Boss sprayed fire extinguisher on employee smoking indoors: Iraj Fraz Batla

Iraj Fraz, creative head of DDB Tribal, has racked up quite the agency experience over his 15-plus years in the industry. Some good, some bad, some funny, and some not worth mentioning. We (afaqs!) asked him a few fun questions in the hope of getting some juicy stuff out of this creative leader. 

Edited excerpts. 

What is the most Not Safe For Work (NSFW) thing you’ve done or seen in your career?

Let’s go with seen. Here’s the story minus the names: Late into the night, with pitch work in full flow, a tired gentleman lit a cigarette indoors. His boss pulled out the office fire extinguisher and sprayed it so generously over and around him that the next morning everyone walked into an office floor that seemed to have experienced a cinematic indoor snowfall in the summer of Mumbai. 

When was that time you thought, “Oh no, I’m getting fired today”?

Circa 2008 - office Outlook emails could only be opened on office desktops. On a lovely Sunday afternoon, I get a work email from a coworker on my Gmail, with client comments on a radio spot. A harmless forward, so it seemed. I promptly responded with exactly what I thought, using vivid and colourful language, often used in the sanctity of the creative floor. 

The next morning, it was clarified to me that I had cc’ed the clients. And I clarified that I’m prepared to give in my resignation. Thankfully, some seniors apologised on my behalf. And I went on to attend meetings with those clients without ever meeting their eye.

What is the worst stinker email you’ve ever received?

The positive person that I am, thankfully I remember none of those. 

What is the best feedback someone has ever given you?

“It’s correct.” When my boss says that, it means the piece of creative is ticking all the boxes but doing nothing to move the audience. It also means that my team and I are being lazy, scared, negative, dumb, and useless.

Have you ever asked a client for a discount on their product or service?

We used to work on Nokia, and for years, we bought phones using their employee discounts. There should be no shame in having middle-class values. 

Which are the top two social media websites you use?

Websites? Who uses websites? I guess you mean apps. I meditate socially through Instagram.

Do you still read, or has watching videos taken over this habit?

Reading allows one to pause and think about a new piece of info or a technical concept. So I do like to read as much as possible. Flight time for books, bedtime for innovative science and news.

Where do you stream your content: on your smartphone, computer, or TV?

Everywhere

Are you a cord-cutter, or do you still subscribe to cable television?

I gave up on wristwatches the moment we got mobile phones in our hands and got a cordless drill to punch a hole in concrete a decade back. I think I’m good at cutting the cord.

Have you ever fallen for advertising’s lures and bought something you shouldn’t have or that was incredibly expensive?

Bajaj Discover was launched with Jackie Chan on national television across India when I was at the tender age of 22. It turned out to be the trashiest motorcycle ever that I went on to repair for 8 character-building years.