Trying to be brave, is silly: Neil French@Spikes Asia
The most applauded, best attended and high energy session of the day was BBC Hard Talk with Neil French, and needless to say, the credit for the “sex” in the session can go only to the godfather of advertising himself. BBC World News’ Mishal Hussain may have expected French to be tough, but the interaction kept the audience spellbound.

The most applauded, best attended and high energy session of the day was BBC Hard Talk with Neil French, and needless to say, the credit for the “sex” in the session can go only to the godfather of advertising himself. BBC World News’ Mishal Hussain may have expected French to be tough, but the interaction kept the audience spellbound.
Even before the session commenced, two allegations were already hurled on French – the creator of scam ads and “women are crap”. Not that French was not expecting this, he was prepared with what he had to respond, and the audience hung on to each of his replies.
French stated that when he had first set foot in advertising and the work coming from Asia market, the one word to describe it was ‘crap’. He said, “They didn’t know what they wanted to communicate. Trying to be brave is just silly.” For French, one is either creative or not, and the creative industry then was not.
He was questioned on the famous work that he had done for a beer brand that did not exist. The result was that consumers asked for the brand in the market and its absence created quite a stir. Addressing this, French said, “That was an ad for the print medium. Advertisers at the time were obsessed with television, and this ad showed that print was a strong medium is used well.” When Hussain asked whether French had not feel any responsibility about the fact that the ads were, in fact, deceiving the consumers, French replied, “No, we are in advertising; that is our job!”
Can an interview with French take place without mentioning the infamous episode of 2005, when following the publishing of a remark derogatory to women, WPP had let go of French, who was then the Worldwide Creative Head for the company. French clarified the facts for the audience, stating that even as the report that was first published had quoted him out of context, he strongly held the view that women who married and had children could not be leaders in the advertising industry. He said, “This is the industry where you can be required to be in your office at the drop of a hat and you may have to work till 4 am to finish a presentation for the next day – job cannot be priority when you have children, because there would be days when you are either a bad mother or a bad professional – there is no choice, but to choose between the two, if you have to be successful in the advertising industry.”
Responding to this, Hussain said that with that one comment French would have discouraged many women creative professionals, who would have wanted to be a part of this industry. French replied, “If a comment from me can be discouraging enough, then you are not meant to be a part of the industry in the first place.”
French fielded questions on scams and stated that while he was not against them if they were creative, but he was surely not for them if they were not. To the audience, the session was as entertaining as it was “enlightening” to some of the younger delegates. The one thing Hussain was heard saying once the session was over was, “Thank God it was not televised!”
Also read:
Spikes Asia 2009: India there, but Indians missing...
Ashutosh Srivastava, Anna Kirah & Rob Campbell present a vision of the future
Publicis’ Richard Pinder & the “balance of power”@Spikes Asia
Story-telling, value, authenticity & culture: Nirvik Singh’s advice on Asian consumer
Spikes Asia 2009 sees drop in entries, increase in delegates
Spotted at Spikes: Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Joshi, Dave Droga, David Guerrero…
Young Spikes, global meetings, seminars… Omnicom gets busy at Spikes
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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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