It’s been a pretty decent year for India so far at the Cannes. All the biggies have delivered. A total of 23 metals so far, with the Titanium and Films yet to be announced. Darn good. The entries from India have confirmed that the country isn’t really been affected by the globally dreaded word. Oh yeah, so what if you cut salaries of employees. So what if you postpone appraisals, and, in some extreme cases, sack people. Or conveniently let the HR team take your employees into confidence and sell the ‘recession-has-badly-affected-our-profits’ story. We’ve even had someone pleading not to reduce Cannes to a cost-cutting exercise. They’ve heard you buddy. Well and loud. Cannes is different, yeah.
On a positive note, some of the entries from India have been good. But let’s not get into that. The media is all over them, showering accolades. Well-done boys. Save the Gutter Bar from shutting down in tough times like these. Invest heavily. India definitely has to show the way, if not for creativity.
But the one work that stood out for me is the Air India campaign done by DDB Mudra, Bangalore. This unique two-piece campaign won Silver at the Outdoor Lions this year (The Mudra team should’ve partied at The Beach Resto-Bar last night). The campaign has already started getting mixed response from agency folk. I myself was starting to get all excited hearing my colleagues and peers talk about it. Then came the spoiler.
A certain email has been doing the rounds – which has a link to an ‘Ads Of The World’ page, featuring a campaign done by Euro RSCG Spain for Air France. Pretty much the same idea. In a more dignified response, well ‘re-crafted’, DDB Mudra. The link is attached, see for yourself. I’m starting to hate this thing called ‘coincidence’. How often it happens. You think of a great idea, send it to Cannes no less, it wins you Silver, and then comes the spoiler. It’s like watching a great movie and knowing later that it was actually a remake. Somebody thought of it before, executed it as well. Not the first time a ‘coincidence’ happening at Cannes. We’ve seen it before, haven’t we?
Oh those scams. Wins you stuff, don’t they? So much for Ads Of The World and Behance. But the show has to go on, and it will. This blog, too. Watch this space tomorrow. I’m starting to enjoy blogging. In fact, this should be the best job in the world.
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