Apna Asman: Film Review

I watched ‘Apna Asman’, a film by adman turned film director Kaushik Roy who is currently president-brand strategy and marketing communication Reliance Industries. The film is about an autistic child and the trauma and he and his parents undergo. The film is about a teenager's journey to be loved and admired for what he is rather then what his parents want him to be.
The movie is set in the city of Mumbai and is a modern insight on a young couple’s desires and aspirations which is true of any modern day parent today.
The story is of Ravi Kumar (Irrfan Khan) his wife Padmini (Shobhana) and their teenage son BuddhiRaj (Dhruv Piyush Panjwani). Khan works for a plastics company and runs the family financially. Padmini his wife who is a classical dancer quits dancing after marriage to take care of the family and her son.
The couple is heart broken when their son is detected mild autistic and a slow learner. Buddhi’s only connection with the world is through his paintings. But his parents are not willing to accept his short comings and encourage him in his paintings. His retarded condition leaves his father broken with guilt and his mother who was looking for a bright future from the boy. The film maker has brought out the frustrations of the parents very well. So much so to the extent that they get carried away by a fake doctor who claims to cure brain disorders with an injection he has invented.
Despite being warned by their doctor (Dr Sen played by Rajat Kapoor) not to use their son as a guinea pig, the father manages to get the injection for the boy and in an inebriated state injects the medicine into the boy.
To their utter amazement the boy recovers and is normal. But the normalcy comes with its own set of consequences. From here the story takes some drastic turns. The boy who returns to normalcy is shown to have changed so drastically that it is a little too much to take.
The boy turns to be a big celebrity mathematician magician and is called ‘Arya Bhatt’. He is shown to become nasty having forgotten his past and thinks his parents are imposters and are after his money. This is where I felt the film needed better treatment as the director goes a little overboard in showing the change in the boy. But finally all’s well that end’s well.
The casting is brilliant with Irrfan Khan, Shobhana and Rajat Kapoor having performed brilliantly. Dhruv Panjwani is good as an autistic child but I did not like his performance when he changes to be a normal teenager.
More than its portrayal of how a couple copes with their autism-affected child, the film touches a chord with its message on parenting. Apna Asmaan takes this story line “How far would you go to make your child a genius?” The filmmaker gives it the sensibility of an urban thriller and has tried hard to make it entertaining yet thought-provoking film about parents and their demands of their children.
Inspired by his own son ‘Orko’ Kaushik Roy’s first attempt to deal with a serious and intense subject of this nature is fairly good. I think it is a must for all parents to watch and learn from it.
Umang Pahwa is the producer of the film. Barun Mukherji is the head of the cinematography department and director Kaushik Roy has conceptualized and penned the story of the film. The music is good by Leslie Lewis. The film that is releasing tomorrow (September 7th) has been screened at several international film festivals and has won the ‘The German Star of India’ at the Stuttgart Festival. The film has been distributed in India by Sony Pictures Releasing India.
The paintings used in the film are Roy’s son’s Orko’s own paintings.
Not sure if the film would be commercially viable but it could appeal to the serious film goers i hope.

Place your ad on my car and pay me as well

In Mumbai we have seen bus shelters beings used as an ad platform. This slowly moved to buses itself being used by brands for their promotions. More so by Filmwalas and TVwalas to promote their films or TV serials. Even Rickshaws or autos are being used by films and TV channels as a promotional platform. Local Trains are being used as an ad platform for many brands and more recently, the private company owned cabs have ads plastered on them. But would you be interested if you are asked to lend your SUV by a brand for advertising on it and also get paid for it? Not sure if this will happen in India and if at all it does then how soon?
But this is not a new phenomenon in the US. I read an interesting article in New York Times today which says that while some companies are willing to pay millions to have their logos on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s racecar, others prefer to pay Brian Katz $500 or more a month for space on his ford Expedition. According to the article Katz who is just 32 is from Manhattan and is one of the tens of thousands of motorists who have signed up to have their cars and trucks wrapped up in advertisements in exchange for a stipend up to $800 a month. These offers are becoming so popular that car owners have been willing to limit where they shop and abide by a code of conduct while they are behind the wheel.
To read this interesting article from New York Times click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/business/media/27wrap.html?_r=1&8seia&emc=seia&oref=slogin
Talk about being intrusive and what could be more intrusive than this.

‘Pepsi My Can’………….

Have you seen the latest Pepsi TV Commercial ‘ My Can’ with John Abraham and Shah Rukh Khan. For all those who haven’t seen it this is what the ad is : The commercial shows both stars getting upstaged by the quintessential Pepsi youth, who represents the confidence and attitude of the new generation. The film opens in a café where SRK and John are chatting with each other. A young boy walks in and spotting them, walks purposefully towards them. Spotting him, SRK and John humorously wonder who should give the autograph first to the boy. As the boy reaches them, both of them smile and lean forward expectantly. The boy makes a gesture, saying, “Uncle, Zara Side Dena!” The dazzled stars move apart to reveal a Pepsi vending machine behind them. The boy walks towards the vending machine and gets his Pepsi My Can, thereby leaving the two stars in a daze. The new campaign has been created by JWT and it is based on the idea of Nayi generation ka naya idea. The ad had been released on television a week ago. I thought Shah Rukh Kan really looks old in that ad so suited the scene where the young boy calls him ‘uncle’.
Coming back to the ad, well all the action seems to be on the youth of this country both for good reasons and bad reasons. Pepsi’s new ad is targeted at the youth. It is a new offering on the block from the Pepsi Co stable wherein the company has launched it’s ‘My Can’. It is expected to reflect the style of today’s youth. The company claims that it will provide the youth of today with a healthy platform. I am not really sure if it is a healthy platform. I mean from when have aerated drinks become healthy? Well who is here to listen to these questions or even answer them. The bottom line is ‘To Sell’ as many cans as possible.

Photo Source: indiafm.com

Indian Advertising's Global March

Indian ad agencies are now pitching for, and winning, mandates from MNCs for creating ads for foreign markets.

* Two months ago, when Procter & Gamble called for a global pitch for their brand Gillette Fusion on UK based Openad.net, the brief from the company was to find ways of persuading Hispanic men between ages of 18-24 to switch from disposable razors to the premium Gillette Fusion system. Rakesh Raghuvanshi, Umesh Nana More and Vinod Paul of the Mumbai-based Live 1 Entertainment won the pitch in face of competition from agencies in Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, the US and the UK.
* O&M India being asked to be the lead agency for a pitch
* McCann India being called for an Intel worldwide pitch, and for a Unilever Kwality Wall’s pitch

