The Hindu Business Line : Divya Bhaskar

When it comes to the print media, Gujarat defies the national pattern. For years Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh had carved up the State, functioning in a manner that only they understood. Understandably, eyebrows were raised when an "outsider," the Dainik Bhaskar group, declared its intention to venture where angels feared to tread.

Well, looks like fortune is on the side of the big guns. The Bhaskar group threw a big bash at the Taj Land's End last week to celebrate the success of its Divya Bhaskar in Gujarat, and a very interesting mix of people turned up. Top guns from the advertising and media industry were seen along with politicians and bureaucrats. Jaywantiben Mehta, minister in the NDA government which relinquished power recently, looked predictably at home, sampling the very Gujju undhio. Even an unseasonal shower could not spoil the celebrations. Piyush Pandey was heard exhorting a friendly agency head to come to Cannes for the advertising festival. "It's my year yaar," he said. True, this will really be his year. Attendance at Cannes should touch an all-time high.

AAAI awards

A little bird tells me that the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has not scrapped the Triple A awards. When the awards were not announced by December, and the function was not held in February, doom pundits were busy writing its obituary.

Well, I am told that the awards will be re-launched in a new, improved format, open for advertisements that appeared in July-June. Very interesting. The Abby accepts entries that have appeared during January-December, and now the Triple A will be July-June. That takes the Triple A away from going head-on against its larger, more glitzier cousin, the Abby. It also gives the industry a reason to celebrate on a half-yearly basis.

One can expect a fairly large function given that the AAAI has roped in two media heavies, the Times group and Star TV, as its sponsors.

Remember, Victoria told you first.

Emvies

The Emvies, the awards for media excellence, have been growing from strength to strength. Last year, Vijay Karnataka, the new shooting star from Karnataka, impressed the entire industry by being the sole sponsor of these prestigious awards. This year, one is told they have quietly taken a rain check. Well, with the senior Sankeshwar and young Anand (owners of Vijay Karnataka) staking their all in the general elections (they have floated a party called Kannada Nadu), I guess they are conserving all their ammunition. Fighting an election is obviously a seriously expensive proposition.

Morphing anger

A Gujarati magazine morphed the faces of Sonia and Advani in what was supposed to be an innocent way, and was unfortunately taken to be irreverent. Political activists burned copies of the magazine while the management spent the rest of the week ensuring that every newspaper carried a statement that it was sorry if it had caused any offence. Soon afterwards, a financial daily carried a morphed picture of Priyanka Gandhi, and activists burned even more copies. A wag attributed the rise in Mumbai temperatures to the burning of so many newspapers.

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