<FONT COLOR="#FF0033"><B>Guest Article:</B></FONT> Geeta Rao: The awards ‘chakkar’

Geeta Rao

Mudra

Everyone has an opinion on advertising awards. Especially the media, which, in the manner of the Jessica Lal case, will have us lighting candles at India Gate and asking for a redressal of justice and the restitution of ‘the Great Indian Ad Awards’ – the pure and true one, if there was one.

So, before the media tries to save Indian advertising from going under, let me air my opinion. Awards will matter however much we think they won’t. And they will always be mired in some controversy. For years, Cannes fought the stigma of being dominated by Britain and the US (which it was). It’s only in the last five years of Cannes’ 50 years that a forum on Asian advertising has been held. Latin America made the club just a little earlier.

For many years, CAG in Mumbai was the touchstone for creative awards. CAG was the award creative people, especially art directors, swore by. To be Copywriter or Art Director of the Year at CAG was a high honour. It took the Ad Club many years to institute a similar award. The thing with CAG was that it was an award by creative people for creative people.

Not that CAG was not mired in controversy, but CAG spats ended in a simple way – fisticuffs and lots of broken beer bottles tossed at fellow creatives at the actual ceremony. That is, before the media took over. I remember one CAG party where three famous creative directors slapped each other, had to be physically separated and then everyone drank a great deal and it was all forgotten. CAG was raw and fun, but people ended up saying it was run by a JJ School of Art club.

The Ad Club used to be small and fun and, usually, Rediff, Trikaya and Ambience walked off with all the awards. Ogilvy was doing so badly that people from the agency rarely went for the awards. Lintas, now Lowe, pretty much did its own thing even then, but usually won for public service.

The three As of I awards were the smallest of the lot and the most formal, so creative people stayed away. But the three As had its positioning clear. It was for the industry, it was a closed door event and it was clearly run by suits and media heads of agencies, who wanted to acknowledge creativity and efficacy within the big business picture and made no bones about it.

Then CAG folded up in 2000, under the weight of its own creative spirit. The Ad Club closed the gap under the positioning of the Oscars of Indian advertising. But it tried to be too many things to too many people and ended up riling more than a few. Amitabh Bachchan came in one year, Fardeen Khan another year, various Miss Indias – all under the guise of being human brands. The Ad Club awards began resembling the ‘Filmfare’ awards. The ensuing coverage meant instant stardom for the winners.

Then began the Cannes-fication of creativity. India did not enter Cannes until 1994-95, when ‘The Times of India’ won the representation. New benchmarks were set and everyone hiked ticket prices and put on a more glam doll image. Suddenly, a new gravitas has come upon the industry and the awards (both taken too seriously in my opinion).

But since awards will matter, the most creative of awards will be the one which has the greatest creative representation from within the industry. Not only the traditional Gods of advertising, but good raw creative people who are not too scared to express an opinion. However good clients are at buying creatives, keep them away. Try not to get a motley crew of columnists, stars or poets on the juries. Try not to get more than two creative directors from the same agency. Bring in the Drogas and the Serpas and the Goodbys.

The best awards are dictated by the most creative and least incestuous juries. And yes, they must be controversial, so we know living, breathing, passionate creative people are involved with them.

(The writer is creative advisor with the Mudra Group. You can write to her at geetarao@paradigmshiftasia.com.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!