Grey gets a large share of the Greenply Industries pie

Grey Worldwide has won the creative duties for Greenlam Laminates, part of Greenply Industries, an account that was with Lowe thus far. Will the Greenply account follow?

Greenply Industries has awarded the creative duties for its laminates and decorative veneers business to Grey Worldwide. The account moves from Lowe.

Greenply Industries, makers of Greenply Plywood, Green Decowood Decorative Veneers and Greenlam Laminates, has, in a sense, split its creative duties between two agencies; while Lowe (which was handling Greenply Industries in totality thus far) will continue to work on Greenply Plywood, the other two brands now belong with Grey.

Grey gets a large share of the Greenply Industries pie

Priti Nair

Grey’s appointment was confirmed to agencyfaqs! by Alex Joseph, general manager, communications, Greenply Industries. This shift is perhaps yet another example of accounts moving because the people who work on it have moved.

In essence, Priti Nair’s move from Lowe to Grey Worldwide is proving fruitful for Grey. For the uninitiated, Lowe’s erstwhile executive creative director (who was responsible for popular campaigns such as Daag Achhe Hain for Surf Excel and Sardar Kid for Greenply) quit the agency last year to join Grey as its national creative director. Shortly after that, Nair’s colleague at Lowe, Brijesh Jacob, who also worked on Greenply Industries, moved to Grey as well.

A frame from the
Greenlam ad of 2007

It would perhaps be fair to deduce that the Greenlam and decorative veneers accounts have shifted to Grey because of the skills set with which Nair and Jacob handled the brands while at Lowe. In fact, the two were the chief brains behind Dikhane ka Jee Kare,

the last campaign

for Greenlam Laminates, which made use of the trademark tongue in cheek humour with which Greenply has come to be associated. It showed a married couple running into the husband’s old pal at a restaurant. After exchanging pleasantries, the couple insist that the guy visit their home. He declines politely, only to be forced and threatened into submission. Later, one comes to know that the man was invited forcefully because of the couple’s desire to show off their new furniture, which incorporates Greenlam.

The imperative question now is whether Greenply Plywood will also move to Grey. “No,” comes the frank answer from Joseph, although industry insiders insist that there is a possibility of it doing so a few months down the line.

For the record, there is no change on the media front. Initiative will continue to handle the media buying and planning for Greenply Industries. The ad spends for Greenlam alone are pegged at Rs 5 crore.

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