Countdown to Abby 2007: FCB Ulka lines up its ‘power’ packed work

The agency is counting on its television ads for Indica, Jeevansaathi.com and Mint-O Fresh to do the trick

With the Abby Awards set to make its presence felt on the festive occasion of Holi, FCB Ulka is geared up for a double celebration already. And why not, as the agency missed out on its share of the limelight last year. “We were quite disappointed when the ‘Hari Sadu’ ad for Naukri.com, and ‘the Liar-Boxing’ one for Indica V2 didn’t fetch any metals,” says Nitin Karkare, COO, FCB Ulka, Mumbai. However, this year seems to be looking up for the agency, as it has quite a few TVCs in its kitty to grab the attention of jury members.

Countdown to Abby 2007: FCB Ulka lines up its ‘power’ packed work

A shot from the Indica V2 Xeta ad.

A shot from the Indica V2 Turbo ad, showing the impact of the car.

To begin with, two of its ads for Tata Motors have been entered in the Television: Automotive and Accessories category. These include the Tata Indica Xeta ‘You Gotta Be Dumb’ ad, as well as the ‘Waves’ ad for the Indica V2 Turbo. “For the Turbo, we had a clear task at hand,” says MG Parameswaran aka Ambi, executive director at the agency. A diesel engine is primarily perceived to be fuel-efficient, but sluggish. However, as the Indica V2 Turbo is powered by a high-end torque engine, that part was taken care of. As Ulka had to highlight this quality of the car, the ad showed how an Indica 2 Turbo car creates a giant water wave when passing by a tranquil lake in which a man was fishing serenely.

The Xeta ad, on the other hand, created a youthful, zesty and bubble image for the Xeta-type diesel engine, while the ad featured girls in it for the first time. The ad was rated as the ‘Ad of the Year’ at the CNBC Autocar Awards.

Other entries in the Television segment include ads for Zee Cinema (‘Pyaar Ki Shuruwaat’ in the Television: Media category), Jeevansaathi.com (‘Father with the Sehra’ in the Television: Business Products and Marketing of Services category), and Mint-O Fresh (‘Jaadugar’ in the Television: Food & Beverages category).

While Press is a blind spot for Ulka with hardly any entries to speak of, the agency expects its topical Mumbai Police Traffic hoardings (those prominent at Marine Drive, Mumbai) to do the job in the Outdoor category. Its ambient work for Zee Café and Zee Studio for some of their properties has made it to the Ambient Media category. For instance, to announce the launch of ‘Kill Bill’ Part 1 and 2 airing on Zee Studio, the agency had ‘bloody’ graphics on mirrors in the toilets of various malls, multiplexes and coffee shops.

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