MUMBAI: The One Show, the world's most prestigious award show in advertising, design and digital marketing has named Ogilvy 2020 Network of the Year in recognition of outstanding work across disciplines on behalf of its clients. Ogilvy’s focus on collaboration and big creative ideas in any form—from gaming and commerce to mobile and social media—also resulted in DAVID Miami, one of its specialty brand companies, capturing the Agency of the Year honor.
The Network of the Year honor is given to the network whose agencies have the most cumulative points for One Show Pencils won across all disciplines for the year. Over two dozen Ogilvy offices around the world contributed to the recognition by collectively winning 25 Gold, 17 Silver, 25 Bronze, 73 Merit awards for clients including Burger King, Coca-Cola, German Rail, IBM, Jimmy Dean, KFC, Kraft Heinz, Pernod Ricard, S.C. Johnson, and Sipsmith among others.
Burger King, a client of DAVID, was named Client of the Year with several campaigns recognized this year. “Moldy Whopper,” a collaboration between agencies including DAVID Miami and INGO (a joint venture of Ogilvy and Grey based in Sweden), was named Best of Show. “Moldy Whopper” won Best of Discipline in four categories—Film, Integrated, Print, and Out of Home—while “Stevenage Challenge” created by the Miami and Madrid offices of DAVID was named Best of Social Media. “Burn That Ad,” created by DAVID Sao Paulo, also took home pencils across several categories this year.
“This recognition is a testament to Ogilvy’s ability to transform business and culture through creativity,” said Ogilvy Worldwide chief creative officer Piyush Pandey. “We want to thank our clients who entrust us with their brands and congratulate Fernando Machado and everyone at Burger King for winning Client of the Year.”
“Work by Ogilvy agencies delivered on what The One Show jurors look for: excellence in the creativity of ideas and quality of execution,” The One Club CEO Kevin Swanepoel. “We congratulate the network for a year of great work that inspires the creative community.”
This marks the fourth time Ogilvy has been named Network of the Year by The One Show. The previous three times were in 2017, 2014 and 2013—the year the category was launched.
Mumbai: As the lockdown eases gradually, Fevicol sends out a message of awareness to the people of India. This message from Fevicol petitions people to be even more particular than before about wearing a mask and maintaining the social distance of 2 meters.
This message specifically states that while the battlefield and war remain the same, the strategy must change. Until now we fought this battle while locked in, now we move out of our homes, and continue fighting. We have to live, move ahead and not cave in. To fight this war, we need to stay alive.
Fevicol requests India to fight the Corona Virus with even more vim and vigour and in the right spirit.
Vivek Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Pidilite Industries Ltd: “In these trying times, this positive and uplifting message from Fevicol on ‘Unlock1’ is a great morale booster to all – consumers as well as our sales colleagues, end-users, dealers and distributor partners.”
Written and voiced by Piyush Pandey, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide and Executive Chairman India, Ogilvy, this is one more initiative from Ogilvy to help combat the pandemic.
MUMBAI: The Hindu, a newspaper, released a campaign to highlight the change in people’s behaviour and habits during the lockdown. The first visual of this campaign draws attention to the simple fact that a microscopic organism is all it took for us to be more human.
The campaign then goes on to showcase different instances of how we have changed – from calling aged parents more often to enquiring about our house help’s wellbeing. We have also started recognising and respecting the immense role played by frontline healthcare workers, people in uniforms, and even delivery agents. The campaign argues that some of these habits are definitely worth keeping.
These are troubled times we live in, with the global health crisis right at our doorstep. But signs of change have been evident, as people make a conscious attempt at being more thoughtful and empathetic to fellow humans. With this campaign, The Hindu aims to get readers to share the ‘new habits’ that have made them happier, and these will later be featured in their newspaper.
Ogilvy India-South CCO Mahesh Gharat says, “Crisis brings people closer and therefore they are able to view the world very differently. The change in their outlook towards fellow humans is most certainly the positive change that has emerged in this crisis. We decided to acknowledge these instances and publish them through a campaign, as a means of reassuring the world that, despite all our troubles, tomorrow could be a happier place.”
