Television channels - even MTV and Channel V - are expected to launch shows based on the netas. Amongst the television offerings, most eyeballs will be focused on news and current affairs channels like DD News (if it is launched by then). TV channels are of course going to be rushing to advertisers to foot their programming expenses with attractive ad packages. This year, however, it will be advisable that advertisers don't blindly sign on.

Television commercials, as we all know, are increasingly being zapped in Indian cable and satellite homes. Deep-pocketed advertisers will have to take care that they don't simply air their plain old vanilla commercials as theywill be lost in the cacophony on TV. They will have to create special thematic ads around politicians and the hustings. And because there's going to be a flood of ads they will have to seize every opportunity for branding their products. That is if they don't want their expensive ad rupees to be flushed down the drain.

Hence, as in cricket, they should look for special branding moments such as "X-brand prime ministerial candidate" etc or such as "Y-brand political winner" or "Z-brand quote of the week". Which will mean visibility beyond the mundane that will be surfed over the millions of viewers.

They should even look at taking over the election results scoreboard, or the table listing the number of seats being fought for, by sponsoring it. One doesn't know if the channels are offering fancy ad packages, which includes these options, to advertisers. If they are not, the latter should quite well demand it.

AdAsia '99

The last of the Asian ad industry congregations before the new millennium -AdAsia'99 - will be held in good old Pattaya (Thailand) from 17-20 November '99. The Asian ad industry regular do should be rather interesting after the lull that the Asian markets have been going through. It will give advertisers and agencies - that is the big bosses in advertising agencies - a chance to share notes on how they are recovering from the shocks of the past two years and whether they have started hiring again after the firing bout of the recent past.

The committee is looking for sponsors for some of the social events at the Congress. Some advertisers like Thailand's best known beverage company, Boonrawd Brewery Co (the sponsor for the Welcome Reception), the country's leading newspaper The Bangkok Post (luncheons), Time Warner (luncheons), and The International Herald Tribune (one of the coffee breaks) have already signed. The committee, however, looking for the other sponsorships on offer to be lapped up. Further details can be obtained at http://www.adasia99.com. Will any Indian companiestake the bait?

Music channels going `young'

THE battle of the music channels is going to begin in right earnest. At the time of writing Channel V announced that it is going to be converted into a youth lifestyle channel from this week. A general manager, Suresh Bala, is in place finally. And slick programming, which is claimed to be far superior to MTV's fare, has been promised to advertisers and in teasers on the channel to viewers.

If one goes by all the "new" being attached to what the channel's management is doing, one would expect the MTV folks to have creased brows. And no, the MTV team is not worried in the least. "We won't be looking over our shoulder to see what they are doing," said MTV India supremo Alex Kuruvilla. "We'll continue doing our own thing. Our target audience is much larger". Which is fine. But only time will tell, whether being unperturbed by a comeback channel was a wise thing to do.