These are just three examples of Indian ad agencies carving out niche for themselves in the global arena. Of the 8,200 creatives from 116 countries on Openad.net, 768 are from India. “Currently, India represents 9 per cent of the total 8,200 creative up on Openad. After the UK, Indians are the strongest national group on Openad.net followed by Argentina and Romania. This indicates that Indian creative talent is getting far more recognition globally than it used to a decade ago,” says Nina Dinjaski, Business Development Manager, Openad.net, which allows clients to seek pitches for their business on the internet from the ad fraternity worldwide.
Speaking to Business Today, Rakesh Raghuvanshi, Managing Director, Live 1 says: “It comes as no surprise that Indian agencies are coming up with such versatile creative ideas for varied needs. I believe this comes from our multicultural, ethnic and modern society.” Initially, the Gillette pitch was only for the Puerto Rico market, but now it has also been licensed for the larger US market.
Recently, in a multi-agency pitch held in Singapore, in June 2007, Publicis India has been assigned the regional assignment for the Aviva brand campaign in Asia. Based on Publicis India’s relationship with Aviva India of more than three years, Publicis was invited for the pitch for the regional brand campaign development and rollout across India, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong & won the business in a multi agency pitch. The other agencies included were McCann Erikson, BBDO and M&C Saatchi. The assignment is primarily to enhance awareness of Aviva across these 4 markets and to make sure that the brand has a uniform and relevant meaning across the region. O&M India is also understood to be pitching for some global work and looking to participate in international pitches. However, there is no confirmation on this aspect from the O&M India officials.
Further, more ads conceptualized and developed here by large ad agencies like O&M India, Lowe India, FCB Ulka and McCann Erikson India, to name a few, are also being adapted in the West (SEE BOX).
So, can we say that Indian advertising has come of age globally? Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman and Regional Creative Director, South & South East Asia, McCannWorldgroup says: “There are various ways of looking at this. At one level, which I consider the most important, Indian creativity is being acknowledged. We are witnessing increasing instances of perspectives, ideation and creative development out of India. Work that is coming out of India is being used in various European nations.”
For Intel’s worldwide pitch for a multi-media campaign—McCann Erikson’s India office played a key role in not just strategy and creative development but in presentation that was made by Joshi himself. Infact, the final outcome of the pitch was that McCann won the pitch. Similarly, McCann Erikson India played a major role in Unilever’s Kwality Walls which was also for the brand’s multi media camapaign.
Explains M.G. Parmesawaran, Executive Director, FCB Ulka: “The world is looking at India differently; and with India becoming a focus market for more and more clients, agency networks are discovering the jewels they have in their Indian affiliates and subsidiaries.”
According to Nakul Chopra, CEO, Publicis India, while both quality and value play significant roles in the equation, the real reason lies elsewhere. He says: “A global campaign will naturally be biased in favour of the 5-10 top markets for any brand. It will then be these markets that set the strategic and creative direction for ad campaigns supporting that brand. Since India now among the top 5-10 markets for virtually all global brands, this naturally influences the choice of the agencies. The fact that we have a very well developed talent pool makes it very lucrative to actually source major parts of the work from India.”
Adds Pranesh Misra, CEO Lowe India, says: “Most multinational clients are looking to centralise creative development. If a global brand is available across 15 markets, clients prefer one universal creative that can travel across markets rather than get separate creatives done for each market. India is being looked at largely to be the centralized hub by most clients as the quality of work here has improved a great deal.”
Lowe Worldwide recently announced its plans of set up a 24-hour studio in India to create multimedia creative solutions for its clients across the world. “Indian talent is being recognised across the world and this studio will allow us to make utmost use of the talent pool here,” says Stephen Gatfield, EVP of Network Operations and CEO, Lowe Worldwide.
Lenovo Group has moved worldwide marketing services such as creative development to a new hub in Bangalore in collaboration with advertising marketing communications firm Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. The new centre offers these services to all of Lenovo’s operations outside China. The India team at O&M will dream up global marketing campaigns aimed at dozens of countries, including the US, France and Brazil, though not China.
Speaking to BT from Bangalore Rahul Agarwal, Vice President, Marketing, Lenovo India explains why it decided on having a centralised hub: “We are a new brand and need to build a consistent identity. Secondly, we have one of the strongest marketing teams in India and a good creative one as well. We have experience in India of building consumer brands from scratch. By setting up the global hub here, we will now leverage the marketing talents available in India.”
Does cost pay a major factor? Most agency heads say quality is what the international companies are looking for. In any case, costs in India are comparable to any other South East Asian country. In several cases, the ideation and conceptualisation is done in India while the production is done in the target country; so, in several cases, it is actually even more expensive than before. But, clients obviously attach a lot of value to Indian creative talent.
Then, it’s not just home grown creative ideas and insights that have found their way to distant shores. Even in the so-called backroom area of media planning, Indian ideas—especially in the field of qualitative media research tools, CRM, data analytics and rural marketing–are being noticed, appreciated and adapted. Media agencies like Lintas India’s IMAG and Starcom Mediavest Group’s tools are being adapted for regional markets like China, Philipines and Malaysia. About 30-40 per cent of IMAG design company dCell’s work is being done for international brands that are not even present in India. dCell has designed Good Morning, a leading soap brand in Egypt; it has also done work for a toothpaste brand, Signal, also in Eqypt and on Unilever’s worldwide brand Clear.
IMAG-Linterland’s rural tools are being adapted for markets such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China. “Indian business and creative ideas are being appreciated today globally,” says Ashish Bhasin, Director, IMAG, Lintas India.
Starcom MediaVest’s secular planning method (a tool to re-engineer the competitive targeting strategy) and strategic planning tools, that were developed in India, are in use in other Asian markets like China, Philipines and Malaysia.
Ravi Kiran, CEO, South Asia, Starcom MediaVest, says: “Besides these tools and processes, the success of many our specialist business solutions is being replicated across other Asian markets. In particular, business units of Starcom Mediavest India like Xpanse, Enhance and C, all of which have been appreciated by our group’s CEOs in those countries, might be set up in several markets in future.” “When we develop a tool or a process for local market needs, we keep in mind its international potential as well,” he adds. XPanse that caters to the small towns and bridges the gap between metros and villages has been set up in Thailand.
So, while Indian ads may not yet have become the toast of international award forums, the industry is slowly carving out a very significant niche for itself in distant corners of the world.

BOX:

CREATED IN INDIA, VIEWED WORLDWIDE
The following campaigns that have been adapted globally

* O&M’s famous Centre Shock chewing gum ad for Italian confectionary giant Perfetti’s was made for India. The concept was successfully used in Italy, China, Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece and Russia.
* Happy Dent, made by McCann Erickson India has traveled to the US and the UK.
McCann India’s famous Coke (Aamir Khan) campaigns has been adapted for the Chinese and Indonesian markets.

* Lowe’s campaigns like Surf Excel, Lifebouy Little Gandhi and Clinic All Clear have been deployed in markets like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China.
* FCB Ulka’s campaign for Chewits by Parry’s Confectioneries was adapted and run in several European countries.
* FCB’s Compaq campaign was adapted and run in Asian markets like Malaysia and Indonesia

Above still is from the Happy Dent Commercial

Ad Creep

Advertising is everywhere. You step out of your home and there is not a single place where you are not bombarded with some kind of advertising or the other. Be it messages on the backs of car park receipts, your electricity bills, on football or Cricket grounds, on trains, taxis, buses, on paper bags, on the handles of supermarket trolleys, on store floors, in washrooms, even on commodes in the loos, on elevator walls, park benches and the likes. It also includes such techniques as projecting huge images on the sides of buildings, or slogans on the gas bags of hot air balloons. Nothing can get more intrusive, that’s ambient advertising for you. It is said that the word ‘Ambient’ advertising’ was presumably coined during the peak of popularity of ambient music, a genre with electronic textures that create a mood or atmosphere. With the cost of traditional media advertising skyrocketing and a glut of ads fighting for consumers' attention, marketers are aggressively seeking out new advertising vehicles.

Here take a look at some brilliant ambient advertising. They are all international

‘Non Quitters are Winners’

This morning I received an interesting mail on leadership. It was a picture story. The images talks of different important personalities of our times who have been and some of who are still leaders in their own respective fields. They have turned leaders after having failed or rejected but realized that it’s ok if you fail but never quit because you have failed.

There are in all 19 images. Here take a look at few of these examples and who these leaders are.

‘Aces at Cannes’

Last evening as I walked into Joss, the banquet hall at Kala Ghoda I was pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by huge dark bouncers dressed in black and sporting lot of gold jewellery and dark glasses. As I entered the room it had the feel and look of a Casino with Black Jack and Poker tables. I also found few people trying their hand at Black Jack. Oh no no it wasn’t an Ocean’s 13 set. It was the annual event by Leo Burnett –‘Aces at Cannes’ 2007.
Leo Burenett hosts this event every year wherein it screens the Cannes prediction reel of 50 television commercials from all over the world. The creative have been selected by Leo Burnett’s Creative Exchange. They have been selected from the best TV work developed during the year, irrespective of which agency produced it. The exchange believes the selected commercials have the potential to pick up an award at the Cannes festival this year. These commercials are in no relation with the actual shortlists at the festival.The Cannes predictions reel has been in practice at Leo Burnett since 1986. The concept was first started by Donald Gunn, former director of creative resources worldwide, Leo Burnett, for Leo Burnett employees. The reel has slowly gained stature over years to become a popular assessment medium for creativity in television, world over
Some of the commercials that found favour with me yesterday were Coca Cola ‘Happiness Factory’ created by Wieden +Kennedy, Amsterdam; XBox 360 ‘Cops and Robbers’ created by McCann Erickson, Dove ‘Evolution’ created by O&M, Toronto; Vaseline ‘Sea of Skin’ by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York and Women Insurance ‘Taking a piss’ created by Black River FC, Johannesburg, South Africa; Mountain Dew ‘Master’ created by BBDO, New York; San Francisco. I also definitely liked the Happy Dent Teeth Whitening Gum, McCann Erickson, Mumbai. Happy Dent commercial was the only Indian entry in the list of 50 commercials that were picked by Leo Burnett’s Creative Exchange.
The Happy Dent Commercial is a lavish commercial set in the days of the Royal Raj and has been shot by Ram Madhvani of Equinox.
The 54th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival is just a week away and India has entered 931 pieces of work across nine categories.
In the past six years, India has won only two gold lions in the film category. But this year, with our largest number of entries, including 77 in the film category, there seems to be lot hope of a good show.
There is one commercial from China-Motorola Razr: ‘Cut Through’ by O&M-China and few from Thailand as well.
As a test of creative judgement, all those who were invited were also asked to pick their 20 best commercials. We will know how precise we are in our predictions only when the final results are announced on June 23 at Cannes.

