January 1-15, 2018 Volume 6, Issue 14 `100 6 INTERVIEW ARUN IYER Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Lowe Lintas KEROVIT A Different Take Will Anushka Sharma’s 20 histrionics do the trick? 10 VIJAY SALES Taking Them On How is this retail store handling online rivals? 22 VOOT Subs riber o yf not or resale Changing the Game How to get eyeballs without spending much. “I SEE EVERYBODY ZEE MEDIA Another Addition 8 BLACK SWAN AS COMPETITION” On a Roll 8 A breezy chat with one of the brightest creative MTV INDIA Star-studded Teams 18 minds in Indian advertising. MUSIC ON DEMAND Music vs Music 23 eol This fortnight... Volume 6, Issue 14 got my appointment for this interview with Arun Iyer in 30 seconds. He heard me EDITOR Sreekant Khandekar I out over a call and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ No ‘Let me check my schedule’, no ‘Send PUBLISHER January 1-15, 2018 Volume 6, Issue 14 `100 me a mail first’, no ‘Depends on what you’re going to ask me’, no ‘Talk to my PR Sreekant Khandekar 6 INTERVIEW team’, or any of the things journalists typically hear from a lot of senior folks who EXECUTIVE EDITOR ARUN IYER Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Ashwini Gangal Lowe Lintas work for large, globally networked corporates. Sure, I may have caught him on a good KEROVIT A Different Take day, but this exchange reflects how simple Arun likes to keep things. ASSOCIATE EDITOR Will Anushka Sharma’s 20 histrionics do the trick? Sunit Roy 10 PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE I’ve been writing about Indian advertising for almost eight years and am surprised Andrias Kisku VIJAY SALES Taking Them On to discover that this is the first time I’ve interviewed Arun, at length; (I have a How is this retail store ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES handling online rivals? feeling this is the real reason I pitched this idea to my boss, shhh). The last time Shubham Garg 22 Arun and I sat and talked about his work and experiences was at an afaqs! event 81301 66777 (M) called ‘Unmetro’, in Gurgaon, nearly three years back. Our conversation then was Apoorv Kulshrestha VOOT Subs riber o y notf or resale Changing the Game 9873824700 (M) How to get eyeballs without spending much. about the small town Indian consumer and whether ads that target this pool ought Noida “I SEE EVERYBODY ZEE MEDIA Another Addition 8 BLACK SWAN Nikhil Jhunjhunwala AS COMPETITION” On a Roll 8 to be any different from those crafted for their big city counterparts. Displaying his A breezy chat with one of the brightest creative MTV INDIA Star-studded Teams 18 9833371393 (M) minds in Indian advertising. MUSIC ON DEMAND need for simplicity, Arun said at the time, “...sometimes agencies are guilty of ‘over Music vs Music 23 Mumbai analysis’...” [email protected] MARKETING OFFICE This time around, at Lowe Lintas Mumbai, we spoke about what Indian B 3, Ground Floor, Sector 4, Noida -201301 Uttar Pradesh advertising got right and wrong in 2017. I feel the sexy, devastating ads were conspicuous by their absence. When I said so, I got a polite ‘Right, right...’ from Arun, MUMBAI 302, Makani Center, 3rd Floor, but did he really concede? I’m not sure. Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400050 At the risk of sounding unoriginal, I asked him about his creative process. How SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES does he ‘crack’ ideas? “Once I understand the problem, I just ‘float around’ it. [email protected] Honestly, as foolish as it may sound, when you get ‘that’ idea, it is an absolute stroke Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and of luck. It comes in a flash,” he said. Printed and published by Sreekant Khandekar, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, Basically – problem, incubation, eureka! Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110 063. Printed at Artz and Printz 208 DSIDC Sheds, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi - 110020 Ashwini Gangal [email protected] CONTENTS 25 14 BRAND ENDORSEMENT Overexposed stars? Brands need to learn new tricks to get around this reality. 