Alok Nanda and Company in Sector Showcases at D&AD 2004

For a young agency like Alok Nanda and Company (ANC), getting noticed at the Awards Sector Showcases D&AD 2004 is indeed gratifying. The Awards Sector Showcases is part of the D&AD Congress 2004, being held at Billingsgate, London. Every year, in the run-up to the D&AD award ceremony, D&AD identifies a few sectors, and showcase work from these sectors are displayed under the Sector Showcases banner. The three sectors chosen by D&AD this year are Automotive, Fashion and Telecommunication, and it is in these showcases that six press ads created by ANC have been selected for display.

Expressing his joy on the selection of the work, Alok Nanda, managing director and chief creative officer, ANC, says, "This is the first time that we have sent our work to D&AD in the retail design section, and it is very encouraging that our work - both in mainline advertising and in retail design - has been shortlisted for the showcase. More so because ever since we started, it has always been our objective to expand the scope of our work beyond just advertising to complete brand design."

The work currently on display at the Sector Showcases includes a three-ad campaign on Aura Alloy wheels (Automotive Sector Showcase), an ad for Wrangler Flexibles (Fashion Sector), an Arrow Sale ad (Fashion) and work on the Lee Retail store design (under the sub-category Environmental design & architecture, in the Fashion Sector).

The ads for Aura Alloy wheels show the iconic emblems of car brands Jaguar and Ferrari, with the animals (the leaping jaguar and the prancing horse, respectively) craning their necks in admiration of Aura Alloy. A third ad shows a Rolls-Royce Flying Spirit car turning around to get a better look at Aura Alloy wheels. "The basic proposition of Aura Alloy wheels is that they make cars look so good that they ‘make heads turn'," explains Prasanna Sankhe, senior creative director, ANC. "This concept was translated into the ads with a twist, where instead of people staring at the car with Aura Alloy wheels, the world-famous emblems of some of the prettiest cars turn to have a look at the cars alloys."

The Wrangler Flexibles ad has a simple visual of a couple engaged in fisticuffs. The idea in the ad, as explained by Sankhe, is to underscore the flexibility of the jeans. "Highlighting the brand proposition, the visual of the Wrangler Flexibles shows a young couple fighting it out, but the twist is the line says, ‘Like many a young couple they were eternally in love. But that was two minutes ago.' The product connect is in the line, ‘Jeans that flex with every move. No restrictions.'"

The Arrow Sale ad, created for the annual sale and titled ‘The Arrow end of season sale. Every gentleman for himself,' is a cheeky take on the genteel image of Arrow-clad males. Elaborates Sankhe, "It twists a popular phrase and shows how the world of ‘formal', well-behaved, cultured people changes when an Arrow Sale is announced." The Lee Retail store design (executed at Connaught Place, Delhi) was created to communicate the rich American heritage associated with Lee. "The concept of ‘Americana' was conveyed in the manner of a historical timeline, which took shoppers through the history of various jeans at Lee, and also showed famous personalities associated with the Lee brand. The timeline also took one seamlessly from one section to the next, thereby serving as a traffic flow channel within the store," says Sankhe.

Work displayed at the Sector Showcases, however, has no bearing on the nominations for this year's awards. Simply because the jury for the two events - the Sector Showcases and the D&AD Awards - are completely different. But the agency is keeping its fingers crossed. Says, Sankhe, "Even though the pieces which are selected aren't on the official nomination list as yet, we still feel honoured that a prestigious organization like the D&AD has shortlisted our work to be showcased along with the world's best. Especially the Lee Retail store design shows that we can do great work for the brand not only in advertising, but also in any available medium. And that it can be showcased with the best work done around the globe." © 2004 agencyfaqs!