‘Interesting and challenging time as our Industry gets redefined’: Prasoon Joshi, in Gunn Report 2012

‘On a cold winter December morning in London, Donald, Emma and I sat in a conference room viewing, debating and discussing all the work that would make its way into the Gunn Report. Sifting through it all, the word manthan suddenly flashed upon the mind and I tucked it away to reflect upon later.

Indulge me.

Manthan is the Sanskrit word for churn. There’s an interesting legend central to ancient mythology, that of ‘Samudra Manthan’ - The Churning of the Ocean. According to this legend, the Gods once lost their power and the control over Paradise. To regain it, they were advised by the Lord to churn the mighty ocean. This, in order to discover ‘Amrut’ - Nectar, the very elixir of life that would make them immortal. During this great, intense churning, many a pleasant and unpleasant object emerged - lethal poison, rare gems, a wish fulfilling tree, the book of medicine Ayurveda - before Amrut could be attained.

To cut a long story short, it felt perhaps as sweet as sipping on ambrosia, once we saw the final work that had made it to the top of the table.

Introducing the Gunn Report 2012.

There are some real gems are in here.

It brings in limelight a body of work so diverse; from Classic Advertising to creating content and a new dynamic. Ranging from the delightful Dads in Briefs campaign to the game changing Nike +

Fuel band concept.

It’s both an interesting as well as challenging time for our Industry as it gets redefined.  Straddling contrasting ends of a world, where some beliefs still go by the book, whilst others are recast with spring revolutions triggered on Facebook and other social media. Today, a climate change conference is no longer just attended by the official national reps but can invite real time twitter involvement from across the world. Content is now democratized, consumers are now co-creators, from honing of digital skills there’s’ now talk of Singularity - of man and machine being one. To create work that rises above the challenge of this changing world, media and mind space around us is no mean feat.

To all those, whose work gets featured here especially on top of the charts - Congratulations, you make it feel worthwhile. To Donald and Emma- Thank you for making showcasing the cream.

Best,
Prasoon’

(Prasoon Joshi is Executive Chairman and CEO McCann WorldGroup and Member of The Global Creative Council. This is a reproduction of his editorial in the Gunn Report 2012.)

Also read: ‘There’s still something about a good TV commercial’: Prasoon Joshi, in the Gunn Report 2012