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Tag: Ogilvy & Mather

  • Obit: Ranjan Kapur was a maverick who breathed advertising

    Obit: Ranjan Kapur was a maverick who breathed advertising

    MUMBAI: It was just eight years ago on 8 February 2010 that Mani Ayer, the revered managing director of Ogilvy & Mather, whom Ranjan Kapur succeeded in 1993, passed away. And very close to that date-on 27 January-came the news that Kapur himself had breathed his last.

    To Kapur goes the credit of shaping Ogilvy & Mather into the powerhouse it is today. He had Piyush Pandey on his team. And, mind you, Piyush, who was already gaining a reputation under Ayer, grew under his guidance and freedom into one of the sharpest creative minds in India, dazzling clients with his sheer gift of selling ad concepts and copy for brands. And to check Pandey’s occasional extravagance, Kapur had SN Rane, the finance head who kept an eagle eye on spends.

    Kapur was a feisty corporate chieftain; he had growth ambitions for his agency. He also wanted quality work for his clients. He often called himself a maverick and encouraged entrepreneuralism. He often quipped: “If you can’t say it in the headline, then why bother about the copy.”

    I remember interacting with him a couple of times in the nineties when I was writing for Asian Advertising & Marketing Hong Kong. He was quick to respond to any query I sent out to him about Ogilvy & Mather as he was familiar with the publication’s popularity in the region since he was posted in Singapore prior to being brought to India. He had a sharp, very business oriented mind. He could also throw in his laugh, along with his signature brevity, dressed in double breasted suits as he used to be then.

    And he was only a call away when I reached out to him on launching indiantelevision.com.

    My contributions in terms of analysing and writing on the world of advertising waned. As did my interactions with him. But every time I bumped into him at an Ad Club or AAAI or television industry gathering, he would break into his big grin, with his wife Jimi in proximity, and wish me a polite hello.

    My last conversation with him was when I called on him to be a panellist at our music industry conference Nokia Music Connects in 2010 to talk about the role of music in advertising. I reminded him about our earlier interactions and he agreed to join the panel. And as I interviewed him and another vet Lyn deSouza on stage, he was crystal clear that the ad industry was not paying enough emphasis on the use of sound in advertising. He advised all the players in the music ecosystem to come together and figure out ways to interest brands and agencies to put their money behind music.

    Sadly, I just bumped into him a couple of times after that. And he was always warm.  But my memory is that Kapur was the life of every advertising gathering. He had some anecdote or some experience to share, which would liven up the proceedings. He chose to mentor many a young advertising wannabe, who has today risen up in the ranks in various agencies.

    With Kapur gone, now only Prem Mehta, who was heading Lintas at the time Ranjan came in, is left of the three Punjabi-speaking heavyweights who ruled the ad world in the early nineties. Mike Khanna who led HTA passed away a couple of years ago.

    Speaking to Harvard Business Review (HBR) sometime back, Kapur had shared that as a 23-24 year old, he was bored with being a banker at Citibank despite all the money he made. Hence, he asked to be relieved but was put in charge of advertising for the bank—the first time it was attempting to do so—and dealt with its agency Lintas. He loved it so much, he begged the Lintas guys to get him a job. They said no as they feared losing the Citibank account if they did so. But they helped him get a job with Benson’s (as Ogilvy & Mather was known then). That was more than 52-53 years ago and he stayed with the agency for 37 plus years and the remainder with the WPP group.

    So obsessed was he with advertising, that he confessed he missed out on celebrating his wedding anniversaries on several occasions and even his daughter Tina growing up— something he admitted to regretting in the HBR interview. 

    Over the last few years, he had been occupied with the ISDI WPP School of Communication in order to nurture the next bunch of Mad Men or Math Men (as Martin Sorrel likes to call them) and hopefully plug the huge talent gap that the industry faces.  

    In the beginning for Kapur there was advertising. As it will be for those who graduate from the school and begin their careers in agencies. 

    Indiantelevision.com raises a toast in gratitude to Kapur. RIP Ranjan.

    Kapur’s passing away shocked many in the ad world who posted their grief online:

    Saddened to hear about Ranjan Kapur. An architect of the Advertising industry in India. Cherish the moments spent with him and Jimi

    —  Prasoon Joshi

    Deeply deeply saddened at the passing on of RANJAN KAPUR: a great advertising professional and an even greater human being. The world is much much poorer with his death.