Check out the Happy Dent Commercial here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v9EetEQrMU&mode=related&search=

Attention!! All Food Lovers

Tickle your taste buds, search for food mates, explore and enhance your culinary expertise all on one simple platform

Talking about Internet killing TV and online video community gaining ground, well it’s true.
Here is some good news for all the food lovers. Another online video community on food has been recently launched. It’s called www.ifood.tv for food levers to get a culinary experience like never before.
How often do you miss Sanjeev Kapoor’s Cookery show on Zee TV. Most often I am sure. There are also cookery shows now on English news channels such as NDTV Profit and CNN-IBN not to forget the shows on regional channels. Now with ifood.tv right on your desktop this problem is solved.
Undoubtedly, Food is the one thing which we all strive for and work hard for it at all times. Irrespective of geography, ethnicity, or race FOOD, is one language we all understand and like to converse in. On a daily basis we end up talking food and also share interesting recipes or new cooking techniques we have discovered along the way. At times we just end up talking about new restaurants in the neighborhood or just simply know about some food festivals around the corner. iFood.TV, launched by Future Today Inc., a new media company focused at building online video communities is precisely trying to address these issues. With a mission to ‘Serve food lovers simply’ this web 2.0 site is a one stop platform for food related information, entertainment and social networking. Whether you are a professional chef or a simple food enthusiast you can share and enhance your culinary skills through videos, blogs and forums; network and find “taste buddies”; discover new exciting restaurants and food products, read reviews and know about interesting food shows & events.

Virtual, Virtuous

I S THE Internet killing the TV star? Not quite may be but the great TV commercial has already found another place to run. Microsoft Network India’s Desk Top TV can do what regular TV can do. And it’s one more innovation that is helping to breathe life in the form of ad revenues into the medium. MSN has over 150 advertisers who are buying spots on its desktop TV to run their ad commercials
In fact, Internet TV can run your commercial just the way you want it. Remember Pepsi’s the three part webisode last year that featured Shahrukh Khan on Yahoo! for an entire week preceding the TV commercial. This was for the first time in India that an Internet commercial was produced simultaneously with the television commercial.
What I hear from the grapevine is that Tata Indicom’s recent viral film (pmsproblems.com) is likely to be adapted for television commercials. Earlier it was internet that was adapting from TV and now it seems like a reversal trend is likely to be set in.
The Internet offers a more defined user and technology helps to accurately track the user’s interaction with the brand much better than TV watching monitoring products Online advertising is fast offering options to advertisers that come closer to realising their dreams—to reach out to the potential customer at the lowest cost. While technology boosts the process partly, the understanding of the positioning and creative potential of the medium is fine-tuning its usage. However, Gregory Coleman, Executive Vice President, Global Sales says: “ Answer to a video ad on the Internet is not a 30 seconds or 60 seconds commercial. The video ads on the net need to be short and crisp so that it attracts the surfers attention instantly.”
Look at Google for instance. Not so long back, search advertising—those annoying ads that popped up while you were trying to find data for your research project—was most disruptive. But now Google's search advertising product, AdWords, is a performance-based model where clients pay per click. Ads pop up at relevant moments. So when you search for say, cheap tickets to Mumbai ads of budget air lines and travel agents come along the side bar.
Then there’s advergaming almost synonymous with Contest2Win that creates games around brands and their messages. You play and win or lose. But the advertiser always win as you absorb his brand message as you game.
As the role of the Internet evolves in the life of users—from a mailing medium initially to a search and interactive medium— it evolves as an advertising channel too. So for instance, as consumers use it increasingly to get information before making purchase decisions, the advertiser is understanding the need to fine-tune his brand message.
For advertisers, the internet has evolved from a fancy add-on to an essential part of the media mix. Innovation—both in the creative content as well as placement—has become the order of the day. Graphically richer ads, dynamic and extendable banners, better copy and catch phrases as well as strategic positioning are here and improving every day. These innovations have brought online advertising back from the edge

Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival

For all you film lovers and especially ‘World Cinema’. Here is a piece of some good news for you’ll. There is this company called Osian’s-Connoisseurs of Art (Many of you must have heard about this Art Auction company) and Osian’s started something called The Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema. The festival which is in its 9th year now has always been held only in Delhi. But guess what this year for the first time Osian’s is offering the city of Mumbai a sample of some of the important films to be shown at the film festival..yippieeeeeeeeeeeeee…………………
The inaugural premier will be at NCPA tomorrow June 8. Beyond this, visitors will be in for a gala treat with unique exhibitions, conferences, debates and a musical extravaganza.
Six of the 120 films to be shown at the 9th OCFF will be open to public viewing (free entry on first come first seated basis) at the Tata and Little Theatres including one show for the student fraternity of Maharashtra. The entire NCPA complex will showcase the best from the Osian’s Art and Film Archive Collection, turning the entire space itself into an exhibition.

Films to be shown at the inaugural Mumbai Premiere

1. SYNDROME AND A CENTURY
THAILAND 2006
Director APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL
This film is about Syndromes and healings, about sentimental dentistry and alcoholic prostheses. It’s about matter and mind, about machines and men. It begins as a comedy and ends as a Sci-fi. It’s all of those things and yet something more.

2. SANSHO THE BAILIFF
SANSHO DAYU
JAPAN 1964
Director KENJI MIZOGUCHI
Sanshô is one of Mizoguchi's films taking place in feudal Japan and explores the basic ideas of freedom, poverty and woman's place in society.


3. WWW: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
MOROCCO-FRANCE 2006
Director FAOUZI BENSAIDI
Set in Casablanca, city of contrast, a modern and archaic city. Kamel (played by the director himself), is a hired killer, who receives his orders by internet. He usually calls Souad, his friend to make love after his hits and, each time, Kenza answers the phone. Kenza, is a traffic enforcer and directs the traffic in the mornings around the city’s largest traffic island. Kamel soon finds himself falling in love with her voice.

4. DRIVING TO ZIGZIGLAND
USA 2006
Director NICOLE BALLIVIAN
A chronicle of a day in the life of a Palestinian cab driver in Los Angeles, DRIVING TO ZIGZIGLAND, portrays the social struggle of the Arab immigrant in post-9/11 America. A film audition typecasts Bashar to play an Al Qaeda terrorist role. The utilities are due and Bashar has twenty-four hours to make the money. For the remaining hours left until tomorrow, an unceasing flow of passengers ride in Bashar's taxi and give the Arab cabbie the run-around on issues that deal with suicide bombers, George Bush, Cat Stevens, the war in Iraq, music, and world geography. Bashar's quest to make the money is won until he realizes he has to choose between the Department of Homeland Security and his family. Shot in Los Angeles and Palestine, based on true stories

5. HEROES
BAYANI
PHILIPINESS 1992
Director RAYMOND RED
Bayani/patriot, a film about Philippine hero-revolutionary.


6. OUR TIME
KAAL
INDIA 2007
Director BAPPADITYA BANDOPADHYAY

Could not find anything on this film…Sorry . But have something on the director Bappaditya Bandopadhyay is the recipient of the Most Promising Director Award for the year 2003, by the BFJA (Bengal Film Journalists Association). His most acclaimed film is ‘Devaki’ – the film makes an introspective journey into the lives of two women coming from strikingly different background (rural and urban) and proves the point that irrespective of the social condition, literacy level or the economic status, women in our society are still treated as commodities. Played by Perizad Zorabian and Suman Ranganathan. Devaki has won the best feature film award at the Ashville Film Fest in North Carolina, USA (October 27 - 30, 2005)
Itinerary of Main Events

