May 16-31, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 24 `100 20 32 INTERVIEW Saurabh Varma Leo Burnett’s new CEO What makes hates scam advertising. Comedy Nights with Kapil a rip- 16 roaring success and one of the biggest marketing platforms for Bollywood. SOCIAL MEDIA Why Rajini Tripped How the actor’s Twitter debut went wrong. 29 SUNFEAST FARMLITE Health Check-out A farm at Bengaluru airport COMEDY promotes health biscuits. VIRAL NOW CAT plays Jenga Game 10 KNIGHT MOBILE APPS Using the Big Screen 12 NEW YORK FESTIVALS 2014 Indian Agencies Shine 18 FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 Sony Six Scores a Goal 25 EDITORIAL This fortnight... Volume 2, Issue 24 got to know about the popularity of Comedy Nights With Kapil (CNWK) quite by EDITOR I accident some months ago. At a dinner with friends, someone cracked a joke which Sreekant Khandekar May 16-31, 2014 Volume 2, Issue 24 `100 had everybody in splits. I was the only one in the room who hadn’t got the allusion to PUBLISHER 20 32 something Kapil popularly said on his show. Everyone else had. Prasanna Singh DEPUTY EDITOR As CNWK heads towards completing a year in June, one has to marvel at the Ashwini Gangal INTERVIEW Saurabh Varma Leo Burnett’s new CEO extraordinary – and continuous – success of the non-fiction comedy show. It is a genre What makes hates scam advertising. SENIOR LAYOUT ARTIST Comedy Nights with Kapil a rip- 16 roaring success and which has seen hardly any successes in India. Vinay Dominic one of the biggest marketing platforms for Bollywood. The ultimate dream of anybody in the TV business is to create a show which sees PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA Andrias Kisku Why Rajini Tripped How the actor’s Twitter appointment viewing – a show the audience likes so much that it plans to watch it rather debut went wrong. 29 ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES than stumbles upon it. The Indian reality is that other than major sports events (read: Naveen Arora, (0120) 4077803, 4077866 cricket) only soaps command that kind of loyalty. Unlike the West, there is no concept Noida SUNFEAST FARMLITE Health Check-out of seasons when it comes to soaps, so there are no breaks. And since soaps run on a daily Arunima Bhattacharya, (022) 40429702-5 A farm at Bengaluru airport COMEDY promotes health biscuits. Mumbai VIRAL NOW basis, they fit into the daily routine and are habit-forming. CAT plays Jenga Game 10 KNIGHT MOBILE APPS Using the Big Screen 12 [email protected] NEW YORK FESTIVALS 2014 Indian Agencies Shine 18 For shows that don’t appear daily, appointment viewing is virtually unattainable. FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 Sony Six Scores a Goal 25 MARKETING OFFICE For a relatively young show like CNWK to accomplish that in spite of featuring only B-3, First Floor, Sector-4, Noida-201301. on Saturday and Sunday is quite a feat. Tel: (0120) 4077800. Since India is primarily a single-TV set household, people often end up watching shows that someone MUMBAI 501-502, Makani Center, 5th Floor, else in the home is watching – and not because they are engrossed. Since viewers do not have a personal Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), screen, how do advertisers know, for example, that CNWK gets appointment viewing? In any case why Mumbai - 400050 Tel: +91-22-40429 709 - 712 is it so important? BENGALURU For one, a relatively high proportion of appointment viewing assures advertisers of audience S-1, New Bridge Corporate Centre, 777 D, 100 ft Road, Indira Nagar, involvement. It is not uncommon for viewers to stick to a show even when they no longer enjoy it: they Bengaluru - 560038, India can flee en masse if a new show catches their eye. Loyalty prevents this. SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES Akhilesh Singh, (0120) 4077837 Since there is no specific data on appointment viewing how do planners know that CNWK enjoys it? [email protected] They go by three criteria. One, they find that the show’s ratings are steady. Two, the time spent on the Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and show is high. And lastly, they find that as soon as the show begins, viewers begin migrating from other Printed and published by channels. Prasanna Singh, at 7-A/13, Ch. Ratan Singh Complex, Colors and Kapil Sharma clearly have a good thing going. Jawala Heri Market, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110 063. Printed at Cirrus Graphics Private Limited B-61, Sector 67, Noida (U.P.), 201301 Sreekant Khandekar Cover Photograph Courtesy [email protected] Colors CONTENTS 28 31 PLUS ESPN CRICINFO LIFEBUOY Test Your Cricket IQ 10 All Pumped Up The FMCG brand STAR WORLD PREMIERE HD launches a fun 24 activation