THE ECONOMIC TIMES, 22 JANUARY 2014

Dear Foreign Reporter

Dear Critic ... Continued from Pg1

I will never forget that press meet where you asked me if I was aware of how detached 'India Shining' was from reality. And that I was morally responsible and guilty for masking out reality. You called me an evil person and said that I didn't have a soul. I was devastated. As I struggled for an answer, and bumbled about for a retort, you said something else that negated all that angst for me. That no matter what everyone says, this campaign has transcended advertising and will be linked to the history of India. Good or bad, it will never be forgotten. Every time the phrase India Shining keeps getting regurgitated in the media, I smile inside. That incident taught me how every thing one does will fetch positive as well as negative energy. What matters is what you decide to latch onto. Yours thankfully, Managing Partner, Bang In The Middle Prathap Suthan,

Thanks For Nothing/ Everything

Dear Fellow Mad Men

About seven years ago, I ended up with a rather forgettable film for a toothpaste from a homegrown FMCG brand. Not many know I had something to do with it. But the few of you who do (you know who you are), make sure that I never forget it by singing the jingle to me, or texting its slogan. Even till date. What I've learnt from this episode is that everyone has skeletons and only people in the industry remember the boo-boos we make. The consumer has more important things to remember. Thanks for the lesson, fellow adfolks. Nima Namchu Creative Head, Cheil Yours unforgettably,

Dear Balki
You'll most probably ask me which ad campaign I'm referring to, once you read this. This was many years ago. I had just finished a campaign and when you saw it, you blasted from one end of the office, "Arun, what's that crap you've put on air?" My first thought was that I had it coming because even I didn't like that campaign. What I learnt from this whole incident was that if something is not working for you and you're getting pushed into a corner, don't compromise. Junk it and start afresh. Thanks for the loud but mild rebuke and the through conversation that followed. Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas Yours respectfully,

Dear Uncle (from the neighbourhood)

You've always pleasantly surprised me with the sheer amount of interest you've had in advertising. The way you'd describe every ad to me and what you liked or disliked about it, has had me intrigued to say the least. Then this once you asked me if there was something I did that was on TV. When I mentioned an ad, you promptly said, "I saw it. Tell me how it goes." That was an epiphany. I realised if nobody remembers your work, or has nothing to say about it, it's not significant at all. You made me understand the value of ensuring your work creates conversations. Keep 'em nuggets coming, Uncle. Rahul Mathew, Creative Head DDB Mudra (West) Regards,

Dear Sonal Dabral

This was the Abbys judging session where an ad was being considered for Gold and you along with the rest were giving your candid remarks on how worthy (or unworthy) it was. You said the copywriter had a good thought. Only that he needed a better creative director. Since I was the creative director on that ad, it was rather awkward sitting in the same room and getting to know everything that was wrong about the campaign in the unkindest way possible. But good learning nonetheless. Thanks for your honesty. It has kept me in good stead ever since, I believe. Ashish Khazanchi, Founder, Enormous Cheers,

A chocolate maker accustomed to the sweet taste of Best gets a bitter shock in this weeks installment of the best and worst of Indian advertising as decided by our consumer panel. Meanwhile, a banking major uses star power to propel itself into the future

globe

trotter
ing those two days of her life. Unlike "snaps," which are sent from one user to another, stories can be stitched together from multiple snaps and broadcasted to a larger audience. They appear in the friends list section of the app beside the handles of the people who posted them. The snaps within them stay visible for 24 hours and can be replayed as often as someone likes in that window. She added upwards of 15 snaps to the story -- each of which expired after 24 hours -- in the course of the weekend, including scenes of making Christmas cookies, playing with her dog, a light show and outfits of the day that incorporated Wet Seal pieces. Her efforts resulted in 9,000 new followers and 6,000 views of the story -- metrics which Snapchat provided, according to Ms. Hall. She added that the company's partnerships team had provided guidance on posting best practices and had secured the profile name, WetSeal, for the brand. Snapchat didn't respond to a request for comment on its participation. While 6,000 video views is hardly a big number for a national retailer, Ms. Hall said that the exposure the content got relative to the small number of followers the account had -- just 2,000 of them when Ms. Hughes began her takeover -- was encouraging. Ms. Hughes -- who also works with Clean & Clear -- said she was surprised by the enthusiasm from her fan base, which she describes as comprised largely of girls between 8 and 14 years old who want to learn about makeup and fashion. She said she received hundreds of snaps from them while she manned the Wet Seal account. Though the volume was daunting at times, she responded as much as she could with selfies that she scribbled the fan's name on. "I don't really see my audiences unless I have a meetup or see people outside at the mall or something," she said. "But being able to open the Snapchats and see [fans] get so excited was so, so cool." Since Ms. Hughes's takeover ended, Wet Seal has been sending snaps to its new followers, posting content like an image of two girls wearing shorts and a maxi dress, but not on a daily basis. The brand has been trying to "lightly promote that we are on Snapchat" via other social channels, according to Wet Seal's VPmarketing and e-commerce Christine MacGregor.