The campaign was released across India through the print editions of The Hindu, as well as published on their social media pages. A radio campaign follows.
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MUMBAI: Ogilvy Worldwide CEO and chairman John Seifert has announced his plans of departure from the agency, after 41 years of service, via an internal memo shared with the team. He will be moving on the next year, as a part of a succession plan helmed by WPP CEO Mark Read.
Seifert wrote: “In June I will have served Ogilvy for 41 years, the past five as worldwide CEO. I have worked closely with Mark Read since his appointment [as CEO] in 2018 on leadership development and succession planning across The Ogilvy Group, and that includes me as well.”
“It’s been an extraordinary privilege to serve Ogilvy since joining the company as a summer intern in 1979. I love this company with all my heart and will be forever supportive of its success,” he added.
The company is in the process of looking for a successor. Seifert took over as worldwide CEO and chairman of Ogilvy, succeeding Miles Young in 2016. In 2018, Seifert led a rebrand of the agency, changing its name from Ogilvy & Mather to just Ogilvy.
MUMBAI: Ogilvy India has created a distinctive and engaging anti-COVID-19 campaign for the government of India, under the title, ‘Mask Force’. It involves some of India’s most loved and celebrated cricketers talking to the nation, starting with captain Virat Kohli and concluding with Sachin Tendulkar. The lineup also includes women cricketing stars such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj.
The cricketers, in their short message, make a point that while India has great cricketing teams, the time has come to form a formidable team of 1.3 billion Indians called ‘Mask Force’. A force that is very easy for every Indian to join and defeat the spreading Coronavirus. Simply by making our own masks at home and always ensuring that we do not step out of our home without wearing our masks. Each cricketer leads the way by pulling up their unique mask after inspiring the country to do the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1y5giXt2AA
BCCI was instrumental in getting together the cricketers required for the campaign. Given the popularity of cricket in India, where it is informally referred to as the ‘national religion’, it was no surprise that the video is being loved and shared with immense swiftness.
Ogilvy CCO worldwide and executive chairman India Piyush Pandey said: “For decades now, we at Ogilvy have stepped up to stand by our country’s needs through our CSR, be it for polio eradication, literacy, fighting crimes against women and many more causes. So as soon as the government of India approached us for our effectiveness in spreading messages to the masses, we wholeheartedly jumped in to do our bit. I believed that ‘Mask Force’ would be a likeable term that could be used to galvanise the whole country, hence decided to name this program ‘Mask Force’.”
Ogilvy has also said that this is the first in the Mask Force series of exercises it is partnering the government on, in India’s war against Covid-19.
MUMBAI: In these trying times of social distancing and stay-at-home lockdowns, citizens have been confined to their homes and are completely dependent on telecom networks to study, work, access essentials, source information and entertainment. Vodafone has brought its endearing pug and ZooZoos back to convey critical messages on safety and urging customers to carry on daily tasks from home through Vodafone network.
Vodafone has been communicating with its customers under two broad themes – #StayHomeGoDigital and #HereForYou. Under the first theme, Vodafone has been communicating about the various ways customers can utilize the benefits of the brand’s digital touchpoints. While #HereForYou is all about various initiatives that VIL has undertaken to ensure that its customers remain connected in all circumstances.
Vodafone has now launched a public service campaign and brought back zoozoos to reinforce the need for social distancing. The three videos under this campaign impart some critical messages, in a lighter note:
Wash your hands
Link: https://youtu.be/QizBJnrjNU8
Social distancing
Link: https://youtu.be/-uIRfR3QavA
Fake news
Link: https://youtu.be/4i3uEluSCUk
Vodafone recently released a new video featuring the pug with the #StayHomeStaySafe’ message. Telecom networks are the only window to the outside world, to just being in touch with other human beings, to staying connected to anything at all. Pug reinforces the importance of staying at home and staying connected with Vodafone in these difficult circumstances. The pug beautifully conveys the message – Our network is at home with you. Stay home, stay safe. Stay connected with Vodafone. #StayHomeStaySafe.
