Goafest 2008 features both ABBY & AAAI awards

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: Jagdip Bakshi, president of Contract Advertising & chairman of the Goafest 2008 has a reason to smile. For the first time, two rival advertising award shows in India namely ABBY and the AAAI awards (the Advertising Association of India) will take place under the same roof-Goafest 2008. In a significant move, the AAAI will work with the Ad Club of Bombay in awarding Abbys this year. The coming together of the AAAI and the Ad Club is considered a landmark event in the Indian ad industry. In an exclusive interview with FE’s Lalitha Srinivasan, Bakshi shares information on ‘Goafest 2008’. Excerpts:

Q. How did you manage to bring together two prestigious awards functions in India?

A. A single award show has come about by a realisation that two shows are really duplication. The same agencies, same judges, same work, it just is that more expensive—so one national platform is what the creative awards are about at Goafest this time.

Q. It was two years ago that the AAAI launched Goafest as a national platform for the celebration of creativity in advertising. How do you plan to take it forward?

A. We are really taking forward Goafest in five dimensions. Goafest 2008 will now feature an industry conclave, seminars, media awards, creative awards (ABBY) and water sports & games.

Q. What’s new at Goafest 2008? When do you plan to introduce ‘ad effectiveness’ awards?

A. Well, the coming together of the AAAI and Abby is new. As of now, we have no plans to launch ad effectiveness awards. We have around 1975 registrations now. The number should go up to about 3000 eventually.

Q. Do you think award winning campaigns can really promote the sales of products in India ?

A: Well, do fashion shows promote the sales of clothes? I think yes the celebration of the art of advertising is very important for the overall growth of the advertising trade. It promotes the quest for excellence in ideation, the very lifeblood of why advertising exists as a profession.

Q. When do plan to launch the media blitz for ‘Goafest 2008’?

A. The work has been launched...posters have reached the agencies, press ads and TVC’s will be on air next week the TVC’s are already on Youtube.

Q. What’s your vision for Goafest?