Indian army short-lists 4 agencies

Ask any 18 year-old about his career plans and he will promptly list out his choices. An MBA, an engineer, a career in the IAS, a doctor... the list goes on. Chances are that he will never mention a career in the Indian army in his preferred job list.

Now, isn't that unfortunate? The very mention of the Indian army conjours up visions of tough, disciplined men (and women) in uniform who fight against forces inimical to India; they are patriots who don't think twice before giving up their lives in the interests of the nation.

It's not that the young men will disagree with this notion. But what they are likely to tell you that an army man's profession is fraught with danger. And, the pay packet is modest.

Those are perhaps the two main reasons that dissuade young people from joining the armed forces. This has led to a situation where the Indian army is desperate for young intelligent men and women to enlist as officers.

Lowe's Delhi branch was responsible for communicating how exciting the Indian army is as a place of work, and the challenges that a 'civilian' misses out in his/her ordinary existence. Now that the contract with Lowe is over, the army top brass is again searching for a creative partner to tide over the crisis.

The agency pitch, say industry sources, have been on for some two months now. Initially, there were eight agencies that had participated in the pitch, where each agency was given a 30-minute slot to make a presentation on the Indian army.

Out of the eight, industry sources say, four have been apparently shortlisted. These sources say the four agencies are Lowe, Lintas IMAG, Mudra and JWT, and the size of the business is about Rs 12 crore.

Sources say that a final decision will be taken in a month's time.

None of the agencies in the presumed short-list were willing to comment about the pitch on record. When agencyfaqs! spoke to senior executives from the advertising industry, all of them were unanimous about the presence of Lowe and Lintas IMAG in the short-list.

Apparently, Lowe and Lintas IMAG will be operating in unison with Lintas IMAG providing the below-the-line push and Lowe taking care of the creatives.

The Indian Army has approximately 940,000 men and women in its ranks and another 36,000 as reserve forces. © 2005 agencyfaqs!