<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>Countdown to Abby 2006:</B></FONT> Can ‘Hari Sadu’ do it for FCB Ulka?

The Ad Club’s 39th Abby Awards are slated to be held on March 31, 2006. So, most agencies are in competition mode. And FCB Ulka, which has entered five TVCs in all for the awards, believes it has more than a sporting chance of getting up there on the dais when the awards are being given away.

FCB Ulka’s entries include two ads in the Automotive and Accessories category: the ‘Liar-Boxing’ ad for the Indica V2 and the ‘Sarva Guna Sampann’ corporate ad for Hero Honda Splendor. In the Corporate/Organisational Advertising category, the agency has sent in the ‘Hari Sadu’ TVC for Naukri.com. Other entries include the Mint-O Blue TVC titled ‘Saans Ban Jaaye Oooh’ in the Food and Beverage category and the Tata Indicom Walky ‘Dishwashing’ TVC in the Consumer Durables category.

But the two ads FCB Ulka is betting on are Naukri.com’s ‘Hari Sadu’ and the Indica V2’s ‘Liar-Boxing’. MG Parameswaran, executive director, FCB Ulka, remarks that ‘Liar-Boxing’ has made it to virtually every survey conducted on the top 20 ads in India in 2005. “Our objective was to make the Indica V2 an aspirational car for the youth, and the look and feel of the film was able to capture this.” Parameswaran claims the ad led the sales of the car to soar to new heights.

‘Hari Sadu’ was released more recently. “Our job was to present the creative on the insight that a person doesn’t leave his/her job for the sake of money or designation,” says Parameswaran. “More often than not, it’s an untenable boss.”

In fact, Naukri.com’s earlier campaign, which was also based on the same premise, bagged a bronze at the EFFIE Awards 2005. So, it would be worthwhile to wait and watch if Mr Sadu can pull off the same trick once again for FCB Ulka.

The agency has four entries in the Outdoor category. Three of these are for public service clients, namely Traffic Police (titled ‘Helmets Protect’), Literacy Donation and the Cancer Patients Aid Association. The fourth entry is in the sub-category, ‘Outdoor: Services’, for client Zee Music.

In the newly introduced Interactive Digital Marketing category, FCB Ulka has sent in its work for the Indigo SX and the Indica V2 Turbo. The agency has also sent in an ad for Zee Music, ‘Music is Everywhere’, in the press category.

“While it is nice to win creative awards, it is more important for us that the ad is appreciated by our consumers,” says Parameswaran. “That is the ultimate award which I think ‘Hari Sadu’ and ‘Liar-Boxing’ were able to accomplish.”

Incidentally, both these ads use humour as their tone of voice. So, has FCB found its forte in humour?

“I wouldn’t say so,” Parameswaran says simply, resting his case.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!