in schools. India’s Mad Men JABONG.COM PROFILE 68 Amitava Mitra Juiced up with Fashion 25 Percept/H’s new CEO talks about his ad years. TEN SPORTS Wizards of Oz 27 POV 26 Football Resurgence AIRTEL HAVELLS IPL 7 Talk On and On A Rap on the Knuckles Will media and money - and 29 the ISL - change the way Airtel takes the romantic The appliances maker makes Outdoor Games football is viewed in India? route to woo consumers. a case for women. afaqs! Reporter, May 16-31, 2014 5 $'9(57,6,1* AIRTEL Talk On... and On... is what sets us apart. I think the message is loud and clear - if you wish to talk all night long, Airtel gives you the best plans.” On the choice of a romantic tone, Paddy says, “It is all about a new way of showcasing the feeling of love and telling a human story that a large number of consumers can relate to. Airtel has always been a loved brand and its communication must speak to the consumer. Then only they’ll consume what the brand has to offer.” The idea is to take human clichés, be it romantic or humorous, and weave memorable stories around it, he elaborates. The campaign will be promoted on print and Airtel takes the romantic route in its latest campaign to push its unlimited internet and night calling category and narrates the tale digital. The OOH leg of the campaign has already of a soon-to-be-married young couple. By Saumya Tewari begun, with hoardings being put up across the country. irtel has caught the pulse of young India Bharti Airtel is a global telecommunications with some well-received TV campaigns, company with operations in 20 countries across Aincluding ‘Har ek friend zaruri hota hai’ and Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, the ‘Jo mera hai voh tera hai’. The latest campaign from company ranks amongst the top four mobile service the telecom major moves away from the peppy providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, friendly tone and narrates a romantic wee-hours- the company’s product offerings include 2G, 3G of-the-night conversation between a ‘soon-to-be’ and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed married couple. line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, The campaign aims to promote the ‘Unlimited DTH, enterprise services including national and internet and calls at night’ offer under Airtel’s international long distance services to carriers. ‘Night Store’ (http://www.airtel.in/night) product. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G Airtel has, so far, released two TVCs with different “The campaign gives an insight wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti creatives executed by Taproot India. The first on how marriage brings about Airtel had over 259 million customers across one is set in the backdrop of a pre-wedding its operations at the end of September, 2012. It function (mehendi or sangeet) with the female a change in a couple’s life.” competes with global giant Vodafone, Reliance, protagonist sporting henna and talking to her SANTOSH PADHI Idea, BSNL, Aircel and Tata Docomo. boyfriend, assuring that all the arrangements for FOTOCORP their wedding are taken care of. When she asks if A FEEL GOOD ATTEMPT that is why he has called her so late, he responds our attention here is the campaign’s uncanny xperts observe that this is a bright attempt by by saying that it is his last conversation with her as resemblance to Vodafone’s ‘Made for First Love’ ad. Ethe brand to connect with consumers. Talking ‘girlfriend’, with the wedding due for the next day. Does that mean this category in itself is limiting about the execution, Navin Theeng, group creative The second film again shows a playful and poses a challenge for agencies to churn out director, Cheil India says the ad film is sensitively conversation between the same protagonists a refreshing ideas? Santosh Padhi (Paddy), chief directed with good dialogues and spot-on acting. night before their wedding, at the end of which creative officer and co-founder, Taproot India “It leaves you with a good feeling,” he says. she teases him and says ‘Pehle tie pehna seekh le’. disagrees and explains, “The Vodafone ads were Theeng admits that the ad reminds one of Both TVCs star a young breed of actors, done in a ‘Made For’ series - made for Moms, Vodafone’s ‘Made for First Love’ campaign, adding including Pulkit Samrat of Fukrey fame and Rakul made for first love and made for the young. The that it is something that the brand and the creative Preet Singh who was the recently seen in the movie, Airtel campaign gives you an insight on how an team would have ‘wrestled’ with. “The argument Yaariyan. Clearly, event (marriage) will bring about a change in a might be that the Vodafone ad shows actual the campaign is couple’s life.