The Hindu Business Line : Cannes congrats

Well, O&M took its place on the victory stand at Cannes, as did Leo Burnett. Congrats, guys! It's always good to see the Indian flag flying. More so on foreign shores. Yet the celebrations are not as ecstatic as one would expect. Could it be that all the hype and all the raised expectations after last year's performance have led to this slightly lower decibel hurrah? Hey, everyone was looking for silver and gold Lions. The bronze effect seems to be a wet blanket. And that too, exult the crib-brigade, the bronzes are in the outdoor category.

Sour grapes, methinks. To win a Lion at Cannes is great. It positions India well on the international scene, and if it is a Bronze this time, can Gold be far behind? Keep the good work, guys.

Bronze at Cannes?

From all the reports emanating from Cannes we will have a lot more bronze coming back to India. I mean the bronzed delegates who have been taking in the gorgeous sights on the beaches of the South of France. Between appreciating the things of beauty on the beaches, and partying into the wee hours of the mornings, the 100 Indian delegates will have a fun time explaining how they recharged their creative juices there. Looks like Cannes is the most creative official holiday people ever invented. What the hell, no one's really complaining.

Global Lakme

Read about the two products Lakme is planning to import into India. Soon Lakme diehards will have dual-toned lips and eyelids that sparkle with a global sheen. Well, from Tomco, a Tata company committed to taking India to the world, to Lakme, a division of HLL that is bringing the world to India, it has been a short, breathtaking ride. Probably the only thing common to the two avatars of Lakme is Anil Chopra. He really seems to have handled the makeover without the slightest blush. Carry on Anil, whatever you are doing (with Lakme, that is); the ladies seem to be loving it.

Emvies to the fore

The Ad Club Bombay seems to have a golden touch when it comes to awards. The Emvies have attracted a record 300-plus entries. Up almost 100 per cent from last year. Well, media seems to be the flavour of the day.

Team Tata

The normally reticent and shy Ratan Tata flew in from South Africa to accept the Business Standard award for CEO of the year. When Ratan arrives, can Team Tata be far behind? The top brass from Bombay House, including R. Gopalakrishnan, Firoze Vandrewalla, Jamshed Irani and Ravi Kant, were very much in evidence. One could add that Anil Kapoor of FCB Ulka was there. After all, he could now qualify as a part of Team Tata.

Without comment

The Minister for Defence, Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, speaking at the function, charmingly described himself as an "antique" and added that some people loved to collect antiques. He remarked that many years ago he was on a sub-committee that did not approve the investment proposal of Financial Times. Many years later, he was once again chairing a sub-committee that was asked to go into the merits of the FT case. This time around, he was a Minister when FT was announcing its investment. Third time lucky, one might say, or as the FT advertisement would say, no comment.

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