Alokananda Chakraborty
Media

Think Print Awards 2004: Toh aap Print kyon nahin karte hain?

The INS-organized annual Think Print Awards witnessed nearly 700 entries in response to this year’s brief which revolved around the popular Close-up commercial

Given an opportunity, how would you capture the spirit of the popular television commercial for Close-up (‘Kya aap Close-up karte hain?) in a single, static frame? Transmuting an idea that has lent itself so well to the audio-visual medium into print is a tough call, no doubt, but that is precisely what the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the organizers of the annual Think Print Awards, has set as a creative challenge for ad folk in agencies.

The Think Print Awards, which are given out on the night of the Abby function (which, incidentally, is on March 20, this year), celebrates the print medium in every possible way. Creatives are called to think up a print rendition of a popular television campaign, and this year, the brief revolved around the Close-up commercial. Participants were asked to present their ideas on Close-up in a 200-cc colour format, which was then adjudged by a panel of three jurors. The organizers of the Awards reveal that the competition attracted nearly 700 entries this year.

"Since the Awards are being held under the auspices of the Bombay Ad Club, we (the INS) do not interfere with the judging process, but state the composition of the panel to the Ad Club," explains, Shripad Kulkarni, CEO (west/south), Carat Media Services India, and advisor and coordinator, Think Print Awards 2004. He adds that the ideal composition of the jury is two creative directors and one client, preferably, a representative of the company whose brand has been selected for drawing up print ideas. The jury decides on the shortlist and final selection, Kulkarni reveals.

The Think Print Awards is part of Project Press - an initiative flagged off by Bharat Kapadia, editor and publisher, Chitralekha, and a member of the INS - the other constituent being the Impact Multiplier study, which was released on September 8 last year. The study, which was executed by IMRB, measured how print and television work on the basis of the Impact Multiplier theory, which assumes that when two media are taken into account, the combined impact is more than the sum total of the individual impacts of the two. The study attempted to measure the advertising effectiveness of six brands - Active Wheel, Sundrop Nutrilite, Whisper Maxi, Himalaya Fairness Cream, Aquaguard and Limca - using the Impact Multiplier theory, arriving at multiplier scores with the help of parameters such as salience, recall, imagery, brand values, disposition, contact efficiency and micro targeting.

"Print plays a significant role in the communication mix," Hemant Mehta, who was in-charge of the study at IMRB, had said during his presentation on September 8, 2003. To which Kulkarni, who was also involved with the project, had added, "If you want the message to be established, then print has a big role to play." Clearly, the INS wants agencies to ‘think print' more often. © 2004 agencyfaqs!

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