The Hindu Business Line : `The best ads are made for consumers, not awards'

People who compromise in order to not rock the boat are bad for the industry. Because they try and do something what the client wants, rather than what the client needs. They don't love their work very much. Agencies should do their job so well that clients have no doubt that advertising is very important to them.

DONALD GUNN

The `Gunn Report' brings with it a stamp of authority and credibility. Launched in 1999, the `Gunn Report and Showreel of the Year' painstakingly combines the list of winners at "most important awards shows in the world" and tabulates the 100 most awarded commercials and campaigns from around the globe.

This report is considered to be `the' authentic document for establishing advertising excellence as it reflects the verdict of eminent jury from major advertising awards.

The man behind the Gunn Report, Donald Gunn, Scottish by birth and now based in England, is the former Director of Creative Resources Worldwide - Leo Burnett. Post-retirement, he served as President of the Cannes Festival in 1998 and 1999. BrandLine caught up with Gunn at the Goafest for a quick chat on the advertising industry today. Excerpts:

What is your assessment of the adverting industry globally? What trends do your report capture?

Ah, the industry is doing great! The Internet has come along and has become very important. And, of course, there are these people who say press and TV media are over but I don't agree with them at all. But it is always nice to have something as strong as the Internet as a new medium.

From a creative point of view, it is very exciting. Each year, there is great new work being done. A country that was very good last year has a quieter year the next year. For example, last year Great Britain did incredibly well and for the first time ever in the Gunn Report, it beat the US to the number one spot. Countries go up and down like a yo-yo. For instance, Thailand has been very strong in 2006. They are the fifth most awarded in the Gunn report. Some 15 years ago, they wouldn't have been in the Top 25 table.

Also, the number of countries doing good work is increasing. In 1999, when the Gunn Report was launched, there were 20 countries in the list representing the 100 most awarded commercials. It is now about 30. So, that is exciting as well. If some bad case scenarios don't happen, the future looks very bright. We should be very optimistic.

How important are ad awards?

Awards are not the most important thing. But I feel quite strongly that they are a good indication of what the best product is. And which agencies, production companies, directors and clients are doing the best work. This is not an opinion or guess, but based on research that I spearheaded for Leo Burnett.

The project was called `Do award-winning commercials sell?' Because a lot of people at that time were saying, `Hang on! You creative guys spend all the time trying to get awards. We want you to sell our products, we don't care about awards.' We thus identified the 400 most awarded commercials in the world over a four-year period (1992-95) and obtained very careful case histories. The result was 86.5 per cent of these commercials had been associated with success in the market place in terms of the client's brief and objectives. So, awards are important.

What is bad is the politics associated with the awards process. The duty of the jury, whichever country or agency they are from, is to find from the entries the best; there shouldn't be politics or scam awards for the same reason.

With so much focus on awards, and agencies trying to outdo each other due to competition, is the consumer still the focus?

I really do think so. On this jury (at Goafest), people are asking which of these ads will have the most effect on the consumer. They might have a taste more towards originality and freshness. But that is in the consumer's favour. I am absolutely sure and adamant that the best ads are made for the consumers and not for awards.

I saw the ad for Happy Dent for the first time at the Adfest. That will win a lot of awards. But I can assure you that the motive of McCann was to do something wonderful for the client. Because that's where the money is coming from — they wanted to do something to make the brand more a household word, make people feel nice about the brand, make people understand the benefit of the brand. I am very non-cynical about this.

What kind of potential do you see in Indian advertising?

There is potential in Indian advertising because it reflects your culture. All your film stuff is evidence that Indian people are not too self-conscious and really enjoy Indian things, Indianness, Indian stories and Indian characters. And this reflects in your advertising as well. Advertising judges really like your ads for this reason. I see Indian ads winning more awards in the future.

In the Gunn report, India is the 21st most awarded - market size high and high potential important market. Good agencies at the top level are doing lovely work. The time has come to look at India. Asia as a region is more dynamic than Europe, North or South America. Last year, in the top 21 countries in terms of ad awards — eight were from Asia Pacific - that is more than a third.

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