    —  Suhel Sheth

    They say nothing grows under a mighty banyan tree. Ranjan was the rare exception. Many a giant oak flourished in the sunlight of his shadow. My heart breaks for Jimi and Tina. It breaks for all of us who were blessed to have him in our lives.

    —  Bobby Pawar

    A very very sad day for Indian advertising. RIP Ranjan Kapur. I am lucky to have worked with him – he was one of the biggest influences on many of us at that time. They don’t make them like him anymore. The biggest chapter of Indian advertising just got concluded.

    —  Partha Sinha 

    I met Ranjan Kapur as an Ogilvy intern a couple of times. He was always kind. Sad to hear of his passing.

    So sad to hear about the passing of Ranjan Kapur. He was so generous to me with his time and wisdom in setting up the @WPP_Govt in India and @KantarPublic. A lovely man.

    —  Gaurav Jain

    My finest boss ever ! RIP Ranjan Kapur

    Saddened to hear that #Ranjan Kapur is no more. Can’t believe it. The end of an era of statesmanship and grace in advertising. RIP.

    Goodbye #RanjanKapur .. Will never forget your spirit, warmth and constant sense of wonder .. the world will miss you ..

    —  Pratop Bose

  • Ramesh & Suresh get ‘lost’ again in Cadbury 5Star 3D

    Ramesh & Suresh get ‘lost’ again in Cadbury 5Star 3D

    MUMBAI: Ramesh and Suresh are back and this time they are lost at a whole new level. Over the last twelve years, Cadbury 5Star has entertained viewers bringing to them ‘lost’ antics of the iconic duo of Ramesh and Suresh.

    Each time as they get lost in the flavour of the chocolate, the world around them twists and turns giving way for quirky madness and laughter. With this ad, Cadbury 5Star takes forward the idea of getting ‘Lost in Taste at a different level’ with the all new Cadbury 5Star 3D. Mondelez India aims to build on its market leadership in the count line segment as it aims at premiumising the eating experience for its consumers.

    The TVC opens with Ramesh and Suresh standing in a lifeless lobby staring at a painting of a calm lake. As soon as they take a bite of the all new crunchy Cadbury 5Star 3D, the painting comes alive and Ramesh & Suresh begin to swim their way into the painting entering a whole new three-dimensional world. The viewers are taken in for a joy ride, when the ‘lost’ antics of Ramesh and Suresh land them up in a fashion show. Ramesh and Suresh are so lost in its taste appeal that they fail to realise that they are walking on a ramp. The audience is taken in for a surprise and they burst into applauding the brave quirkiness of Ramesh & Suresh.

    Mondelez India director of marketing Chocolates Prashant Peres says, “With Cadbury 5Star 3D, we aim at widening the brand’s play in the category as we add another dimension of ‘Crunch’ to the mix and hence the name ‘Cadbury 5Star 3D’. Ramesh-Suresh have become synonymous with Cadbury 5Star and even as we enter the twelfth year of our campaign, they continue to tickle the funny bone of the viewers. We are confident that they will further help the brand generate strong cut through and continue to be much loved by our consumers.”

    Building on the 12-year-strong legacy of Ramesh and Suresh, the new TVC conceptualised by Ogilvy & Mather has given the iconic duo a cool look as they swim their way into the 3D world.

    Ogilvy & Mather group creative director Amitabh Agnihotri adds, “With the launch of Cadbury 5Star 3D, ‘lost’ gains a new dimension. The launch TVC takes everything; from entertainment to humour, to look & feel; onto a whole new level. We hope that people will enjoy Ramesh & Suresh getting lost on a different level.”

  • Ogilvy & Mather snags the Grand EFFIE 2018

    Ogilvy & Mather snags the Grand EFFIE 2018

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Club (TAC) India hosted the 18th edition of the coveted EFFIE awards 2018 in Mumbai last night. The event saw category game-changers and innovators for the year being celebrated for their ground breaking  media and brand strategies.

    The coveted Grand EFFIE was won by Ogilvy & Mather Group while client of the year was awarded to One97 Communication and McCann Worldgroup India became agency of the year.

    President of TAC and chairperson EFFIEs Vikram Sakhuja says, “With the bar raised higher year on year,  winning an EFFIE  has become more competitive and rewarding. This year we are seeing a new Client of the Year and a new Agency of the Year. My congratulations to them and all the 93 winners.”

    Speaking about the ethos of the awards he further adds,  “The four pillars of effectiveness are strategy, idea, execution and results. To win an EFFIE we are finding that effectiveness in advertising is getting increasingly medium agnostic. Accordingly ideas are being brought to scale in a remarkable number of ways. The one area I would like to further challenge us all is in the description of results.”