Film Screenings

Little Theatre
11.00am - 12.35am Driving to Zigzigland (School Show)
2.00 - 3.40pm Bayani
5.00 - 6.40pm WWW: What a Wonderful World

Tata Theatre
11.00am - 1.00pm Sansho Dayu
2.00 - 4.00pm Kaal
5.00 - 6.45pm Syndromes and a Century

Exhibitions
10.00am-7.00pm 1857: The Mutinous-Rebellion at The Piramal Gallery

10.30am-7.00pm Japanese Posters of World Cinema at The Jehangir Nicholson Museum Gallery

10.45am-7.00pm The Osian’s Archive Collection at The Tata & Jamshed Bhabha Theatre’s Foyer

IBM2 (Infrastructure Building for Minds & Markets) International Conference
11.00am - 1.00pm Session 1: Why Film Festivals?
2.00 - 4.00pm Session 2: Why Film Festivals?
Speakers include Philip Cheah, Sudhir Mishra, Mani Kaul, Pritish Nandy, Gurpal Singh, Anurag Kashyap, Kaushik Bhaumik, Aruna Vasudev and Neville Tuli
Gala Finale at The JBT
8.00 - 9.30pm Felicitation Ceremony & Manganiyar Orchestra (Passes are required)

Do You Suffer from PMS?

You must have seen his whacky vignettes and promos on MTV. And now you can watch his creativity oozing out on the internet. Well wondering who I am talking about? It’s none other than Cyrus Oshidar, group creative head at Media2Win who has created his first ‘viral’ film for Tata Indicom called www.pmsproblems.com. Trust only Cyrus to come up with a name like that. Do you suffer from PMS. All of us do ya.. Any one who does not is a lucky and definitely does not own a mobile phone. I am sure you guys are confused what I am talking …PMS and Mobile Phone. Oh yes PMS refers to Poor Mobile Syndrome. Most of us who are married to our mobile phones suffer PMS at some given point or the other.
Some of the common symptoms are High Decibel Mobile Disease- Talking loudly so that the person on the other end can hear your clearly, Frequent Repetition Complex-- sometime you might be having a very interesting conversation with someone and suddelnly blip….the network snaps …that can be reallyyyyyyyyyyy irritating, Mobile Induced Anger Disorder, Running from one place to other or being in a weird posture all just to get a better signal so that you can talk on your mobile phone uninterrupted. Bottomline is switch to Tata Indicom. It’s this insight and everyday mobile problems that we all face led Media2win, an interacting media agency to create a unique destination for Tata Indicom.
The campaign is targeted towards creating a positive perception in the minds of telecom users about the superiority of Tata Indicom’s CDMA network.
Take a peek at the cool films at www.pmsproblems.com. The four films are shot by Oshidar and is fun.
The viral campaign is extremely creative and indicates one clear thing that creativity is not restricted only to television or print campaigns but is equally important for a digital campaign. From banners to Flash and plain text to audio-video, advertisers are pushing the envelope of creativity online. The Internet offers a broad creative canvas to advertisers. You can mix audio, video, text to engage users in highly interactive ways. Innovation in online medium has become the order of the day as clients are realising the potential of this medium.
As Krishna Kumar, CEO, Media2Win explains: “It’s a different thinking that goes into internet campaigns. It has to be edgy and humorous to engage the audience. It is technologically driver creativity.” “I am proud of this effort and it takes us into a new direction as far as online creativity is concerned,” says: Cyrus Oshidar, Creative Head – Media2win.
Another recent interesting and very creative online campaign was for Perfetti’s brand Mentos. O&M had conceptualized the online campaign which was called www.mentoshelpline.com. And Clinic All Clear’s Make Your Moves campaign.

Ocean’s is back again

I began my week by watching Steven Soderbergh's Ocean’s 13. Reminiscent of its old school roots, the film returns to its original, classic casino setting to entertain us with another sensational, dangerous heist. In the current sequel, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang have only one reason to pull off their most ambitious and riskiest casino heist--to defend one of their own. But they need more than luck on their side to break the ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (AL Pacino)
Pacino aka Bank never imagines that the odds would be against him when he double-crosses Danny Ocean’s friend and mentor Reuben Tishkoff, putting the distraught Reuben in a critical condition. Bank miscalculates--badly. He may have taken down one of the original Ocean’s eleven, but he left the others standing and, worse for him, gave them a shared purpose: to take Bank down on the night of what should be his greatest triumph--the grand opening of his new casino, appropriately named ‘The Bank’.
While not as fresh as 'Ocean's 11', the latest sequel is slick and funny and fast enough to keep you happily entertained for a couple of hours (2 hours and few more minutes). Clooney and Pitt are good (irresistible as usual) in every scene they share. Their witty exchanges and funny dialogue are so engaging you can’t help but giggle like a little enchanted schoolgirl.
It is sad that Julia Roberts does not return in this sequel. So that leaves Barkin as the solo female star in the epicentre of the distinguished boys club in this film. Pacino is deliciously evil as always. The remainder of the cast is humorous as usual with the inclusion of Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict. Matt Damon is especially funny with a new comical disguise to support his increased responsibilities.
The fast paced, exciting, action packed plot is enhanced with the use of rousing, vivid colors. There isn’t a dull moment in the film as the men conspire to contrive an ingenious plan of action for this complex heist which they execute with perfection. All OCEAN’S fans will enjoy the film. I have quite liked it. It's worth a one time watch

The film is releasing this Friday. Enjoy the flick……

India's News Makers

Raghav Bahl is straddling the entire spectrum of media and entertainment

Pimp My Ride and Your Stocks are two unlikely TV shows to be coming out of the same production house but last fortnight, when Raghav Bahl’s Television Eighteen (TV 18) group struck a 50:50 joint venture with Viacom, the stage was set to become big enough to accommodate both traders and rock n’ rollers. The JV with the US media conglomerate, however, will provide Bahl with multiple platforms across the entire spectrum of general entertainment (not just music and in fact not just restricted to television). The venture will be through Global Broadcast News (GBN), the group’s subsidiary that currently operates news channels CNN-IBN and IBN 7. Viacom 18 will straddle television, film and television across a range of brands. The partnership will also encompass Viacom’s existing TV channels in India, namely MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon. A Hindi general entertainment channel is also in the pipeline. Haresh Chawla, Group CEO, TV 18, says there is a fund-raising plan for the JV; GBN has already announced plans to raise up to $200 million.
For Bahl, Viacom 18 is his third big global partnership. In 1994 TV 18 slipped into an alliance with NBC Universal, as a result of which it today has under its banner two business news channels, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. And last year, through GBN, the group launched CNN-IBN, a mainstream news channel, in partnership with Time Warner Inc. In early 2006, it acquired Channel 7, a Hindi news channel, and rebranded it IBN 7. “The new venture is a homecoming of sorts for us. Before we focused our energies on news, we used to produce shows for channels including MTV in the early 90s. Today, the day has come when we re-ignite our entertainment genes with Viacom 18,” says the Managing Director of the TV 18 Group.
Bahl, for his part, has been pretty busy of late. Recently he tied up with Virgin Comics to publish graphic novels and co-produce movies. In fact, cinema is proving to be pretty close to his heart. The group’s motion pictures operation, Studio 18. The projects are in the pipeline and after the projects are completed, the motion pictures business will be moved into the venture with Viacom. The group’s holding firm, Network 18 Fincap Ltd, has also taken a 9 per cent stake in the Indian Film Company – sponsored by Bahl, the founder and promoter of TV18 Group -- worth $10 million. This company, which is in the process of being listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange, will acquire rights of films and market it via theatres in domestic and overseas markets, besides using other routes like satellite TV and DVD rights. Apart from this, it will also finance films and enter into co-production tie-ups with directors. Beyond movies, Bahl has also spread himself thick in the digital space under Web 18, where he as acquired portals such as Crisil Marketwire, Poweryourtrade.com and Commoditiescontrol.com. According to company insiders, the group is also gearing to launch a financial daily, a business magazine, and foray into media process outsourcing.
Even as it stands today, The TV 18 Network appears to be in a league of its own, with more ammunition than even Rupert Murdoch’s Star network. It has two business channels, two news channels, two music channels (MTV and VH1), a kids’ channel (Nickelodeon), and a film channel that’s on its way. Star TV on the other hand has Star Plus, Star One (its second GE channel), Star Movies, Star World (English Entertainment), Channel V (Music), National Geography and History . What’s more, GBN in just two years commands a valuation of Rs 2000 crore (it got listed in February 2007). And flagship TV 18 itself has hit a market cap of $1 billion, a feat none of its peers appears likely to outdo in the near future.



