GOD gets a whole new meaning

Ever searched your soul, wondering what GOD meant to you? On a more earthly plane, here’s one answer: Gang Of Designers! That’s what the two-year-old Mumbai based ad agency, Palasa, is now calling itself.

The idea is to not be a small shop any more, for Palasa, or GOD, has big plans up its sleeve.

To start with, GOD plans to delink its direct marketing and media divisions – both of which were operating as units within the agency till now – and run them as separate entities, servicing work for both GOD and other agencies. These profit centres are yet to be given new names. Vedobroto Roy, creative partner, Palasa Inc., says the teams for the three entities will also expand, with people from other DM, media and ad agencies being roped in.

Roy explains the changes thus: “Palasa Inc. wants to be a bigger entity from now on. We needed to step away from the name Palasa to give it space to grow. We are essentially a gang of designers. So, why not call a spade a spade? Gang Of Designers has a nice ring to it and when we abbreviated it, we had GOD staring right at us. You can call it a sign!”

But will the name not offend religious sentiments? Roy clarifies, “God is the common thread that binds the faithful together. One can shred this thread and fight about the Lord, or tie knots and hold everyone together.”

“Call it a coincidence, but we are embarking on our new journey in the Lord’s name and we don’t mean disrespect to any religious sect,” he adds. “We believe that God is the ultimate creative guy. One just needs to look around to see that.”

The agency will don a new logo, with GOD printed on a red background. The agency believes that red is the most neutral colour when it comes to religion. “Red blends into every faith without any discrimination. Red is also a vibrant colour that signifies celebration. For us, that is exactly what each day will be from now on,” Roy explains.

The agency has quite a few clients, including Gili, Mercury, IT Brand Circle, Sprint CDs, Voltas Corporate (on a project basis) and STAR One, for which it handles ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’. It claims to have expanded its business to include a production house, a suiting brand and a publishing house.

“While we are expanding our scale of operations, our core focus will be on developing our existing brands,” Roy asserts.

Won’t Gang Of Designers mislead a layman to believe that the agency is a design hot-shop? “We look at it this way: We design brands,” Roy states simply.

To get Gang Of Designers in the big scheme of things, the agency has sent in entries this year to awards shows such as D&AD, One Show, New York Festival and the Abby’s.

The question now is whether divine intervention will bring in the awards as well.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!