I wish I had made these
?There?s a host of ads from India and across the world that I wish I had done, but these two Indian gems pretty much top the list. These are The Times of India (ToI) – corruption ad and Cadbury?s Kuch Khas Hai commercial,? says Prasanna Sankhe, co-founder of Hyphen.
About the ToI ad, he says, ?As a concept and as a piece of film-making, it was outstanding. Not only did it present a very Indian societal evil of corruption and present it to us in such a satirical way – that we accept it as our collective flaw; but it was also strategically correct for The Times of India as the commentator on India. It worked on so many different levels. Like choosing our national game hockey, which going by our current hockey performance in the London Olympics, is anything but our national game. It broke our false pretense of both corruption and love for hockey in 45 secs.?
About the Cadbury ad, he says, ?This particular piece of advertising was so, so important. Not only on a personal level, but at an industry level. It spawned an entire era or path of emotional advertising. And as Indians, we are an emotional bunch. No ad had ever tapped into an emotion as strongly as this one did. It?s one of the primary reasons that made me believe in the power of advertising. The power to move people. I promise, if you load this commercial on YouTube and try not to smile towards the end, you?ll fail.?
My first ad
His first ever ad was for Godrej refrigerator. As a student at Sir JJ School of Arts, it was the dream of shooting with the Miss Indias/Miss Worlds of that era that had prompted him to join the world of advertising. But his dreams were shattered with the very first ad he shot. ?Godrej had launched one of the most sleek looking refrigerators of that time in 1995. And being the ?client?s benefit? thinking person that I was, I blurted out, ?Let?s make the product the hero?. And realised I had eliminated any possibility of getting any leggy beauties in the first commercial of my life,? he remembers. ?So there I was stuck with the Godrej refrigerator, shooting my first TVC well into the morning, almost 20 hours at a stretch. But it was fascinating. I learned so much I was just awake with excitement,? says Sankhe.
Thank god, it isn?t me
The first ad that Sankhe is happy he has not done is the Emami healthy cooking oil commercial. ?Firstly, Dhoni in a gladiator outfit. A big no-no. Don?t take my favourite aggressive captain and then make him look sheepish. Secondly, crowd surfing samosas and medu wadas? Really! I?m quite sure that the client didn?t ask for crowd surfing samosas, he might have asked for more branding and that can be justified but not crowd surfing samosas. And pray tell what is the connection of food Olympics to gladiators??
Sankhe also cannot stand any toilet cleaner commercials. ?In this day and age when we have discovered such beautiful strategic and creative thinking as Tata Tea?s Jaago re, I can?t believe that the only way we can sell toilet cleaning liquids is by showing a split screen of two commodes. And pretty much nothing else in the ad. And strangely enough these ads only play in prime time.?
Prasanna Sankhe quit the post of national creative director at Publicis Ambience in January last year. Soon, he launched a brand engagement and product design venture ?Hyphen? with Alok Nanda, founder of Alok Nanda & Company (ANC). Hyphen has also kicked off its retail store ?Filter?.