Video Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p95cuOuqYg
Explaining the rationale behind bringing back the iconic pug and Zoozoos to convey an important social message, Vodafone Idea Limited chief digital transformation and Brand officer Kavita Nair said, “In the current circumstances, telecom networks are our only window to the outside world, to just being in touch with other human beings, to staying connected to anything at all. While VIL has been going the extra mile to keep the nation connected, we thought it’s time to bring back our best loved icons – Pug and Zoozooz – to reinforce the importance of staying home, staying safe and staying connected with Vodafone in these difficult circumstances. We felt that these much-loved icons would be perfect to appeal to the emotions of Indians, urging them to stay safe at home and stay busy on Vodafone network.”
Ogilvy India CCO Kiran Antony said, “People tend to seek familiarity in uncertain times to feel comfortable. And that is where loveable brand properties can play an important role. More than for the nostalgia factor, we also brought back the pug to stand out from rest of the ads delivering the same message. With some clever editing, we managed to re-purpose an old ad to deliver this important message.”
With retail outlets being inoperational due to the lockdown, Vodafone is helping its 2G customers using feature phones, to access Quick Recharge through SMS and Missed call. The process is simple and easy to understand. Customers just need to send a SMS from their registered mobile number.
Vodafone has also been creating awareness among customers on accessing and taking the benefit of digital platforms through ‘how to’ video links, GIFs, dockets that explain the process for undertaking recharge and effecting bill payments on MyVodafone App and website. Recharge process details are also being communicated via my Vodafone app, and enabled via digital wallets. Pre-paid customers can also undertake recharges through their nearest Bank ATM. Additionally, Vodafone is requesting digital savvy prepaid and postpaid customers to #RechargeforGood and help their friends, relatives and neighbors who are not familiar with digital platforms. Each #RechargeforGood is being rewarded with flat cashback.
While customers stay safe at home, Vodafone is ensuring that they are able to go about their activities through Vodafone 4G network, whether it be facilitating online study for students, access to news on developments around the world, access essential services online, learn a new skill, workout from home and a window to a world of entertainment through Vodafone Play.
Despite the restrictions on movement during the lockdown, Vodafone has been acknowledging the invaluable sacrifices and contributions of its ‘network heroes’ the field engineers who have been working tirelessly to support customers stay safe at home and connected through Vodafone 4G network. There are innumerable examples of these network heroes travelling long distances day and night, putting a brave front, weaving through police blockages to attend to faults and restore connectivity at the earliest.
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The rules of communication had never been so versatile as we are witnessing now. When almost the whole world is under lockdown, business running from homes, probably for the first time in history, and purchase patterns seeing curves deviating from regular, the communication and marketing industry is functioning in a sort of dystopia no degree could have taught them of.
As per a recent Kantar Study, despite the disturbing reality people are living in these days, 92 per cent of consumers will prefer brands to continue advertising. The enjoyment percentile for top-quality advertising content has mostly risen for the period. This puts an additional responsibility on brands’ shoulders to not only stay relevant but also educate and entertain consumers in times of distress.
Muthoot Pappachan Group CMO Sanjeev Shukla tells Indiantelevision.com that it is very important for brands these days to build on the brand value that they have generated over years and make their users their brand advocates in a time when sales are lower than usual. He said his brand is focussing on staying in touch with the consumers and keep their trust intact.
Asian Paints recently released a shot-at-home video for its Har Ghar Kuch Kehta Hai campaign to spread positivity and cheers. Asian Paints MD and CEO Amit Syngle said, “While all of us are put to this unprecedented test, the campaign aims to take a moment and look at the brighter side of things, cherish the joy of being with our families and create unforgettable memories.”
The Kantar study also suggests that brands should refrain from advertising too much around the pandemic and try including light humour in their ads. It also suggested that brands can revisit old videos and footages to fit in this “new world of engagement”, something that Amul is doing by showing its old ads during the Ramayana and Mahabharata episodes on Doordarshan.