BEST
ICICI Bank
They bank on the power of Bachchan Senior in this spot. A hapless drone from ICICI waits on the Big Bs indulgence, tab in hand. But the ageing star cant be bothered since he is involved with more pressing matters. Like flying kites. He finally delivers a spiel about the convenience of tab banking before rushing off to wage war with the neighbours. Our panel fantasises about the day when they shall be treated with similar deference, waited on hand and foot by men in ties. It loans this ad a Best with zero interest.

BEKAAR

Cadbury Choclairs
Is it the Rage virus from the 28 Days Later series? Or the T-virus from Resident Evil? Whats causing people on a train in this commercial to spasm severely, their faces undergoing contortions and distortions that make our blood run cold? It turns out they are wrestling with nothing greater than a piece of clair with more chocolate than usual. The panel is not amused.
The BEst BEkaar survey is conducted by Ipsos, with ads sourced from TV Ad Indx The survey is conducted every week across 6 key cities in India covering 200 respondents in total.

This Brand Hired a 16-Year-Old to Build Its Following On Snapchat

Teen retailer Wet Seal became the latest brand to try marketing on Snapchat when it handed over control of its new account on the ephemeral messaging service to a 16-year-old beauty vlogger for two days, as reported in Ad Age. Following in the footsteps of Snapchat early adopters like 16 Handles, Taco Bell, Acura and the New Orleans Saints, Wet Seal created an account on the service last month. In order to get it off the ground with some actual followers, Wet Seal enlisted the services of Meghan Hughes, who goes by MissMeghanMakeup in the digital realm. She has 200,000 YouTube subscribers, 49,000 Twitter followers and 101,000 Instagram followers. "We wanted to be thoughtful about how we could exponentially increase our reach, so we partnered with an influencer in the teen space," said Leslie Hall, president at Wet Seal's digital agency ICED Media. Ms. Hughes, 16, manned the Wet Seal account during the weekend before Christmas and created a Snapchat "story" document-

Cokes Kick-Off
Continuing a history of special-edition bottles capitalizing on big events, Coca-Cola is introducing 18 mini-bottles in Brazil to commemorate soccer's World Cup there this summer, as reported in Ad Age. Designs represent World Cup host countries from the past, such as Argentina and Japan, and the future, including Brazil, Russia and Qatar. The bottles (which contain no actual soda) are also interactive. Through Facebook or iPhone and Android apps, fans can create special messages and avatars that can be delivered to other bottle owners. And markers on the bottles can activate augmented reality animations when they're held up to camera smartphones. The bottles are being backed by a broader print and broadcast campaign from J. Walter Thompson. They follow the brand's release of special bottles featuring the Brazilian flag during the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Regn.No.MAHENG/2002/6711 Volume 12 Issue No.50 Published for the Proprietors, Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd. by R. Krishnamurthy at The Times Of India Building, Dr. D.N.Road, Mumbai 400 001 Tel. No. (022) 6635 3535, 2273 3535, Fax- (022)-2273 1144 and printed by him at The Times of India Suburban Press, Akurli Road, Western Express Highway, Kandivili (E), Mumbai 400 101. Tel. No. (022) 28872324, 28872930, Fax- (022) 28874230 and Editor: Ravi Balakrishnan (Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the Publisher is prohibited.