    EFFIEs co-chairperson Mitrajit Bhattacharya mentions, “The EFFIEs 2018 once again  witnessed patronage from industry veterans and category leaders, establishing its eminence as a coveted industry award that recognises great ideas and superior execution. EFFIEs 2018 saw the entire fraternity come together to laud and celebrate successful campaign stories that are ahead of the curve on innovation and engagement.”

    EXCEL SHEETS  :

    EFFIE 2018 AGENCY OF THE YEAR

    EFFIE 2018 CLIENT OF THE YEAR

    EFFIE 2018 RESULTS

  • IndiaFirst urges you to insure against the certainties

    IndiaFirst urges you to insure against the certainties

    MUMBAI: IndiaFirst Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal and General, UK has launched a one-of-its-kind advertising campaign titled – Because life is full of certainties.

    The campaign is a proposition that seeks to appeal to customers’ own reasoning by advocating prudence in planning for events or life goals that have a greater likelihood of happening such as getting married, having children, fulfilling responsibilities towards them, and retiring. This is a step away from the generally promoted outlook to insurance that hinges on a person’s fear of the unknown.

    To spread awareness on the unique premise of providing adequately for certainties, IndiaFirst Life has rolled out the “Because Life is Full of Certainties” campaign pan-India, across mediums including billboards, hoardings, OOH, digital, radio, and internet marketing.

    IndiaFirst Life Insurance director of sales and marketing Rushabh Gandhi says, “It was imperative for us to get our brand positioning aligned to our Customers First philosophy. From here stemmed the idea of our campaign, a proposition born out of the understanding that life isn’t full of accidents waiting to happen. In fact, it is full of certainties. So instead of worrying about things that most likely won’t happen, why not prepare for those that certainly will.”

    Ogilvy & Mather executive vice president Prakash Nair adds, “One of the biggest barriers to insurance in India is the superman syndrome – the ‘I don’t need it’ attitude. Nothing will happen to me attitude. And the best way to convince these folks is straight talk – no jargon and no emotional overdose! The best way to get them to sit up and take a second look at us would be to tell them what will happen versus what could, maybe, happen.”

  • Winning awards doesn’t get you clients: Piyush Pandey

    Winning awards doesn’t get you clients: Piyush Pandey

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy South Asia chairman and creative director Piyush Pandey, the man behind notable campaigns that include Fevicol, Fevikwik, Cadbury Dairy Milk, The Hindu, and Asian Paints, has been a stalwart figure in the progress of the Indian advertising industry for close to four decades. A recipient of the Padma Shri in 2016, Pandey’s contribution at Ogilvy & Mather made it the third largest ad agency in the country.

    His brother Prasoon Pandey, on the other hand, directs advertising films. Advertising Age listed him among the top 100 advertising film directors of the world. His ‘one black coffee’ ad for Ericsson was the first Indian commercial to win at Cannes.

    The duo has collaborated on a number of campaigns bagging national and international awards in the process.

    But the world has transformed significantly from the time they joined the advertising industry. The digital savvy world won’t rest unless it gets an engaging story. Traditional media is making first-time entry into interior India. Being creative but keeping the brand messaging intact is a tough nut to crack for most agencies today. While Piyush believes agencies should not consider the audience as being naive, Prasoon opines the first thumb rule of advertising is to always remember that the audience is more intelligent than the creative minds at an agency. He has always made sure to leave the creative communication open-ended and let the audience figure out their takeaways from the ad.

    Piyush joined Ogilvy & Mather in 1982 when advertising on television was in the early stages. The medium had just entered India and the creatives were highly influenced by the West. He points out that it was only towards the late 80s that India started coming up with its own creative storytelling and making stuff that was not adapted from the world. “Today, there are a number of youngsters who are doing very good work. Indians who travel abroad always come up to me and say that our advertising is much better than it is abroad. It feels good that people accept what we do,” he says.

    Recalling the advertising feel in 1980s, Prasoon adds that advertising was a little plastic back in the day and people were scared as it was a new medium. The team’s Fevicol egg was a gamechanger. “Before that notable Fevicol egg ad, there was a lot of emphasis on making a commercial look good but we were lucky to have a client that asked us to keep it real,” he adds.

