Advertising awards have become a curse: Sir John Hegarty
Sir John Hegarty, Co-founder of BBH, talks about the purpose of advertising, citing some of the principles that he has followed in his distinguished career

Sir John Hegarty, Co-founder of BBH, spoke to an assembled audience of peers, marketing professionals and advertising experts at ASCI’s 'Creativity, For Goodness' Sake!' conference in Mumbai. The legendary ad man gave a number of examples from his long career and also spoke about some of the principles that he has followed in his distinguished career.
“I find this a very odd conversation, the one that we are all having because I do not view creativity as something to create shock but something to create engagement. BBH is quite an old-fashioned agency. We are quite a conventional agency,” he said. He touched upon the challenges faced by advertisers in having to stick to rules especially in markets that might be quite traditional. He gave the example of a 1987 campaign run for Coca Cola in Saudi Arabia by BBH. “When you go beyond borders you can still maintain creativity if you concentrate on the positives rather than the negatives. The very essence of an ad is to unite people. That is what great ads do,” he added.
Hegarty also gave his personal opinion on the current proliferation of awards in the advertising community. “Awards have become a curse,” he said. “The problem now is that so much of what we do has got to be in light of winning an award. Why is that? Because the media starts to measure us in terms of the awards we are winning. The big agency groups feel that awards are most important and so they are encouraging all kinds of behaviour, which, I feel is not conducive to good advertising.”
Talking about ads that go beyond boundaries and unite people, he said that searching for a universal emotion helps in creating aspiring ads that touch people. “When you touch a basic human core, you create something that goes beyond borders and cultural barriers. I keep telling people that I just don’t want to create ads, I want to effect change. I want to do something bigger,” he said.
“When you talk about how advertising is moving into a lot of different areas like content, I have some very serious concerns about that. We have seen to be arrived to a place that what advertising should now be is tricking people into seeing it and undermining the value of what we do by pretending that it is not advertising; by embedding it into places where people do not realize it is ads. I am not sure you can balance these things. I am not sure how we can portray ourselves as a truthful industry if part of what we do is deceiving people into watching ads. I think part of the reason that we are considered deceitful is because of these things. I did not come into this industry to be deceitful and I think brands who do that should be really ashamed of themselves,” he further added.
He also spoke about the importance of humour in connecting with the audience as well as the danger of over relying on research over instincts. To give an example of this, he spoke about “The Lynx Effect” and other campaigns for AXE. “Research told us that guys like girls with bigger breasts so we had to put those in because research can be never wrong. Don’t get me started on research or we are going to here for a long time,” he told an appreciative audience, while admitting that these AXE campaigns lost their way after a while. “These things happen with campaigns. You keep doing them and no one pays attention to the small things and before you know it you have reached a terrible place,” said Sir Hegarty.
He also paid respect to music, which he calls is something that connects people and has the potential to go beyond cultural differences. Giving the example of the Live Aid concert in London in 2006, he opined that the greatest musicians, whose music stays on for years, are the ones who can create the ‘anthems’. “The ones who were playing anthemic music, like U2, Madonna, Coldplay, etc. were the ones who had got the crowds behind them. When you are going beyond boundaries, music has the potential to touch something deep within us and creating the connection,” he signed off.
Sir Hegarty was speaking at ‘Creativity, For Goodness’ Sake!’, a festival of debate organised by ASCI in partnership with exchange4media, in Mumbai on March 20, 2015.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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