A Hero Comes Along

UTV’s Screwvala is emerging the leading man of Bollywood

If Raghav Bahl is hogging the media and entertainment space, Ronnie Screwvala prefers to confine himself to entertainment – where he’s got a lot going, right from movies to gaming, and from animation to software production. And broadcasting is next on the anvil. Screwvala, Chairman & Managing Director, UTV Software, who in 2006 offloaded a 14.9 per cent stake in the company to Walt Disney, is now looking to unlock the value that’s bursting at the seams of his movie business. He’s formed UTV IOM Inc, a 100 per cent subsidiary that’s incorporated in Mauritius, which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM. The entire movie operations have been moved into this subsidiary. “A Nasdaq listing would have been time-consuming and listing at London made geographical sense,” says Screwvala, chairman and Managing director of UTV Software. UTV IOM Inc will be listed on AIM in 1-2 months and is expected to raised $70-75 by diluting 25 per cent of its equity. “This pegs implied valuation of the business at $225 million,” says a media analyst at an Indian brokerage firm.
In the last two years UTV has released 18 films, which would explain why almost two-thirds of UTV’s total revenues Rs 208 crore in March year end 2006, came from films-Rs 130 crore. For the year ended March 2007, the company raked in a turnover of Rs 72 crore from movies alone. The total revenues of the company during this year was Rs 174.3 crore crore According to a report by Prabhudas Liladhar, a Mumbai-based broking firm, UTV has films with a budget of Rs 466 crore lined up for the next two years. Lights, camera, action.

(The article has been published in the latest issue of Business Today)

Imagine a billboard watching you ………

I came across this interesting article on technology and advertising in the latest issue of ‘Newsweek’. It talks of a new technology that is being developed by the National Information and Communications Technology Australia (NICTA). NICTA, a government funded research lab has developed a billboard technology that watches body language and can tell when you are bored and when you are paying attention. The idea is to entice people who are well placed to make impulse purchasing decisions-pedestrians in shopping malls, departmental stores, at airports or on sidewalks.
One of the advantages to be derived out of this technology is that advertisers could get instant feedback. It could actually tell the advertiser which part of the advertisement works and which does not.
Could the ad’s get any more intrusive???? ….I wonder if NICTA’s this experiment would be successful and will consumers accept it.

You could now get paid for ads on your mobile

This morning I was doing a google search for something on mobile industry and guess what I came across-this interesting information on mGinger.com. It is a site that pays you for getting ads on your mobile. Wondering what I am saying. Well let me explain.
How often have you felt like throwing your phone away or switching it off, sheer out of irritation of being bombarded with unwanted advertising messages on our mobiles. Ringtones of Bollywood songs, divine horoscopes or weight loss programs — the list of irksome ads coming via SMS could go on and on.
But take a second and think about this:What if they request for your permission before exposing you to ads? What if you are exposed to only those ads that are relevant to YOU at that point in time? Then, don’t you think that the nature of the exposure changes. Ads then probably turn into “Usable Information” what say? mGinger precisely does this for you. They empower you both in terms of knowledge and profit.
To be precise it is a website that not only lets you choose the kind of ads you would want to read on your cell phone but even pays you for it.
The concept is of simple social networking where the user has to invite his friends to subscribe to the service. You get to earn 20 paisa for every ad that you receive and 10 paisa for every ad your referrals receive. You also get paid 5 paisa for the text messages your referrals’ friends get on their mobile.
Started by Chaitanya Nallan an Indian School of Business, Hyderabad alumnus who is also the CEO of mGinger, the website is a revolution because for the first time in Indian history, the users are asked for permission. The users are asked for their interests. The users are requested for a convenient time and convenient number of ads per day.
I guess all of you should check this site www.mginger.com to know more

Internet TV: Seems to be the next big thing

Internet TV seems to be the next big revolution around the world, thanks to internet TV sites such as Joost launched by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis (also the founders of peer-to-peer services Skype and KaZaA), MyTVPal, Sumo.TV (a video content site based out of UK) and India’s very own nautanki.tv. The Joost service allows free access to high-quality video streams through a simple, easy to use interface. Joost has tied up with several major US TV networks.
Similarly Mytvpal.com has a wide selection of shows. Categories include Animated Shorts, the ever-fascinating Archeological Channel, Music Videos, Internet radio, and has close to 1000 free TV stations from around the global from Argentina, Aruba, Australia to name a few.
India’s very own nautanki.tv describes itself as an online entertainment channel catering to Indians all over the world. Nautanki.TV went online eight months ago with six channels including drama, thrillers, documentaries, and humour. The online TV webcasts fixed schedule of programmes every day. It has also created a network of close to 300 websites like saffrontrail.com wherein the user can go and watch the video. 70% of its programming is generated in-house.
All of these sites are an effort towards taking the TV experience and what is good with TV today—high entertainment value, full-length programming, full-screen experience, and channel concepts—and bringing that online. You can watch what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, and where you want to watch it. Internet TV can bring many more interactive features, social networking, all of the best Internet technologies. These channels are slightly different from YouTube, which has user generated content.
The revenue model largely is paid advertising and some of these sites offer content on demand
According to another report by Adams Media Research (AMR), Internet video is expected to generate $5.8 billion by 2011, with ad-supported streaming to PCs and TVs accounting for $1.7 billion, while consumer spending on movie and TV downloads will top $4.1 billion -- up from $111 million last year. The firm sees a period of experimentation between 2007 and 2009, during which the ad-supported model will dominate. But as more consumers connect their PCs to their TVs, spending on downloads will expand rapidly and exceed ad spending by 2011. eMarketer projects video ad spending will soar to 89.0% in 2007. By 2010, one in ten dollars devoted to Internet advertising will go for video placements.
The Indian video advertisement market is expected to reach Rs 750 crore in the next 2-3 years, according to independent industry sources.
Great Potential …………

The Mogul’s next Move

I was reading the ‘Time’ magazine and cane across this interesting piece on Rupert Murdoch. I thought i must share it with everyone. The report says that the media mogul’s intention to buy out Dow Jones & Co., the Publisher of Wall Street Journal is big news on numerous fronts. The report says that he has offered to pay $5 billion fir a company whose shares fetched just $3 billion before the word of his bid leaked out on May 1. It further goes on to say that he’s very serious about his Fox Business Channel, which is due to launch later this year and would get a big boost from the Journal…and Dow Jones---brand

Murdoch Jr (Lachlan) enters the Indian Media Scene

Finally son follows suit behind father. Lachlan Murdoch, the estranged heir of Ruper Murdoch is eyeing the Indian media scene in a big way. The speculations about him picking up stake in various Indian media companies (Percept Holdings included) have been rife for sometime. Finally it’s true. His company Illyria Pty (Australia) has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Percept Holdings to launch a talent management company. The new company Percept Talent Management (PTM) will cater to Bollywood celebrities and sporting stars. Murdoch Jr was himself present here in Mumbai to announce the launch of this new company. The joint venture with Percept is also one of his major investments in the Indian media market. PTM aims to represent notable creative and technical talent in the fields of motion pictures, television, fashion, music, sports and branded entertainment. The company foresees an estimated top-line of Rs 100 crore in the first year and is confident of growing to Rs 300 crore within two years of operations.
But Murdoch Jr’s presence in India has fuelled other speculations among media. Speculations are rife that he might pick up a stake in Peter Mukherkjea’s INX Media’s which is soon to launch general entertainment and news channels, probably a good way for him to compete directly with his father in the Indian Broadcasting space. Also the fact that Peter Mukherjea was present at the launch event at Taj Land’s End, rumours are getting stronger I guess.
Well let’s wait and watch……………..

TV’s Distorted Picture

It is Hindi news channels that reach more homes. So, why do their English rivals end up getting the premium?

