Warc Prize for Asian Strategy: Nine entries from India shortlisted

The results of Warc Asia 2012 have been announced and India has put up a good show. Of the 32 case studies shortlisted, nine belong to India.

India has outperformed Singapore and China that have seven and six shortlists respectively.

The Indian shortlisted entries are:  ‘Nihar Naturals:  Jaani Na’ and ‘Google Chrome: The Web is What You Make of It’ by BBH Communications India; 'P&G: Shave Sutra' by BBDO India; 'The Power of Silence' by DDB Mudra; 'P&G: Whisper Gives You Wings' by Leo Burnett Mumbai; 'CEAT Tyres: Be Idiot Safe' by Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai; 'Vodafone: Drive into the Big League' by Ogilvy and Mather; 'Hero Motocorp: Hero Pleasure - Question Marks' by Draftfcb-Ulka; and 'Cabury: Getting India to Love Chocolates' by Ogilvy and Mather.

All entrants were asked to specify the media channels used in their cases. On an average, the shortlisted campaigns used nine channels each, higher than the average of 7.5 used across all entries. Television was the most commonly used channel in the shortlists, with 22 cases. The same number used events or experiential work, while social media was used by 20 of the 32 shortlisted entries.

Partha Sinha, Managing Partner, BBH India, commented on the two shortlists from his agency: “I am glad that the two entries have made it to the list of final 32 shortlists. They’re both very good case studies. The campaign we did for Google Chrome was a collaborative effort with teams in Singapore and US. The whole idea was to re-interpret the way web is used in India. As for the other entry (Nihar Naturals), the TG in question - Bengali housewives – had experienced a shift in their lives. They had moved on from the docile stereotypes of previous generations. Brands and pop culture, however, continued to portray them as traditional homemakers. So our aim was to re-interpret culture for the progressive Bengali woman, and make the shift from being a brand authority to a cultural authority.”

According to Rajiv Rao, NCD, Ogilvy & Mather, the WARC Prize for Asian Strategy is a good recognition of work that focuses on strategic thinking and effectiveness.

Commenting on the shortlists from Ogilvy, he said, “All the three entries worked very well in the marketplace. The Vodafone Big League Programme is a testimony of the power of direct marketing to create strong business results in tough market conditions. For CEAT, we came up with the idea of launching a new brand of two wheeler tyres called ‘Gripp’, positioned on a singular brand promise of best on-road grip.”

He added, “In the case of Cadbury: Getting India to Love Chocolates, it was a great idea to relate the brand to Meetha, which is Indian sweet. That in my mind was the game changer.”

Shortlisted entries came from eight different markets around Asia, and from a mix of major networks and local independents. The awards, now in its second year, saw a 20 per cent rise in entries in 2012.

The winners of the main prize ($ 5000) and the low budget prize ($ 2000) will be announced on 20 September 20.