Ogilvy India chief creative officers Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha believe that agencies will have to be wearing their thinking hats tighter than ever now considering the limitations agencies are working in.
“Currently, we see no dip in work at all. In fact, more and more brands want to help in sending out the right information about Coronavirus, so that is keeping us very busy and rightly so. Restrictions are a reality of life, at least for the next few months. But thanks to technology and the wonderful World Wide Web, we are still able to create work. Writing needs to be sharper than ever because there will be limits on visuals,” they said.
FCB Ulka ECD Anindya Banerjee shared similar sentiments as he noted, “The best part of the crisis is that it has no precedent. So, clients are looking for out-of-the-box solutions. And we as an agency are beside ourselves at such an opportunity. The creative team is up to their eyebrows with work. While many of them are prior commitments, they have to be recalibrated to the new normal; the complete dependence on the online media.”
While most of the work has moved online and mobility restricted, neither brands nor agencies are giving up on the idea of creating fresh TVCs. Case in point being ZEEL’s #HumAndarCoronaBahar campaign by Lowe Lintas, Tata Sky’s campaign by Ogilvy, and Sony Pictures unique short film starring biggies across Bollywood and regional industries including Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth.
Limited resources and restricted movements have brought out the creative best of many brands and agencies.
Karmarkar and Rajadhyksha shared, “Our video team has rolled up its sleeves and is finding ingenious ways of making work happen. The office is producing some pretty sweet work. The Vodafone stay at home pug, The Fevikwik ‘don’t repair, Asian Paints and UNILEVER; all these and many more pieces have been written, produced and released in the last three weeks. No one can lockdown creativity.”
Banerjee also noted that their video team is working hard to innovate. “At the risk of sounding immodest, as an agency, we are used to not giving up, no matter what. Our films department is already planning on how does one do a great film and yet make it look like a million bucks.”
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The ongoing 21-day lockdown in the wake of n-COVID19 in the country has posed unprecedented challenges for the ad world. With entire companies forced to work from home and shoots halted, it has become quite difficult to conceive new video campaigns, at a time when content consumption is at a record-high. However, even in this crisis, creative agencies have found a way to create ads that can lift people’s spirits.
One such agency is Ogilvy. Under the expert leadership of chief creative officer worldwide and executive chairman India Piyush Pandey, Ogilvy has managed to set a new creative standard.
In the past week, two brands, Asian Paints and Tata Sky, launched new video campaigns, using montages of recorded phone videos set beautifully on a lyrical voiceover, both creatively managed by Ogilvy. While the core concept and process remained almost similar for both the stories, each shared a different message and gave a different feel.
Ogilvy India CCO Sukesh Nayak tells Indiantelevision.com, “I generally feel a brand, in a way, has a role to play during the time of crisis. It has happened with both the brands – Tata Sky as well as Asian Paints. One needs to ask themselves what they can do, what they can offer.
At the end of the day, consumers are your guide. Ads are created for them. Today we all are at very challenging times in our lives. Everybody is struggling with their own fear, anxiety, and pressure. So, yes as an advertiser I have many ideas to execute.”
Elaborating more on Tata Sky’s “Ghar Baithe Kuch Seekhein campaign”, he shares, “My constant thinking is what I can do to make your job easier. Hence, we came across the idea of freeing up the services. Tata Sky is doing its bit to entertain and engage subscribers while they stay at home. We looked at the positive side of this nationwide lockdown. You can learn so many new things in this 21-day lockdown period and this is how the brand came up with this unique idea. So, Tata Sky has given free access to content that will include value-added services for the entire family.”
Tata Sky chief communication officer Anurag Kumar adds, “The starting point of the campaign was that we were not looking for a creative video, which is high on production value. In fact, we were looking for authentic communication and empathy towards the consumers.”
For Asian Paints, the revival of its “Har Ghar Chup Chap Se Kuch Kehta Hai” campaign was meant to give the audience a reason to smile, appreciate what they have in these tough times, and lead richer lives at homes, reveals Asian Paints MD & CEO Amit Syngle.