It’s a story you are unlikely to catch on the 9o clock news tonight, yet it is the television news industry’s worst-kept secret. Despite the fact that Hindi news channels’ reach and content are better than those of their English rivals, the former’s advertising rates are far lower. On an average, the effective ad rate for a Hindi news channel is around Rs 1,450 per 10 seconds, while the figure for English news channels is Rs 2,250. Some media buyers point out that some Hindi news channels such as Aaj Tak and Star News do command a premium and fetch between Rs 3,000 and Rs 3,500 per 10 seconds. The catch: that’s true of only certain time bands—say, between 7 and 10 AM and 8 and 11 PM. What explains the apparent irony of the situation? Blame it on two things: the clutter in the news space, and the (wrong) perception that Hindi news channels don’t reach the creamy layer of viewers. Consider: One-third of all TV channels in India are news and current affairs. There are close to 44 news channels in Hindi, English and regional languages, beaming into 68 million cable & satellite (C&S) homes. It is believed that 10-12 per cent of all money spent on TV advertising goes to news channels. According to media buyer estimates, for the year ended March 31, 2007, the news channels garnered ad revenues of about Rs 750 crore, compared to Rs 620 crore the previous year—a 21 per cent growth. The lion’s share went to Hindi news channels such as Aaj Tak, Zee News, NDTV India, Sahara Samay, and India TV, and only 25-30 per cent went to English news channels. On the face of it, that seems like a fair story, given that for the week 01 to 10, 2007 (that is, January 1 to March 10), TAM data shows that the share of Hindi news channels was 88.5 per cent (English news channels had the rest). During this period, Aaj Tak, owned by the group that also publishes Business Today, had a share of 21.7 per cent, followed by Star News with 14.3 per cent and Zee News with 11.7 per cent. In contrast, NDTV 24x7 had a share of 3.6 per cent, followed by CNN-IBN (3.2 per cent) and Headlines Today (1.5 per cent). As per this data, the average time spent by a viewer on Hindi news is a staggering 97 minutes as compared to 20 minutes on English news channels during the said period.In other words, it is evident that Hindi news channels reach far more homes than their English counterparts do. So, why do advertisers shell out more for spots on English news? “Much to the dismay of the Hindi news channel owners, the fact remains that channel ad sales have a lot to do with perception, which in this case is in favour of English news channels,” says Atul Phadnis, CEO of Media e2e, a technology group specializing in business solutions designed for broadcasters and media companies. Of course, media buyers have their defence. “Hindi news channels compete with the mass and cinema channels and, therefore, have a lower audience profile. The English news channels, in comparison, compete with the English genre channels,” says Ajit Varghese, CEO, Maxis, part of WPP’s Group M.Guess what? That’s not entirely true. Says G Krishnan, CEO of TV Today, which runs Aaj Tak: “There is a very high duplication of English news audiences on the Hindi channels. In fact, viewership data indicates there is almost 80 per cent duplication between the Hindi and English news genres. This just goes to prove that the difference is only in perception, not in reality.” What this would indicate is that even urban India largely consumes Hindi programming. A case in point would be Bollywood. The premium on English news channels is also a factor of the cost per rating point (CPRP) matrix that media planners use for television channels. CPRP, an obsolete currency, is a relative measure as against an absolute measure. The underlying population represented by the rating point continues to grow as C&S universe expands. But CPRP itself is based on the 7,000 people meters--this is grossly inadequate to represent the television viewership habits in India. The CPRP of English news channels is higher despite lower share of viewership, compared to the Hindi news channels. Therefore, the former garners more premium. Says Phadnis: “CPRP is higher on English news channels despite their lower viewership because the perception of viewership is better.”What are the Hindi news channels, then, to do? “Create a distinct product appeal and stress on the quality of content,” says Uday Shankar, COO Star India and CEO Star News. Krishnan of Aaj Tak adds that the Hindi news channels have a much higher reach and a more diverse audience profile than English news channels do in the relevant urban English speaking markets and this fact needs to be communicated aggressively to the planners. “Also, its very important for the Hindi news channels to come together and decide on price points, as opposed to dropping their prices in an attempt to undercut rivals' client bases,” he says.But with 8-10 more channels expected to hit the airwaves over the next six months, there’ll always be some channel willing to undercut another. “Consolidation is the way forward,” quips Sanjay Dua, National Sales Head, CNN-IBN. Perhaps, but which Hindi news channels will acquire or be acquired? For an answer, stay tuned.



(Published in BT)

Channels Scream aloud from Billboards

Have you realised that while you are driving along Marine Drive, Peddar Road, Bandra flyover or any of the Express highways and you just cannot miss the TV channels hoardings among others screaming loud at you about their new shows, upcoming shows and the likes. There is absolutely no escaping from this as it follows you everywhere you go. That’s precisely the impact that outdoor advertising has.
Of the media companies, TV channels seem to be ruling the roost in grabbing most of the strategic outdoor properties. The biggest players are ofcourse the usual suspects Star, Zee, Sony and Sahara and the news channels.
Hoardings of Zee’s new season of Sa Re Gama Pa Challenge which has just launched are screaming aloud on the streets of Mumbai. Then it’s Sony’s Indian Idol. For most TV channels the new season is beginning with new serials and most of the hoardings announce the arrivals of these serials such as
According to industry sources it is believed that more than 50 per cent of Sony's spends in launching properties is dedicated to out of home. Then there are the ongoing hoardings on the regular big-ticket shows for most channels.
In addition to these big players, other contenders who use outdoors include Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, MTV, ESPN Sports, National Geography, Tata Sky's DTH, Dish TV, News Papers, Radio channels. But, most of them use outdoors generally during a launch of a big show or a supplement. However, 30-40 per cent of spends of big players go to the permanent sites on an annualised basis. Thanks to all of them, this traditional outdoor advertising space is growing.
“The outdoor industry is estimated to be Rs 1200 crore and is growing at 20 per cent year-on-year. TV channels spends would be 7-8 per cent of the total industry spends. On an annual basis television channels approximate spend would be Rs. 75 - 90 crore between Star, Sony, ZEE and Sahara,” says Nabendu Bhattacharyya, Country Head-Landscapes & Signscapes, Ogilvy Activation. Also according to industry players close to 30 per cent of these TV channels spends are dedicated to the festive rush spanning September – December.
Hoardings, or billboards, outdistance all other advertising tools in terms of sheer visibility. “TV channels also consistently use Outdoor as it not only acts as a reminder medium but it also gets people to sample a new shows,” explains Sanjay Shah, CEO, Star Sight.
Adds Bhattacharyya: “Today media is getting fragmented with so many channels. With the change of lifestyles in Metros & especially in Mumbai consumers spends on an average 9 hours out of home and therefore the need of OOH medium. This medium offers customised visibility options right from one city to multiple city, even area specific campaign can be executed. Outdoor also offers value for money campaigns right from 7 days campaign to 30 days campaigns depending on the brand needs.”
Hoarding and billboards generate quick awareness as it is larger than life ad multiple messages can be used spread across the city to target specific consumers namely working men /women can be targeted through arterial road billboard /shelters while housewives can be targeted in a residential locations shelters or in super markets/malls and multiplexes.
According to an industry player, “The outdoor medium lends itself for lot of creativity and innovation. Apart from this it is also a very flexible medium and changes can be made fast. This medium is also largely used by media companies to promote themselves to their own fraternity.”
Agreeing on this aspect is a channel official who says, “We use outdoor to reach of the people in our own fraternity apart from our target audience our viewers.”
For most TV channels and media companies, outdoor acts like final aspect of their overall media plan. As is understood from sources at SET India, Outdoor is an important medium for the channel especially in bigger markets like Mumbai. This medium tends to offer them awareness and topicality.
Going beyond billboards and bus shelters out of home as a category is fast expanding into areas like retail and entertainment. With emerging technology like LED screens, interactive facia at malls, backlit air blimps and large building wraps, the medium is only like to grow in the future.
“The future is bright” opines Shah optimistically. He says that the trend is becoming more organised and further with foreign OOH companies like Viacom, Clear Channel and Decaux eyeing this market, the industry is only in for more exciting competition.

