Prahlad Kakkar inspires ad aspirants with work, words

Addressing an audience of college-goers at the Indian Merchants Chamber on Friday, 27 July, ad film maker Prahlad Kakkar sought to dispel some of the dogmas surrounding the advertising industry.

Kakkar, an industry veteran of over 30 years, urged the audience to not only strive to be creative, but also have the courage to back their work in order to be successful in the industry.

He explained how a meeting between a creative and client generally transpires, with the client ‘chewing’ apart the original idea, a situation in which creatives usually succumb, resulting in ‘poor to mediocre’ advertisements.

He recounted an incident from the time when Rediffusion was handling Jenson & Nicholson Paints in the mid-1980s. The creative team was behind schedule in its preparation of a campaign. The agency’s founder, Arun Nanda, backed the work of his team and decided to put the campaign on air - without seeking permission from the client, represented by Arun Nehru.

Kakkar recalled, “Arun Nanda called up Arun Nehru, his client, and said ‘The campaign is ready.’ And Arun Nehru on the other end asks, ‘Right, so when do I get to see them?’  Nanda calmly replies, ‘If you could just put on your television set tomorrow at 7 am, you will see the TVC on air!’”

Kakkar went on to showcase some successful ads over the years, including:

Cadbury Dairy Milk – Cricket

Times of India Hockey – Mirjakar

Pepsi – World Cup ‘99

Nike Cricket - Bus

He then played Reliance Big Cinema’s award winning ‘Silent national anthem’ commercial, among other films that have championed social causes.

Signing off, Kakkar said, “For a change, don’t wake up and erase your dreams, remember them.”