The Hindu Business Line : Effie show

For the uninitiated, the Effies are the international brand of awards sponsored by the American Management Association, for which the Advertising Club Bombay has the India rights. The Effies are given for effectiveness in advertising. In other words, not for creativity alone, not for minimalism or the formula that can unlock the Cannes Lions but for definite, measurable performance in the marketplace, and an identifiable link with the role advertising had to play in the success of that particular product or service in the market.

"Huh? You mean advertising can do all this?" Sure, sweetheart, and since money, as they say is honey and an advertiser's joke is always funny, you better respect the advertising that sent the advertiser laughing all the way to his bank.

Who and Where?

Pranesh Mishra, Chairman, Effies Committee

The Effies were held at a new open-to-sky venue at the Taj Land's End Hotel. Do you sense a feeling of déjà vu? If you do, lovely, you must be in your fifties. As for us, we heard all this from one such golden oldie. We love the type. They have so much to tell. And so little time to tell it. Well, the moment the Ad Club Bombay took the Abby awards out of a stuffy auditorium and out into the open under the starless skies of Mumbai, it seemed to acquire a life of its own and grow very quickly into the monstrous show it is now.

Well, Pranesh Mishra, the Chairman of the Effies Committee at the Ad Club, seems to have uncorked the Effie genie and taken it into the wide blue spaces. Now watch it shoot. This Effie awards show was specially designed for Lowe and O&M. Lowe had Prem Mehta walking in late, talking about how he played host to Jimmy Carter at his Khandala bungalow (no, Brad Pitt wasn't there and we forgot to ask whether Prem had invited Angelina), said hello to his old friends (doesn't he have any young ones?), shook hands with Doug Baillee (don't feel bad if you don't know who he is) and slipped out, leaving the evening to his heir apparent Pranesh Mishra.

OK, OK, we will tell you. Doug is the head honcho of Unilever in India. But then, with Harish Manwani coming down almost every quarter, and justifiably hogging all the media space, we scarcely get to see the gent who is apparently doing such a fine job at Unilever out in India.

Entertainment

Talking about humour, the Ad Club had Mahabanoo Kotwal, a stage personality, doing a stand-up comedy act that made even the garrulous ad types blush deeply. Well, considering that she is the lady who made and enacted the desi version of the play Vagina Monologues in India, we will not go into the details of her script.

One must make special mention of the way the whole setting was laid out. Very impressive, to say the least. Formal table settings for the entire audience of around 500. Black Dog whisky, some Australian wine and only Evian water on the tables. Nothing less for the Ad Club at its Effies function. Keep it up, guys! We are loving it! Pranesh Mishra, take a bow!

Abby build-up

Ajay Chandwani, the Chairman of the Abby Awards committee, grabbed the opportunity to make a definitive statement that the Abby awards would be held early this time, in the first week of March. This officially puts the lid on all speculation of a joint award with the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). It also sets the stage for the AAAI to make its own announcement on its Triple A, sorry, Goa Fest, sorry, we will wait for the name of the awards first, Mr Swamy, then the date, venue ...

Balki in the backdrop

Balki: Move in the offing?

Balki arrived in his usual exuberant manner and proceeded to chat up friends (old and new) about his upcoming Bollywood film, Cheeni Kum. Evidently it is canned and the distributor promos are on. Yet, no one was unduly perturbed that the advertising industry would lose Balki to Bollywood. The buzz was all about whether Lowe would lose him to Omnicom. Now that Keki Dadiseth has taken up the reins of Omnicom in India, one is bound to see some action.

Omnicom cannot be happy with the state of its empire in India. Incidentally, one did not hear Balki denying reports of Omnicom's overtures to him as the figment of Mumbai-based newspapers' imagination. So does that mean it is true? We really do not know, but as they say, there's no smoke without fire. Look out for some big-ticket announcements soon.

Surprisingly SBI

O&M walked away with an Effie for its Surprisingly SBI campaign. Remember it? Not surprising. SBI walked away from O&M in a recent announcement. Well, we did say "Surprisingly SBI," didn't we?

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