Rakhi Sawant her usual self on ‘Koffee With Karan’

Well I was fortunate enough to catch the entire episode of Rakhi Sawant with Karan Johar on 'Koffee with Karan' on Star One. Wearing a designer Sari by Manish Malhotra, showing her cleavage and carrying a designer purse she sizzled on the show and was quite a treat to watch. As usual she was frank and straightforward and funny as well. No pretence like the other top notch celebrities would indulge in. She answered all of Karan's questions without batting an eyelid! She talked of her parents having left her, about her boyfriend Abhishek who she also considers her very good and only friend, how she believes in a live-in relationship as compared to a being in a marriage and the much more about how she maintains her sexy figure etc etc…. She also sang a song from her latest album ‘Super Girl’. She was completely at home speaking in Hindi on the show and had no qualms telling Karan that if I speak in Hindi only I will understand and so let’s speak in Hindi if you don’t mind. The bold and frank Rakhi Sawant actually got emotional on the show on two accounts and almost cried. She got emotional once when she was talking about how her parents have abandoned her. And second time on she got upset on the way media has portrayed her and labeled her as an ‘Item Girl’ which has been one of the main reason for parents to have snapped relationship with her. She answered questions thrown in by the audience and by Karan in her true original style! If she was lost in a deserted island, which 3 men would she take with her and what would she do with each of them? She replies she would take Amitabh, Sharukh and John Abraham and what would she do with them she says: Yeh bhi kehne ki baat hai”? What is her reaction on Mika's music video on the 'infamous' kiss? She gestures she would kill him. To which Bollywood director would she like to work with? She suddenly falls at Karan Johar’s feet and ask him to give her a break and also says that she likes Sanjay Leela Bhansali, How does she maintain her gorgeous, voluptuous, sexy body? She says ‘Jo God nahi deta woh doctor dete hain”. And then quickly clarifies by saying that good diet and regular exercise is the secret of her body. If she was in charge of the Indian Cricket team, what would she do? She says: I would let the cricketers take their wives along with them for the matches so that they can concentrate better on their game. Which, Karan said was a good point made and I agree with it as well.The other two guests who accompanied her on the show were her house mates from the reality show ‘Big Boss’ –Carol Gracious and Rahul Roy who only had good things tos ay about Rakhi Sawant. For all the whacky answers she gave she sure did take the Koffee Hamper with her back home.

Devil’s Advocate: Kartan Thapar corners Dasmunsi

It was interesting to watch the crossfire of words between Karan Thapar and Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Priyaranjan DasMunsi two weeks back on a Sunday evening on the show ‘Devil’s Advocate’ on CNN-IBN. The minister was giving reasons behind his decision to ban FTV and AXN in India. Dasmunsi was really corned by Thapar and that’s precisely why it got steamy. When asked by Thapar to explain what good taste and decency means based on which the above two channels were banned Dasmunsi said, “The book speaks everything. The Cable Network Regulation Act Defines it all.” How convenient? The minister actually had no clear reasons for anything.When Thapar compared the statues and pictures of Kamasutra, Khajuraho Temples, Ajanta and Ellora etc and asked what was the difference between those and the adult content being shown on these channels, Dasmunsi very angrily replied to Thapar, “ Do not compare Kamasutra, and the statues of Khajurao with these channels.” He then specified that he was a student of Art and Literature and does understand the asthetics of art that goes behind Kamasutra and the Khajuraho statues. And one thing I have never understood and was a valid point also raised by Thapar in the interview as that when it has been clearly mentioned in the Braodcast bill that after 11 pm in the night adult content can be shown then what is the problem? To this Dasmunsi conveniently replied back saying we are planning to study and consider the law again. The point is for a channel that does not get viewership of more than 1 or 2 how doe sit make a difference? Moreover I think the content on the English channels are way better than the content on the soaps that is shown on the general entertainment channels which are much watched as well. Surprisingly kids form a large chunk of the viewer profile on GECs. Why not ban the adultrated content on GECs. I mean is there are a defined criteria at all to figure out what is in good taste and what is decent content on channels?

IPG Seeks to consolidate holdings in Lintas India

In response to a request from the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), the Board of Lintas India Private Limited, a leading communications group in India has approved, in principle, a proposal from the shareholders of the Company to transfer the balance 51% of the shares to IPG. The proposed transaction is awaiting approval from the relevant authorities.
The decision to integrate fully into the Lowe Worldwide/IPG system will further strengthen Lintas India’s readiness to meet the challenges of the new marketing environment in India. The decision was also an outcome of three main aspects:
1 Significant changes in the servicing needs of global clients, requiring fully integrated global management and creative teams on their brands, and the increasing needs of Indian clients for services outside the country.
2 Increasing importance of world-class expertise in Integrated Communications services above and beyond mass media. This move will open up opportunities for Lintas India’s specialized businesses to integrate fully with IPG companies abroad that are already functioning as leaders in their respective areas in advanced markets like the USA, UK and Europe.
3 Enhanced opportunities for Indian managers to contribute to the global system.

Television Online

What happens when three youngsters--one from television, another from the internet and the third from fashion and television--come together? You get Nautanki.TV, an online entertainment channel that caters to Indians all over the world. It was a real TV channel that Vikram Prabhu, Sunil Nair and Herumb Khot had set out to launch last year, before they realised that they would need at least Rs 300 crore to do so. So raising Rs 1 crore from two I-banker friends (the trio chipped in with Rs 50 lakh), they did the next best thing: launch an online TV.
Nautanki.TV went online eight months ago with six channels, including drama, thrillers, documentaries, and humour. The online TV webcasts a fixed schedule of programmes every day. “We have half hour of fresh programming every day. By end of March, we expect this go up to one hour and by June to two hours,” says Nair. Currently, 70 per cent of the content is produced in-house, while amateurs contribute the rest. The content is free to view, and the website makes money the traditional way—from advertisers on a pay per view basis. “For a 30-second commercial we charge Rs 25 per view,” says Nair.
All programmes on Nautanki.TV are typically 4-minute long, with a maximum duration of eight minutes. The website gets 75,000 visitors every day, and 40 per cent of the traffic comes from the UK and the US. The promoters are now planning to launch a Gujarati channel that will be generic in nature with news, current affairs and cultural programmes. “We are looking to extend our regional coverage then to launching Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali and Kannada channels,” says Prabhu. Needless to say, Nautanki.TV plans to tap VCs for funds in June this year.

This article was also first published in Business Today, authored by Anusha Subramanian and was later picked up by Business World. Business Today rated it as among the top 10 hot start-ups of 2007

Commercial: Crafted for Fantasies

We get upset when Richard Gere kisses Shilpa Shetty, When Rakhi Sawant shakes her arse in a music video or ban channels for indecent content. But what about some of our so called localised ads which are suggestive and vulgar that air on general entertainment channels. One such latest ad is that of ‘Amul Macho’ Underwera Ad that appears on the Hindi General Entertainment Channels. I think it is one of the most raunchy underwear commercials I have seen on TV in the recent times. As i understand the film has been produced by Black Magic Motion Pictures Ltd. The model’s name is Sana Khan. Initial look at the commercial and the setting is good, the production quality is good, the model is good. Actually initially I mistook it to probably be a detergent ad for Unilever or P&G or some local detergent brand……but then comes the twist when the village bell (the main model) shows off her husband’s ‘undies’ and stretches it and with a very suggestive look on her face scrubs the undies. The film starts with the audio ‘yeh tho bada toing hai’ and continues with it and the final tag line is ‘Anul Macho: Crafted for Fantasies’ how suggestive….Wonder if any of the authorities, givernment officials and even the Information & Broadcasting Minsiter who recently banned AXN for two months for airing ‘Sexy Advertisements’ a programme has seen?
Well below is a link to YouTube where you can view the commercial if you have not seen it already

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhFkPOiegXg

Formula One Street Race..........the plan is on

Recently, there was news that India hopes to host the Formula One Grand Prix as early as 2009. This announcement gained further boost when Delhi's CM Sheila Dikshit welcomed the idea of having a street race like the one in Monaco.
Today, as i understand from grandprix.com ( where are all formula One news appears), more details on the bid are now emerging and guess who is at teh centre stage of the entire plan in India? well none other than the leading ad and media man Suhel Seth.
According to the site the next meeting to discuss further details on F1 Street Race will be held on May 15. The meeting will have Delhi's CM, Dr K K Paul, the Delhi Police Cheif and officials from other Government departments including the Central Public works department.

