Anant's blog: Ads need to sell, awards can wait

Had a leisurely breakfast with BBDO’s Josy Paul a couple of Sundays ago. He’s been interviewing, literally, hundreds of junior creatives for the Delhi office.

Most of them, even those with a few years behind them, have little understanding of how consumers behave, of the challenges of competition, of insights, of research.

They all know how to create ads that look like award winning ads, though.

Had a long chat with a US based founder of a creative shop last week. He’s been looking for senior creatives for his proposed Mumbai office.

Most of them, even those who have won metals at every fest you could care to name, have limited understanding of new media, social media and of how consumers operate in these areas.

Solutions are required.

As far as the juniors are concerned, they must understand that, while awards are good and are welcome, what pays salaries are the ads that sell real products and services in the real world – and these ads are very different from ads created for non-existent clients in a non-competitive environment in an artificial world. Seniors need to mentor the juniors and help them find the balance.

As far as the seniors are concerned, they need to read, they need to talk to those who know more than they do and they need to attend seminars, workshops and conferences where the content will help plug knowledge gaps.

Lots of knowledge gaps. Someone needs to do something about it.