The Hindu Business Line : Madhukar’s second innings

Madhukar Kamath of Mudra has taken over a second term as President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). We are told he received nine nominations for a second term, quite a turnaround since the last year where he fought an acrimonious election that saw the industry speculating wildly about the prospects of JWT’s Colvyn Harris on the one side and Leo Burnett’s Arvind Sharma on the other. Colvyn has decided that positioning JWT as a wildly creative agency is more interesting and Sharma has faded into the background now.

In just one year, Madhukar has managed to bring the Ad Club Bombay and the AAAI together on the creative awards front, host a large and well-attended Goa Fest, take on the Indian Broadcasters Foundation squarely and win, make a successful bid for the 2011 AdAsia and bring in considerable cohesion within what was considered a fractured industry. Take a bow, Mr Kamath. We wish you a fruitful second innings. Just remember, you don’t have to present awards to scam ads!

Guha quits Zee

After several decades with the Times Group maybe you expected Pradeep Guha to have a longer stint at Zee as its CEO. But that was not to be. Barely four years after he made his high-profile move, PG (as he is called) had to walk.

Industry sources say they knew it was coming. Speculation had been rife over the last six months that PG would move. The only questions were where and when. First one heard he was contemplating holding a small stake in the Sahara TV network and managing it. Then one heard he had actually had talks with someone in the ADAG group about managing their growing entertainment business. Then suddenly, he released a press note that he had founded an OOH company called Street Culture, and equally suddenly, Zee decided it would release him. It all happened between late afternoon and the night and left everyone gasping with surprise. Quite a messy ending to a relationship that was marked by Zee climbing from a lowly number three network when PG took over, to that of a strong contender for the top slot.

Anyway, we are told PG has his hands full. He always wanted to produce movies and short films (which he has been doing) and now he has the OOH company as well. Oh, he will probably have more time now to attend to his industry commitments. We are told he is the Area Director of the International Advertising Association and the Vice-Chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations.

Congrats, Pranesh!

Everyone thought Pranesh Mishra would take the baton from Prem Mehta and run the Lowe empire. Every bit as polished and urbane as Prem, he seemed the natural choice to take Lowe into the next decade. Then came the huge hullabaloo over the payouts to the employees of Lintas but not the staff who were on “contract”. A furious Balki made his feelings clear as only he can do. Prem retired, Balki was made Chairman and Pranesh put in his papers (not because of that, maybe) to branch out on his own.

Pranesh’s daughter’s wedding reception held some time ago saw the industry turn out in force to greet one of the nicest persons it has known. His new venture with Jerry Rao (founder Chairman of Mphasis) as an investor should be interesting to watch.

The True Show

Balki: True to Lowe

So Balki finally has an award show he respects and takes part in … his own.

The ‘True Show’ will award the best creative work done within the Lowe empire. And no scam ads will be allowed. Hats off to you, Balki! We are impressed. Now please tell us, why did you condone a scam ad at the Goa Fest? And we are very glad that clients will be a part of the jury for this award. Now we wonder what the creative community that has fought to keep clients out of the Abby judging panel have to say about this. No scam ads and clients on the jury. Most of the agencies will be horror-struck!

Frooti commercial

Someone showed us a mail from an association named CPHCSA which was delighted that its complaint to the Advertising Standards Council of India against a recent Frooti commercial had been upheld. The mail said, “ASCI has requested the advertiser to withdraw the advertisement”. Very good, but has the advertiser complied??

Vic’s pick

So what if Abhishek Bachchan has not had too many releases? He seems to be well-connected with the telecom industry. His new commercial for Moto Razr where he dances wildly to the tune of some Tamil doggerel is an absolute riot. And his new commercial for Idea where he plays a priest thanking the Lord for a great idea is pretty cool as well. _ Victoria

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