Different Tribes, One Village

Different Tribes, One Village

It’s not in my place to comment on the management styles of luminaries in the field of advertising, the AAAI and Ad Club Bombay and the debate around the AGC. But as the matter has been put up for debate, I offer my two cents on the matter. Needless to say, it is my personal opinion and I hope I will be forgiven for trespassing on haloed territory.

I hope I will be excused – choti muh, badi baat - but in the interests of the industry, it would auger well for the advertising fraternity to have a leader from both the advertising bodies. Their purpose of intent seems apparently to be the same- the best step forward for the industry - although the methods may vary. By electing a mild and neutral chairman from both sides, both their brains, and from each member of their respective teams, could be picked for the common good of the industry.

 It is hoped that as has always been the case, the welfare of the industry remain the primary concern of the elected team, leading the industry towards a horizon where no one has dared to go before.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of us all?

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Who’s the fairest of us all?

There we go again. Between two agencies, one that wins a Grand Prix and a few Gold metals and the one that 'maxes' the number of metals, who’s the better of the two?

  Well, there is little doubt that the one who wins the Grand Prix has a superior, in fact, unmatched advantage over the rest. 

But if there is an upstart stealing the rays from your sun by tallying up a much larger number of metals, then I think the Cannes method of tallying points to each type of metal would be appropriate.

 I know this method will create a lot of heart-burn to the better team, but hey, whoever said the team that won the most number of metals was the best? Your Grand Prix is proof enough of who is better. Do you need much else, especially when the news is received by the clients who then all want to win the Grand Prix the next time around, just like the one you did?

To put it more succinctly, I'd counter the quandary you find yourself in with a question of my own: 

Whose door do you think a client would come knocking on, the agency with the highest number of metals or the one that brought home the Grand Prix? 

Just think...

What is the Size of your Dream?

What is the Size of your Dream?

Does India need two separate advertising festivals?

I will counter that question with another: Should there be another Cannes in France, or the Oscars in Hollywood?

Has ‘Bollywood’ been able to be a Hollywood, apart from its cosmetic use of word play? Not to mention the various other wannabes like Tollywood, Kollywood etc?

The lure or importance of any festival lies in its exclusivity. If you want it to be just another advertising festival, sure, two, why ten, different ad festivals are the way to go. But if you want India to become the Mecca of Advertising, then nothing could beat the power of one; the more unique and spectacular its format, the better its retail value.

It should be a meeting of great minds, the sharing of wisdom between the greats that trickles down to those who are hungry to achieve more, the wannabe greats. 

And yes, it should also be a consortium that invites the clients to see some of the greatest work India has produced, to learn and allow their agencies some leeway to create ads that are perhaps beyond the scope of, dare I say, human evolution.

Could it be another Mecca?

 That would depend upon the size of your dream.