18 19 MG MOTOR Maiden Drive Morris Garage’s (MG Motor) RADIO CITY OGILVY RED CONSULTING GOA FEST 2018 26 debut ad campaign for the Indian market makes its entry A City and its DNA In India Now The ABBYs are Back - although the launch is still ‘Rag Rag Mein Daude City’ Focusing on digital The dates have been far. Phase 2. transformation of brands. announced! afaqs! Reporter, January 1-15, 2 0 1 8 3 people KIRAN ANTONY Heading Vodafone Account at Ogilvy After Rajiv Rao quit the agency last year, the Vodafone business fell onto this gentleman’s shoulders. By Suraj Ramnath o say Kiran Antony, 40, is digital). So, there has never been a a man of few words would formal handover process. There is Tbe an understatement. Much no question of fitting into his shoes. like his creative predecessor, he is They are too large to fill. I am happy media shy, low profile and quiet, but to now have the opportunity to build heads the most high profile, high on everything he helped create.” decibel and media-prolific telecom Apart from his first account, Mid- businesses out there. Meet the man Day and his pet account Vodafone, who has been running the Vodafone Antony has worked on brands such account at Ogilvy India for the past as Ceat, Federal Bank, IBM, Titan, five months. Future Group and Star Sports. In July last year, Ogilvy India Although 90 per cent of his time announced former national creative is dedicated to Vodafone, he gives director Rajiv Rao’s exit from the 10 per cent of his time to make the agency; after spending 18 years at the one-off film for his other clients, we agency, Rao, credited with cracking learn. About his work on Vodafone, the famous Zoozoo campaign for he clarifies, “...it’s not like we are Vodafone, went on to pursue ad film doing only ‘talk time’ ads. All our direction. Since then, Antony has ads are different. ‘Lookup’ (digital taken over the reins of the account. campaign done a few months back) afaqs! Reporter profiled the executive is a completely different story. Many creative director’s journey so far. “Vodafone is such a big account it needs mini-products are involved and Antony has been with Ogilvy work on all these various parts is India for 17 years. This is his first your full attention. There is firefighting completely different. With Vodafone, advertising job; he was an engineer going on something or the other every day.” it’s more like many brands in one. All before that. Prior to joining Ogilvy, our ads are different, yet the tone is he worked with a company called KIRAN ANTONY the same,” he adds. Mechelonic Engineers for two So, ‘why does the Vodafone account years as a software engineer. He need so much attention?’ Antony got his engineering degree from the to understand that the idea is good, When it comes to its media says, “Vodafone is such a big account Government Engineering College, but when you take that idea to Rajiv, presence, Vodafone has given it needs your full attention. There Thrissur. afaqs! Reporter happens to he will have a completely different its consumers some memorable is firefighting going on something know he loves cooking, long drives, spin on it. You think your idea is great mascots; after the pug campaign, we or the other every day. Every circle swimming, and playing badminton... and then Rajiv would tweak it in a saw the Zoozoo splash and most (state) will have a different talk time/ and is passionate about sports in way that turned an average film into recently, the adorable Dhananjayans. data plan, offers, festival ads, so we general. a good film. Rajiv always urged us to Does a successful legacy put pressure have our circle offices doing the work, When he joined Ogilvy India keep thinking till the film is shot. And on Antony? “There is always scope but it all gets streamlined here, via the in 2001, he handled the Mid-Day sometimes, even beyond. I can never for bettering your work. The first central team in Mumbai. We do quite business. At the time, the creatives for forget his famous words ‘Hard work time when the boy-dog film (Hutch) a lot of films, but along with that, this account were mostly print ads. never killed anyone’.” came out, we all thought that no there are a lot of other things that go So when did he enter the Vodafone on to complete the communication. (or Hutch, at the time) team? It was Antony has been with Ogilvy India for 17 years. So besides mainstream, BTL and only in 2002 that he started working on-ground, we have plenty happening on the Hutch business, afaqs! This is his first advertising job. on the internet. With close to 90 Reporter learned during the course Antony is quick to add that the other film would ever better this million subscribers on the Vodafone of a recent interview with Antony at inputs of Prakash Varma (director film. But then came the Zoozoos Zoozoo page, we have to keep the the agency’s Mumbai office where of Vodafone ads) helped heaps in and then Super Zoozoos, Zumis, engagement going with posts, stories, he is based. During 2002-03, under this good-to-great process. “I have Asha-Bala and so on. This brand contests, etc. It’s safe to say, there is Rao’s leadership, the first TVC for been part of almost every Vodafone truly values creativity, it’s the reason never a dull day at Vodafone.” Hutch was released by Ogilvy India - shoot,” Antony smiles.