the second gold, followed by Experience Commerce taking home the final gold in the category. Taproot Dentsu also shone in the category with four silver awards.

     

    Integrated: DDB Mudra and Publicis Communications each received a gold and bronze metals in the category. Star India too was recognized with a silver for its exceptional work for Mauka Mauka.

     

    Out of Home:  With a total of 15 silver and 21 bronze given away in this category, there were many intense contests for the top position. JWT scored five silver and five bronze followed by Ideas@work bagging two silver and four bronze. There were no golds awarded in this category.

     

    Film Craft: Early Man Film bagged one gold, three silver and a bronze in the category followed by Flying Saucer pictures with a silver and gold.

     

    Film Single:  While Publicis Communications claimed the freshly introduced Best In Category award followed by a bronze, it was DDB Mudra that bagged the most number of metals with a gold, a silver and four bronzes.

     

    Print Single: Dentsu Creative Impact got one gold and four bronze metals to its name followed by Contract Advertising with a gold and bronze. Taproot Dentsu dominated the genre with five bronze and three silvers to its name.

    This year saw the Goafest Committee introducing two new categories or special Abbys as they are otherwise being called.  They were the Young Abby and the Gender Sensitive Abby. “Since last year there has been a growing interest in introducing this award. For this category we accepted entries that were especially made to address gender issues, but were just another advertisement made for a brand that naturally took a gender sensitive approach. Hectic Content from Mumbai won the gold in this category for The Calling done for Anouk.

     

    The Young Abby invited entries from creative and art director teams from agencies who were under the age of 30. The creatives were required to especially tailor campaigns on ‘Gender Violence’ in the medium of their choice which was then later judged by a special jury.  Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Nitesh Shah from JWT Gurgaon bagged the gold in this category along with the golden chance to ravel to Cannes for the Cannes Lion Awards this year.

     

    Going by sheer numbers, 2016 proved to be a very exciting year for Goafest as well as the advertising fraternity with a total of 4460 entries submitted for the Abbys as compared to 3475 last year.  In terms of metals awarded, the number went up from 359 in 2015 to 418 in 2016, with 245 bronze metals and 134 silver metals given away. The number of gold however went down from 71 last year to 38 this year.