Mudra, Delhi bags 11 nominations at the NY Fest; 1pointsize has three

In this cruel and glamorous business of advertising, the fate of agencies, like that of an actor, swings like a pendulum. A few metals or Lions in hand and the agency is catapulted into stratosphere. A marked absence at award ceremonies, and you are written off. To stay in the business, one has to contend with both the contrasting realities. As has Mudra Communications.

For Mudra, not five nor seven, but 11 nominations at the New York festivals is like a monsoon after a drought of three years. Mudra has been practically absent from the awards scene for the last three years.

This, indeed, is a thrilling piece of news for the agency, and it makes Mudra, Delhi the only branch, (and perhaps the only agency) in the country to have won the highest number of nominations at the prestigious festivals.

Since the list of nominations is long, the nominations have been clubbed category-wise for the sake of convenience. The five nominations under Press include campaigns done for McDonald's, Godrej FairGlow, HBO and two ads for Dabur's Nature Care. In the ambient media category, the work done for Felix Lounge Bar (for Kanpur based cinema Rave), Krack Cream and NGOs Sidh and Pahal (two entries) were the finalists. The 11th nomination is for a poster campaign for Samsung in the outdoor category.

The jubilant Hemant Misra, president, Mudra Communications, feels the news of winning 11 finalist nominations at the New York festivals is a vindication of sorts. The agency was almost thought to be creatively dead, he said. "Well, for two to three years, awards were really not our focus and people had thought the creative spirit at Mudra had vanished. But our campaigns have been very successful and this news only substantiates their success."

The one person in the Delhi office that Misra credits for reigniting the creative spark is Ullas Chopra, creative head of Mudra Delhi. "He has diligently worked and inspired the young team at Mudra to perform," adds Chopra.

As Mudra celebrates this news, in Chennai, the two-year old creative shop, 1pointsize is reveling. The agency has picked up three nominations at the prestigious 2004 New York festivals for design, outdoor and print advertising.

Competing with nearly 7,000 entries from 62 countries, 1pointsize snagged three finalist slots in two categories. One in apparel print, and two in public service print. The apparel print nomination was for men's apparel brand Stori, where the ad was titled ‘God, Dog', while the two public service nominations were for the Jeevan Blood Bank ‘Formula of Life' ad and Mahesh Memorial Trust's ‘Cancer' ad.

"Last year, we got one nomination, which was for the print campaign - ‘Clothes with a twist' for the Stori brand. This year, we've trebled our score. We'll be really happy if we convert these nominations into metals. The results will be out in a week or so. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Let's see if we open our international metal tally this year," says, Sharad Haksar, the head of 1pointsize.

Earlier this March, 1pointsize had won five golds, five silvers and two bronzes at SPARK 2004, South India's leading Advertising Awards Show.

"With five people and seven fledgling brands, we've managed a harvest of 19 metals and two international nominations in the past two years. Now, the three nominations. Are added to the haul. Naturally, we have reasons to be pleased," avers Haksar. © 2004 agencyfaqs!