    Ogilvy India is also popping open bottles of champagne and the reason for the celebration is its big boss Piyush, along with Prasoon, will be honoured with the Cannes Lions’ Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lion of St Mark. The brothers are ecstatic about the Cannes win and feels it is a recognition for India and puts a little more responsibility on them to work hard.

    They will be the first Indians to receive the prestigious award on 22 June 2018. The Lion of St Mark is the highest honour that the Cannes International Festival of Creativity bestows on creative geniuses within the communications industry. In the past, it has been awarded to David Droga, John Hegarty, Lee Clow and Marcello Serpa, Dan Wieden, Joe Pytka and Bob Greenberg. This is the 8th Lion of St Mark awarded by the Cannes Film Festival.

    The Pandey brothers do seem to agree that India’s creativity is on the rise but can still be scaled up. A majority of work is great work but the percentage of good work has increased in the last 10-15 years.

    Ogilvy & Mather recently announced its new consulting arm OgilvyRED, which will bring together senior strategic specialists to consult on digital transformation of brands in India. The agency will help tackle the toughest business, brand and innovation challenges of its clients to drive growth and enable digital transformation while enabling the clients to find solutions in a disruptive world where brands are struggling to connect with consumers. OgilvyRED consulting has been hugely successful in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

    It will offer digital transformation consulting, data and marketing analytics consulting, marketing technology consulting, innovative and e-commerce consulting services to its clients. While the new division is headquartered in Mumbai, it does have an office in Bengaluru. Comprising five people at the moment, the team is set to expand next year and will have as many as 50 people on board. Since the consulting agency is new, its only client is Aditya Birla Corporate Group but is out to bag more clients by March 2018.

    Now, more than ever, brands need to take a transformative approach to connect with consumers. There are many challenges that clients face today that cannot be solved by a traditional agency approach. Ogilvy has a long-standing history of helping clients stay ahead of the curve when it comes to all things digital. The difference with OgilvyRED is that it is a digital transformation consulting that is deeply tied with Ogilvy’s ability to execute with creativity, impact and speed.

    It is generally believed in the industry that recognition and awards lead to having bigger and better clients but Piyush seems to disagree. He says that you won’t lose clients just because you don’t bag awards but they do motivate you to do better.

    Piyush concludes that though India is a late starter on digital, we cannot satisfy ourselves by just ‘being’ on the medium but need to be great.

  • Savlon shows reality of mother’s love

    Savlon shows reality of mother’s love

    MUMBAI: Savlon, a health and hygiene brand from the house of ITC has launched a campaign ‘Bharosa Maa Sa’. It is a heartfelt tribute to the healing touch of mothers highlighting a simple moment of truth that every individual relates to. 

    This ode by Savlon India seamlessly touches upon a powerful antiseptic insight that when we are hurt we subconsciously call out to our mothers. We instinctively utter ‘amma’, ‘mummy’, ‘aai’, ‘maa’ etc, all proof of the fact that we are so deeply connected with our mothers. The film directed by Shashank Chaturvedi of Good Morning Films is a montage of athletes, the pain they go through and the two things that keep them going – mother’s love and Savlon.

    ITC Limited chief executive of personal care products business Sameer Satpathy says, “It’s a lovely film. It makes mothers and children share the same emotion of love and trust.  The film stays true to the core brand promise of performance power and the healing touch of mothers.”

    Ogilvy & Mather CCO Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha add, “The power of the film lies in the human insight that the first person we think of when we get hurt is our mom. Savlon salutes the healing power of mothers, because moms know how to heal with love and gentleness. This truth will connect across geographies and languages.”
     

  • Pidilite celebrates ‘Khushiyon ke chand pal’ in new TVCs

    Pidilite celebrates ‘Khushiyon ke chand pal’ in new TVCs

    MUMBAI: Fevikwik, the instant adhesive brand from Pidilite Industries, has launched a new television ad campaign titled ‘Khushiyon ke chand pal,’ which depicts a woman being unexpectedly appreciated by her loved ones for repairing different things in the house.

    The campaign, conceived by Ogilvy & Mather, through a series of films with Fevikwik sense of humour, highlights the versatility of Fevikwik in fixing anything, from toys to ‘jhumka’ to a ‘mandir ki ghanti’. It talks about how Fevikwik cannot only fix broken objects but also cement the bonds between husband-wife, mother–son, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

    The film opens with a kid sitting at a dining table eating food. ‘Mummy, karela aur dena,’ (may I have some more bitter groud?) he suddenly says to his mother. His request for more bitter gourd surprises his mother. A voiceover is heard in the background echoes her thought that something like this doesn’t occur every day. A flashback shows that the mother had fixed the kid’s favorite toy car using Fevikwik leading to the changed behaviour.

