Santosh Desai turns the microscope on the ad industry at Ad Review 2007
This year’s Ad Review, organised by Bombay Advertising Club, was chaired by Santosh Desai, CEO of Future Brands and former President of McCann Ericsson. In an hour-and-a-half-long presentation, Desai addressed various issues pertaining to the growth of advertising and branding in India.
At the Ad Review 2007, organised by Bombay Advertising Club, professionals from the industry and students from fields of management and advertising turned up to listen to Santosh Desai, former President of ex-McCann Erickson and now CEO of Future Brands. Desai delivered an hour-and-a-half-long presentation about the year that went by for advertising.
Desai addressed various issues in the growth of advertising and branding in India, through selected television commercials. Although there was just a disgruntled word about the lack of print and other non-television advertisements in the studies conducted year after year, the overall response that Desai received was positive.
“For this study, I looked for patterns and examples across various sources. It mostly encompassed making sense of a chaotic and large number of information that I had gathered,” Desai told exchange4media later.
Desai addressed various concerns within the industry in terms of branding, and looked at the kinds of trends that had emerged from the depiction of women in advertising to the lack of representation of the rural audience in the advertising industry.
“The way women are depicted in the advertising industry is changing to a certain extent. Earlier the obligation was to impress the mother-in-law, later it became the husband and so on. Even today, not a single advertisement has a woman addressing her husband by his first name, but rather by calling out ‘Unko’ and ‘Ji’,” he said.
Desai explored some of the changing images in advertisements that depict women. The new Kinetic advertisements for instance show the ‘new woman’, who works and deserves to have the same independence and freedom like that of a man.
In terms of the absence of a rural audience in Indian advertisement, Desai felt that this was one area where potential was still untapped. “We still do not have any advertisements that are directed to the vast rural market,” he observed.
Desai also spoke about the Voltas AC ad, where a little girl traps some air-conditioner air at a rich man’s house in a jar and takes it to the fields where her father, a farmer, works. When she opens the jar, he is refreshed by the breeze. Desai described it as an exploitative one, and said that it disturbed him.
“The advertisement says nothing about how effective Voltas is, and instead depicts things in a very shallow manner for the poor where that is all that a poor father and daughter can gain. What has Voltas done to demand any credit for this,” he asked.
At large, Desai felt that currently, while the quality of advertisements has gone up considerably, it is the ambition that has reduced. “There are some ads however, where advertising has become an art form, when it has a message that is so strong that it transcends itself, and it is these ads that are remembered. A great ad of this sort is often when the advertisement gives itself on the screen fully, but yet holds something back in it, there is always an element in the advertisement that you don’t quite understand, that you don’t grasp fully,” he said.
Desai added, “I think that if there is one thing that we need in 2007, it is a great conversation between people in the industry. We need to forget the politics and the points about advertising awards and just have a great conversation,” concluded Desai.
Speaking about the presentation, Bhaskar Das, Executive President-Response, The Times of India Group, commented, “What I liked is that he was not just showing off various ads, but that he understood the concept of trends and culture. Being a practitioner, I can relate to it. It was interesting to look at the angles he took on cultural and societal change. To my mind it was extremely educating.”
Ad Club’s Bipin Pandit also felt that it was brilliant. “It is one of the best presentations I have seen in the last eight years. He did a splendid job. He was very candid in his assessment and has come out openly with his views. I liked the fact that he was frank and honest, and this is what an ad review should be like. It is great for people in the industry to have the views of an expert who has been associated with it for 21 years, and I think it was a complete review. The feedback we have received has been unanimous in that he has done a splendid job.”
Subhash Kamath, CEO, Bates David Enterprise, said that Desai is an eloquent speaker. “He not only has tremendous stature and experience, but is capable of holding the audience spellbound. It is important to have both. I found it very entertaining. I would have been able to make the same points, but without half his expressions. He made some very telling points. It was a very entertaining and extremely loaded speech in my opinion. In comparison to last year, the big difference was that of having Desai instead of a creative director. The creative person is always talking in point of view of the creative idea and the creative politics, whereas Santosh makes you think -- he approaches the subject from a brand perspective.”
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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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ShareSwapan 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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