The Hindu Business Line : Mr Speed

Narain Karthikeyan, the fastest Indian on wheels, will be the first from the country to zoom down F1 tracks across the world. And that should make every Indian very proud. Karthikeyan's sponsors have every reason to feel pleased. In a sport that does not attract too much attention, it needed foresight and perseverance to back this young man. Tata Motors needs special credit for this.

Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) was a later entrant. The company must be pleased as punch. Firstly, he was an ideal choice for its Speed petrol; and now, just a few months after it decided to sign him on as its ambassador, he hits the Formula One circuit. Talk about backing the right horse at the right time.

For all those cynics who thought it was impossible to see an Indian burning the rubber alongside the likes of Michael Schumacher, well, maybe BPCL will make a new commercial with Karthikeyan's dream run up to the top, and end up with its line, "MAK makes it possible."

Foreign birds flying in

Shelly Lazarus, the top gun at O&M, was in town and the men in black must have really laid out the red carpet for the lady. Of course, the agency's performance in India is such that no one in their right senses would either ignore it or say anything other than the right words of praise for it. Yet Ms Lazarus' visit is another sign that India is taking its rightful place in the international advertising scenario. (See interview)

Remember just a few weeks back we had Maurice Levy, the head of Publicis, flying in; and that kept the likes of Arvind Sharma, Shantakumar and Ashok Kurien pretty busy. The head of the IPG group would have also flown through India before you read this piece. Prem Mehta would have hosted a formal party and Anil Kapoor would have hosted a smaller, more intimate do in his bungalow on Cumballa Hill.

Well, almost all the big birds have visited India this winter. When can we expect Sir Martin Sorrel?

AAAI AdFest

The Advertising Agencies Association of India seems to be serious about promoting young creative talent in Indian advertising. One recalls its efforts that have resulted in a team of young creatives flying to Cannes every year for the past three to four years. Now it has announced the winning team that will be winging to Pattaya for a week of sun, surf and creativity. Ayappan and Flory from Orchard Advertising Bangalore are the lucky ducks.

Lucky? Well, my little bird tells me that the jury sifting through the entries had to work really hard to choose a winner. Piyush Pandey and K. S. Sridhar (Pops) finally decided that the winning team had thought differently and deserved to fly the Indian flag at Pattaya. They also noted that they wished young creatives would take opportunities such as this more seriously. Well, keep it up Ayappan and Flory. May you bring us more glory.

Dan Weiden

The MRUC has gotten visible with a one-day seminar. It has attracted a lot of attention by bagging Dan Weiden, the man who is associated with the Nike legend, to speak. Dan is more a strategy and creative person but his name will be a good crowd puller.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Price pyrotechnics

Dead man selling!

A profile of the rural consumer

`Branding has moved to the boardroom'

Mr Speed

Direct to consumer

Enter the corporate brand

The easiest thing is to go with a trusted brand