    The film opens with a woman running on the treadmill. Her mother-in-law walks up to her with a glass of juice in her hand, not something she usually does. The reason is that she fixed a broken bill with Fevikwik.

    Pidilite Industries chief marketing officer Vivek Sharma says, “A woman is at the heart of every family. But very often she goes unappreciated for little things she does around the household, including repairing broken things at home that are favourite to family members. The new TVC campaign, in its own humorous way, appreciates this role that she plays by bringing back things to life through repairs and creating little moments of joy.”

  • ITC’s Savlon campaign bags gold at Cannes

    MUMBAI: ITC’s ‘Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks’ campaign has been a big winner at Cannes PR Lions 2017. It has secured top honors with a Gold in the healthcare & wellbeing category. The campaign, conceptualized by Ogilvy & Mather and produced by Good Morning Mumbai, was aimed at encouraging behavioural change towards washing hands among children.

    Launched on Children’s Day in November 2016, the Savlon Healthy Hand Chalk Sticks campaign was introduced to engage children in primary schools and emphasize the importance of washing hands before eating. The chalk sticks are infused with cleansers like soap that generate lather when hands are placed under water. This makes for an engaging and memorable experience for children and in turn helps in inducing behavioural change.

  • Senco TVC shows crafting of relationships

    MUMBAI: Set against the backdrop of an urban, upper-middle-class home, the Senco Gold and Diamonds TVC narrates the story of a conservative Bengali mother who, through the act of giving a bangle to her non-Bengali daughter-in-law, comes to terms with her son’s marital life and eventually accepts his wife as a part of her family.

    The film opens with the mother ringing the doorbell to her son’s apartment. Nafisa, the daughter in law, greets her on the other side of the door. But the stern mother enters the house and declares the intention of her visit. She has come to talk to Nafisa, and not her son. A flummoxed Nafisa asks her mother-in-law to sit down, and offers her water. Through the course of their interaction, the mother-in-law gets a whiff of “chingri maacher malai curry”, a typical Bengali delicacy, and is pleasantly surprised that Nafisa is preparing it for lunch. When asked, Nafisa diffidently remarks that she is only trying to cook the dish as sincerely as her mother-in-law. She admits that she can’t replicate the magic touch that the mother in law has in her hands. Moved beyond words, the mother-in-law removes a bangle from her wrist and puts it on Nafisa’s, saying that henceforth, Nafisa will also have that magic touch.

    Link: https://www.facebook.com/SencoGoldAndDiamonds/videos/715232305318322/

    “Poignant and heart-warming, the new TVC promises to take you on a journey to the heart of every Indian family, and unravel its inexplicable nuances, unavoidable conflicts and eventual resolutions,” said Ogilvy & Mather, (Kolkata) managing partner (creative) Sujoy Roy.

    In the words of Aditya Vikram Sengupta, director of the TVC, “Craftsmanship is not limited to jewellery. It is a phenomenon that is present all around us. Every day, we are crafting something new – be it friendship, love or trust. This TVC captures the role of jewellery in crafting relationships.”

  • Fortune, devoid of ‘milavat’: O&M

    Fortune, devoid of ‘milavat’: O&M

    MUMBAI: Fortune Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil has launched its new campaign this month. Fortune Kachi Ghani Mustard oil being a ‘100% pure’ mustard oil decided to take the high ground. With the elections just around the corner, the film is centred on a topical issue – the funding for a political party. The premise is that ‘milavati’ or adulteration in oil can be bad for health just like corruption in a party.

    The film opens with a group of party members having lunch. While a member is suggesting accepting funds without caring about election agenda, the party leader makes it clear that she doesn’t support corruption. She does this by using her food cooked in Fortune Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil, a 100% pure mustard oil, as an analogy to drive her point across. She also adds that funding should also be devoid of any ‘milavat’ with the party’s agenda. The film signs off with the message that those who oppose ‘milavat’ use Fortune Kachi Ghani Mustard oil that is 100 per cent pure and thus good in taste and even better for health.

    Conceived and executed by Ogilvy & Mather, this film hopes to ensure that consumers realise the issue of adulteration in mustard oils and think twice before buying their mustard oil.

    Fortune Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil has been the leader among mustard oil brands in Delhi and North India. But, with new brands coming in, there was a need for a fresh round of communication on Fortune Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil to keep its leadership position.