For more Grandprix-Live.com 2007 - http://www.grandprix-live.com

Awards and more Awards for Indian Advertising

Indian creative advertising has certainly come of age and this is clearly proved by the fact that every year agencies in India are winning global awards for their creativity. Very recently, Ogilvy & Mather and McCann Erickson won an impressive tally of metals at the Media Spikes Awards 2007 held in Bali. The Media Spikes Awards has a very high profile international jury from around the world. The profile of the jury and the extremely prudent awarding of golds at the ceremony make this an extremely tough competition, requiring entries to be above a certain standard.
While O&M scored five spikes (metals in this context) in all, McCann won four, incidentally all for Happydent. O&M's tally included one gold, three silver and one bronze spikes. In the Print Single: Public Service/ Charity Fund-Raising category, O&M got two silvers for 'IAPA Mother-Son' and 'IAPA Mother-Daughter' for its client, The Indian Association for Promotion of Adoption & Child Welfare. Another entry in the same category, 'IAPA Father-Daughter', won the agency a bronze spike. The entire campaign for IAPA (comprising these three entries) fetched the agency a gold in the Print Campaign category (a gold is awarded only to the best entry in each category). There were only two golds awarded at the ceremony. The fifth win for O&M can be credited to its integrated marketing arm, OgilvyOne, which scored a silver spike for 'Mentos Helpline' in the Digital: Websites and Microsites category. McCann Erickson's four silvers for Happydent were all for the commercial 'Happydent Palace'. The wins were in the TV: Food Products category in the TV Craft category, and for Best Use of Film Direction, Best Use of Art Direction – TV and Best Use of Cinematography. Leo Burnett was the only other Indian agency to be nominated at Media Spikes. It had one entry in the Radio category – 'Kid' for Heinz – which didn't win any spikes, but was assigned 'finalist' status. Apart from Media Spikes Awards, Ogilvy recently also won the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair for excellence in interpreting the brand message of Mentos through mentoshelpline.com. This is the 4th time in the last 3 years that Ogilvy India has won the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair.Industry experts say that we are reaching international standards and India must learn to stay there. Indian advertising creative geniuses are being recognised as being truly international and that India is a great source for creativity.
With Indian companies and individuals doing award-winning work, the country is being viewed with a new respect in the international market. India is no longer seen as a distant, mystical place where people seek spirituality. The world is more receptive to India's ability to deliver great creative work.

This hoarding has been making the rounds lately. It talks of the war in the skies. Only recently Jet Airways after it acquired Sahara Airlines, annonced its plans for low cost full service arilines called 'Jet Lite'. Jet also unviled its new uniform in yellow for the same.
Soon after doing that it came out with an outdoor campign which says 'We'Ve Changed' and countering this move of Jet , Kingfisher came out with an outdoor campaign saying 'We Made Them Change' which was created by Portland, one of the leading outdoor advertising company owned by Kinetic, a WPP Group company.
Interesting to note that the war is not in the skies alone but in the outdoor advertising arena as well.
While only the King Fisher and Jet Airways hordings are real, the GO Air hoarding is a result of some smart alec's creative abilities on Photo Shop or Paint Brush. It says: 'We are still the smartest way to fly'. However, it's interesting.

Promoting Responsibility

This is the India Unbreakable campaign done by Rediff Y&R. This campaign was done after the Mumbai Unbreakable camapign

The above picture is of an adoption campaign done by O&M

Go to the multiplex for a movie, switch on your TV, or tune into any FM radio station, and sooner, rather than later, you’ll be bombarded with a public service message, whether on conserving ground water, AIDS awareness and prevention, child adoption or how you can help the law enforcement agencies in their fight against terror. They are, almost without exception, slickly produced and expensively mounted. According to ad inventory data for 2006 compiled by TAM Adex, “social advertising” as this genre is called, is the top advertising category of ads on TV. Between January and November 2006, social advertisements saw a 90 per cent growth in volumes on TV over January-November 2005. So what’s the buzz all about?
“The objective of social advertising is to change public attitudes and behaviour, thereby stimulating positive social change,” says Sandeep Goyal, CEO, Dentsu. Incidentally, this was the agency that created the Mumbai Unbreakable campaign for the Mumbai Police following the 7/11 blasts in that city. “Social causes are now defining corporate vision and brand stances. Hence, they are seen as part of total branding exercises,” says R. Lakshminarayanan, CEO, Mudra Marketing Services.
Another noticeable change in social advertising is the massive increase in the levels of professionalism in this area. Explains Sumanto Chattopadhyay Group Creative Director, WHICH AGENCY: “Since the work is mostly pro bono, creative people get a free hand while working with this genre of ads. That is probably what results in the high quality of these campaigns.” M.G. Parameswaran, Executive Director, FCB Ulka, however, says that today, organisations are willing to pay for social campaigns. John Hopkins Centre of Communication’s AIDS Campaign ‘Jawan Hoon Nadaan Nahi’ created by FCB ULka is a Rs 10-crore campaign. Dentsu’s Creative Director Adrian Mendonca adds: “Social advertising is coming of age.” Result: the planning, execution and evaluation of these campaigns are now accorded the same importance as regular commercial ones. “Also, the absolute sums of money being spent on social advertising have increased substantially—our estimate is that the budgets could be running into several hundred crore, especially if one monetises the media exposure,” says Lakshminarayan.

(Published in Business Today in February)

Context is King

On the internet user behaviour matters more than content.

PERHAPS THE MOST EXCITING feature of the Indian online advertising market is not so much the advertising itself but the impressive buzzwords that keep floating in.
The latest mantra doing the rounds globally—Yahoo, MSN and Google are said to be testing this new format —is behavioural advertising which is being touted as the next big
thing since contextual advertising.
Also dubbed as behavioural targeting, this trend refers to an individual’s surfing behaviour, and is a bit different from the more common targeting method of displaying ads matched to the specific content of an individual page or to all users.
Says Rajneesh, Head of Digital Marketing (Revenue & Strategic Business), MSN India: “With behavioural advertising, the per user yield goes up by two to three times. It enables marketers to deliver ads to consumers based on their online behaviour—what they recently bought, where they surfed, or what they searched for. Based on this information, ads can be tailored to drive users back to the advertiser’s site to complete the desired registration, purchase, or other action.”
Adds George Zacharias, Managing Director, Yahoo India: “Two things increase the effectiveness of advertising in the online medium. One, the right ad product should creative rich media forms of advertising and has further potential to grow.”
Adds Rajneesh, “Behavioural targeting cannot be done in a portal scenario like email portals and messenger. Secondly there has to be enough internet penetration. Online advertising market is directly related with Internet penetration in any country.
So it will take some time. We at MSN are constantly evaluating these new formats and opportunities.”
Sources indicate that MSN in India is trying to test behavioural targeting on live.co.in (Windows’ live search beta). While Yahoo has rolled out behaviour targeting across the world, in India, Zacharias says that it will take time before it starts off in India as the media itself needs to grow. According to a study by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in India internet penetration is less than 2 per cent of the total population and the online advertising market is only 0.5 per cent of the total ad spend. The good news of course is the potential that hides behind those numbers.

(Published in Business Today in January 2007)

Introduction

Introduction:

Advertising has been around for centuries now. It is a persuasive communication attempt to change or reinforce ones’ prior attitude that is predictable of future. In the current times advertising just hits you on your face. It’s become part of our culture and day to day life. If you look around you, you will find your world filled with advertising - on huge billboards in the streets, on the pages of magazines, between the tracks played on the radio, on the walls of the subway, on the pages of internet sites, at the bottom of emails, on the backs of cinema tickets, on the shirts of football players. It seems that any surface that will hold still long enough to be read is considered a potential advertising medium. The fact that there is so much advertising out there means that it is part of our daily cultural experience - it's just impossible to avoid it. Advertisements often take on a cultural life of their own, and occupy space in the media beyond that which has been paid for. This, of course, is great for the advertisers!
While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs. Unsolicited and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. One scholar has argued that advertising is a toxic by-product of industrial society which may bring about the end of life on earth.
But it’s not end of life on this ad media world. So look out for more ……………on Indian advertising and what’s happening internationally.