<b><font color="#FF0000">Effie 2004</font></b>: People give the thumbs up to rmg's Lagey Raho

When WPP agency rmg david bagged the People's Choice Award at the Effies this year, it wasn't without a reason. The agency had the task of presenting its case study on Alpenliebe lollipop and the way it went about with it was certainly interesting.

"We had the pleasure of noted ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye to join us. With a puppet in hand that was a dummy of me, Mr. Padhye and the puppet, representing the agency, stood at the left of the stage, while the client (Perfetti) with a laptop in hand stood on the right-hand side," says Josy Paul, country head & national creative director, rmg david.

The Perfetti representative made a formal PowerPoint presentation touching on the marketing objectives, challenges faced by the brand, advertising objective, creative strategy and execution and 360-degree ideation. Novelty came in the form of the puppet, who would butt in at every stage with his questions.

"In effect, there was a dialogue between the laptop and the puppeteer and it made the entire presentation very theatrical and unique," says Paul.

Interestingly, the idea for the presentation germinated about two days prior to the D-Day (October 18). That's when the agency made its first call to Padhye. "We met up with the man about 24-hours before the presentations on Monday and the script was written on Sunday night," Paul recalls.

Given the level of preparation of rival agencies and rmg david's lack of preparation (there was a single rehearsal on Monday afternoon, while the actual event took place on the evening) it seemed unlikely that the agency would be bagging the People's Choice award. But, as Paul avers, the agency "pulled it off well in the end."

Against formidable competition from the likes of McCann-Erickson, Contract and O&M, whose presentations for Chlormint, Royale Luxury Emulsion and Huggies Dri Fit stood out from clutter, rmg david emerged the winner.

As Paul indicates, the victory marks an icing on the cake for the brand, which is the leader in the lollipop category hardly a year after its launch. "The campaign did contribute in making the brand popular," he says. "Lagey Raho was used by one and all, and when something becomes a part of life, it becomes desirable too."

© 2004 agencyfaqs!