Who let the Ford out?
In lieu of the Ford Figo controversy, our leading ad men talk about the monitoring processes that need to be put in place to curb such scandals
No one’s napping and no one’s too meek to meow. One cannot afford to ignore the wild fire created by JWT for Ford showing the former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi flashing a peace sign with scantily clad women in the Ford Figo’s boot. The tagline that reads, ‘Leave your worries behind with Figo’s extra-large boot’, and the caricature has once again sparked the already cooling debate on the Italian marine row. The creatives played on Berlusconi’s history of sex scandals and semi-nude women in his popular ‘bunga bunga’ parties. The controversy is supported with another ad showing Paris Hilton driving a Ford Figo with the Kardashians tied up in the boot and the third one had the Formula One driver Michael Schumacher kidnapping his male racing rivals namely Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
The posters, which were not approved by JWT and Ford India’s officials, were posted on the website Adsoftheworld.com but all three have since been removed. Official apologies have been issued by Ford and JWT’s holding company WPP.
The official statement from WPP said, “We deeply regret the publishing of posters that were distasteful and contrary to the standards of professionalism and decency within WPP Group. These were never intended for paid publication and should never have been created, let alone uploaded to the internet. This was the result of individuals acting without proper oversight and appropriate actions have been taken within the agency where they work to deal with the situation.”
But is this a deliberate attempt to catch the attention of the masses or is this a notorious concept of a run-away creative mind? Experts believe that with the rising power of social media, it has become extremely easy for young talent to showcase their work without approvals, to be appreciated or criticised by industry peers. exchange4media spoke to industry veterans on measures to curb this kind of activity in future.
KV Sridhar (aka Pops), Chief Creative Officer India Subcontinent at Leo Burnett said, “Earlier, it was not easy for a work to be published but in today’s world any work can be published on social networking sites from anywhere creating a viral loop. Stringent monitoring system needs to be put up to control these incidents. An idea or a work should be legally and morally ethical to be uploaded. It’s a very serious issue bothering all companies and not just advertising agencies.”
He added, “The extensive use of digital is useful and the same time disastrous because one wrong statement on the social network can backfire. Lots of companies have included the social media clauses in the employment agreement to be make people responsible.”
According to him, however, the situation is alarming at creative agencies because the future lies in the hands of the young talent that is shifting jobs every third month and it’s difficult to monitor content shared and uploaded by them.
Abhijit Avasthi, National Creative Director, Ogilvy India said, “I think it’s unfortunate that something like this happened, which was obviously not intended. I think the only way out for all of us is to educate our colleagues and juniors to be extremely careful of doing things like this. It’s best to share the proactive idea with the client and then go ahead with it. As long as the client doesn’t approve an ad, it’s just an idea on a piece of paper.”
He added, “We keep talking to our juniors and colleagues to create awareness among them for these sensitive times.”
Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group said, “Creating awareness among the younger sets of creative people will solve the problem.” He feels that the junior level creative people need to be imparted with education on these issues. “We have a Creative Council of seven members who meet every quarter to discuss work to be done for awards and different initiatives to be sold to a brand, etc. Every piece of work is presented to the Council for approval before getting released.”
Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas said, “It’s unfortunate but nobody has done it to create troubles for the agency and the brand. It’s the nature of this whole scam ad business. Brands always try and take topics that are edgy and globally relevant but one has to draw the line. I feel that scam ads shouldn’t be done. If it has to be done, then people need to be more careful and sensitive to topics.”
Josy Paul, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, BBDO India said, “I cannot comment about the Ford ads as I have no background. All I can say is that we need to shine the torch on the alternative. The joy of seeing real work affects a larger audience, a greater India. To witness the truth about advertising and its power to change things and create a new reality that gives people hope, joy and useful entertainment.”
Automobile ads should move away from highlighting masculinity and showing thinly clad women jumping on a macho man for the car. The ads have to be made responsibly and carefully without hurting the sentiments of the society, agency, brand or gender.
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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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