The deep rooted creativity in TapRoot
Bagging big ticket clients & winning intl awards, Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi are the game-changers and news-makers that have let their work speak

When the uninhibited youth fearlessly echoed ‘Change the Game’ challenging conventions to do things differently, little did the deadly duo think that their signature tone will walk away with the most coveted titles. Touching a wonderful chord with the spontaneous celebration of movie buddies, gaana buddies, chatroom friends and class room friends, the creative volcano became a talking point for many.
Bagging big ticket clients and winning international awards, Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi (Co-Founders and Chief Creative Officers of TapRoot) are the game-changers and the news-makers that have let their work speak. TapRoot doesn’t fit into the struggling agency title because it has hit the nail straight on the head with buzzing campaigns for The Times of India, Nirma, Pepsi and Airtel. The brainchild of Dias and Padhi has emerged as one of the Cannes Lions Top 20 Independent Agencies in the world.
Both, Dias and Padhi quit their jobs; Dias as Chief Creative Officer, JWT and Padhi as Executive Creative Director and National Head, Art, Leo Burnett, in 2008, to set up TapRoot. The timing was questioned by many because of the economic slowdown but the creative duo emerged victorious, becoming the most sought-after agency. Last year Dentsu entered into an agreement with TapRoot to acquire a 51 per cent stake in the Mumbai-based creative independent that helped TapRoot offer a more comprehensive bouquet of services to its clients and across larger market geographies.
While working on a campaign, Dias shared, “I like to talk about the brief a lot. Discussion eliminates non-options and focusses everyone’s energies on to more doable material. Execution is something I think of later, once we’ve zeroed down on what we want to say.”
Padhi added, “At times, ideas get generated during the briefing session itself, but at times one has to dig in depth to get one; there isn’t a formula, the ideas sets a tone to the execution.”
They believe in producing great work and feel that everything else is secondary. The combined legacy of a brilliant copy with excellent art has helped in producing outstanding creative work. Dias said that creativity in the industry is in a good place. “I think more and more mainstream campaigns are touching the golden mean of high-end creativity and real hard working effectiveness in the market place. Naysayers may say creativity in advertising is dying but I do not agree. Most of the youngsters today are far, far more talented, driven and versatile than I ever was,” he said Padhi.
As technology unleashes more platforms, there is serious pressure on ad agencies to find the right talent. However, Dias believes that each new technology will bring new execution specialists. If advertising agencies retain the prerogative and ownership on the most powerful ideas, everything else that technology unleashes will still be an executional outlet which requires a specialist.
Giving a fresh twist to the brand Nirma, the agency refreshed the core of the brand without eroding its basic essence of simplicity and sincerity. Capturing protagonists with megaphones in their hand, Mumbai Mirror’s style of portraying aggression and anger through ‘I am Mumbai’ by the duo was thought-provoking and hard-hitting.
Though the agency has created many memorable campaigns, Padhi singles out some of his all-time favourites, namely, Pepsi Cricket World Cup, The Times of India, Conqueror Papers and Nirma, as these campaigns reflect a variety in the creative output and are targeted to a mix of audiences.
The agency walked away with a Gold Lion during Cannes along with production house Ramesh Deo Productions in the Film Craft category for Mumbai Mirror. It has won several awards such as Clio Gold from Asia in 2010, most awarded agency in Spikes in 2010, Grand Effies in 2011 and couple of Golds at Goafest. The Gunn Report has recently revealed its winners list on creative excellence in advertising worldwide for the year 2012. The report declares TapRoot India as the top creative agency in India. According to the report, TapRoot leads with 10 awards, closely followed by Ogilvy & Mather with nine awards. Dias shared that it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons for being chosen as the top creative agency because the conventional award shows have so many objective and subjective factors.
Padhi stated that fortunately/unfortunately awards are one of ways to measure creativity, so things like this are definitely a big achievement not only for TapRoot but for any creative agency. “Awards are like supplements that push you to give that extra bit on the creative product,” he concluded.
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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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