He says, “In current uncertain and trying times, we endeavoured to capture glimpses of moments people are spending at home and memories that are being created in the process. The campaign weaves in various stories, memories, and interactions that are relatable as people are doing the very same things at home now.”
For Syngle, the campaign was conceptually different from what the brand has used earlier. “The purpose of this campaign is centred on the well-being of our consumers. Amidst the challenging times we are facing today, Asian Paints, through this light-hearted take, inspires people to stay at home and stay safe during the lockdown period.”
For Kumar, an additional learning was the whole process that was taken into account to create the campaign. “From start to finish, the campaign was executed in 72-hours. The whole process of briefing and discussion, which earlier would have taken months, was done away with. All the discussions happened on calls and WhatsApp messages and not even a single person in the entire chain, including the director and actors, stepped out of the house.”
He also notes that the campaign cost dropped down to about one-third to one-fifth of what it usually takes to produce video ads.
Highlighting more about the collaborative process, Nayak notes, “The agency and the brand were truly finding the relationship and partnership during this time. There was no brief given but it was a collaborative effort. These kinds of things are happening every day. Brands need to get connected with the agency while the agency has given a clear brief to respective teams. One good thing that we did is we talked to each other a lot. We communicated on a regular basis. We made points to discuss things. We made a list of things that are troubling our consumers and what an agency and a brand can do for them. I keep myself in the consumer’s shoes. It helps in ideation.”
Nayak thinks that more brands and agencies should come onboard to work on campaigns like these. “We are working with lots of partners across the country. I am personally happy to see my team and clients working like this to create magic. I think other brands should also do this because joy should be copied.”
But given the speed and financial benefits, can such campaigns become a norm for the industry?
Kumar doesn’t think so. According to him, after the lockdown is lifted, such campaigns can be executed on special occasions but it will not become a norm.
MUMBAI: Leading content distribution and Pay TV platform Tata Sky has announced emergency credit facility for subscribers who have been unable to recharge their account due to various reasons, inability to find a dealer to do it for them being one of them.
This is aimed at ensuring that all subscribers have access to uninterrupted entertainment round the clock while staying at home during the nation-wide lockdown period.
The step has been taken largely to ease out the lives of the non-tech savvy viewers who constitute a considerable size of the subscriber base.
In addition to this, 10 of Tata Sky’s interactive content services have been made free to encourage the consumers to remain fruitfully engaged, learn and do something new in the safety of their homes during this period of public health scare.
The emergency credit facility will provide subscribers a balance loan for a specified time period. The credited amount will be debited from the user's account as soon as he re-activates his service without any interest.
Meanwhile, free access to content will include value-added services for the entire family, targeted towards a variety of age groups. Tata Sky Fun Learn, Smart Manager, Vedic Maths, Cooking, Classroom, Dance Studio, Beauty and Fitness count amongst the most popular services that will be available at a time when it is imperative for people to join the drive to stay at home. The credit facility can be easily accessed by giving a free missed call. The free interactive services can easily be accessed on the set top box or on the Tata Sky Mobile App.
To spread the word on these initiatives, Tata Sky has created a unique TVC to celebrate the spirit of Stay Home, Stay Jingalala. The creative idea – “Chalo Ghar baithe baithe kuch naya seekhein”- has been conceptualised by Ogilvy India for Tata Sky. The TVC was shot and directed remotely by real people on their phone cameras in seven different cities – Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Lucknow, Chennai and Jodhpur. Not a single person stepped out of their homes for the production which was executed in a period of just two days.
Talking about the campaign, Ogilvy India Chief Creative Officer Sukesh Nayak said, “In times like these, it’s important that brands contribute to help its consumers in their own way. By deciding to free up services, Tata sky is doing their bit to entertain and engage its subscribers while they stay at home.”
Mumbai: McCann India Managing Director and Vice Chairman Partha Sinha has joined the Times Group as President Response. He will focus on growing revenue and enable interaction between brands and content.
An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad, Sinha had dabbled in nuclear design engineering, banking, strategy and marketing. Before joining McCann, Sinha had worked with Citibank, Zee, Ogilvy, etc.
