Effies to honour ads that fetch returns from market

An ad can be called a meaningful communication when it paves the way for successful returns from the marketplace – that’s the basic premise of the Effies. The entire debate over creative communication and its approval from the peers, as opposed to meaningful communication and returns on investment can be resolved once and for all at Effies 2004. The spotlight is on ‘advertising that works’ and unarguably most would agree that it’s the only kind of advertising that deserves the spotlight in the first place.

This time, Effies is being held in Taj Land’s End Mumbai on October 18. The case studies would begin at 3 pm and the actual awards ceremony would commence from 7 pm. An impressive panel of judges has appraised the 79-odd entries. The panel includes personalities like BV Pradeep of Hindustan Lever, Bhaskar Das of Times of India, Govind Pandey of McCann Erickson, Lynn De Souza of Initiative Media, Rajesh Jejurikar of Mahindra and Mahindra, Sharada Aggarwal of Coca-Cola India, Josy Paul of RMG David, Pranesh Mishra of Lowe and Kiran Khalap of Chlorophyll.

In the consumer products category, the entries that have been short listed for the final round, include McCann for Coca-Cola (Paanch matlab Chhota Coke), Ogilvy & Mather for Huggies Dri-fit Diapers (Happy Baby), McCann Erickson for Chloromint (Dobara Mat Poochna) and RMG David for Alpenliebe lolliepop (Lagey raho). In the consumer durables category, there are Contract Advertising for Royale Luxury Emulsion (the Akshaye Khanna ad), FCB Ulka for Tata Indigo (Business Class) and JWT for Phillips (Phillips DVD – the roti ad).

In the services category, the finalists include Ogilvy and Mather for Hutch (Boy & Dog), FCB Ulka Advertising for Naukri.com (Guess who’s just heard from us) and Contract Advertising for Franklin Templeton Investments (Anti-FD). As far as the corporate casket is concerned, Ogilvy & Mather is the only finalist for Cadbury’s Diary milk (Sweet Redemption.)

Says Josy Paul, Country Head, RMG David, “I would slate the Effies as a learning experience is of the highest notch. It lends focus to a wide range of brands and their success stories in the marketplace. The judging procedure is fairly foolproof with sufficient checks at every step and no discussions are really allowed with fellow judges at any step, which clears the entire procedure of any kind of a bias. Plus, the way the individual case studies are presented is quite impressive and it successfully puts the point across; for instance, you can clearly differentiate between those entries that are attempting to faff and those that have clearly achieved something for the brands. One entry that deserves to win is that of Franklin Templeton, because it breaks the conventional mode of communication and attempts to get out of the box.”

Rajesh Jejurikar of Mahindra and Mahindra asserts, “I would say that the Effies recognises the best of the best in the communication realm, and for a change, the focus is on advertising efforts that bring in real gains in the market place. As a part of the jury panel, I found the entries pretty impressive and it was difficult to pick the best from the casket especially as far as the top 25 per cent were concerned. The Effies process of judging is fairly foolproof and based on an international format. Entries are increasing year on year, and it’s become an acclaimed event in the advertising and marketing community.”

Bhaskar Das, Times of India believes evaluation of market returns is the factor that sets the Effies apart from other awards ceremony. “I found all the 40 entries that I had gauged, very impressive and almost at par with each other in terms of advertising effectiveness. It was a difficult job rating the best from the barrel, since each made a statement for the brand and the requirements are different for each one of them. The reports presented were fairly in-depth, concise and clearly stated what a piece of communication had achieved in the marketplace. Results and objectives that were achieved were put across in black and white, and in that sense, you had the entire picture in front of you,” explained Das.

Referring to the entries, Pranesh Mishra of Lowe states, “I found the entries pertaining to the FMCG and the services sector a lot more coherent than those available in the other sectors (perhaps the available data was not as indicative for these sectors). The quality of the creative in advertising has gone up quite a few notches and the ROI received in the market indicates the same. Effies lends focus to the marketing aspect on things, and highlights the importance of the brief in the final product.”

The Effie Awards brings together creative and strategic minds on the same platform. The Advertising Club of Bombay organises the awards ceremony every year. Yahoo! India will present the event for the third consecutive year.

Says Neville Taraporewalla, Country Manager, Yahoo! India, “The EFFIE Awards is one of the most significant international advertising and marketing awards which honours campaigns which have effectively met their marketing results. Our three years of association with the Effie Awards have been really rewarding and we have been able to create the desired ‘shift of minds’ of media planners, agencies and clients towards the online medium. The online medium in the country has certainly matured and we are witnessing this trend through our growing clientele and increasing online ad spends of our clients.”

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