‘I have been very casual with my choices’  ( July '19,2008, DNA)

What made you come back to advertising? And what made you choose Draft FCB+Ulka?

Ambi (M G Parameswaran, executive director and CEO, Draft FCB+Ulka, Mumbai) is an old friend of mine. This agency had been looking for a senior person for creating a culture of creativity and combining its existing sound strategic thinking with cutting-edge creative. Ulka’s client relationships have been fantastic. Although it is not widely recognised in the industry as a creative powerhouse, they’re doing some excellent work in bits and pieces — whether you see the Zee Cinema ads (Paap ka anth, pyar ki shuruaath), Naukri.com (Hari Sadu) or Mint-O-Fresh. Moreover, it’s a large agency with lots of accounts. Even when I was away from advertising, Priti (Nair, his wife) would tell me that I’m a person suited for a big agency, which is true. I like a big canvas.

But from a creative stand-point, Draft FCB+Ulka has hardly been producing cutting-edge work at the awards…
Agencies think they are a creative business. But the fact is, they are only a bottom-line business. They must think of themselves as business partners. Secondly, I personally am fairly disenchanted with this chase for awards. It can’t be the driver for the entire creative department! MDs are more worried about scams, than real work. Think about it, when we — Piyush, Prasoon, Balki — were new in the industry, as creative directors we served large clients with big budgets. On our suggestions, the client would go ahead and spend crores on an ad campaign. But today, find me a young creative director who I can take to a major client, and who will make sure the client’s business is safe. The situation is pathetic. And why do you think this has happened? Because in the first 8-10 years of their career, the young creative directors are busy writing scams.

What were you doing after you quit Rediffusion DYR? Were offers coming your way? Was there a temptation to go back to Leo Burnett ever?
I’d been toying about with a couple of feature film screenplays. And to keep myself occupied, I started freelancing as a director for some ad films again. That’s when the conversation with Ulka started. About Leo Burnett, I wouldn’t go back. I don’t like going back. LB had its own time and place. I have nothing but the most wonderful memories of that place.
After a certain point of time, there’s no point in two guys — KV Sridhar (national creative director of Leo Burnett) and I — trying to do the same job together.

What if Ambi decides to hire another NCD along with you? Would you support a two-NCD setup?
Of course not. The final say has to be given by one creative guy. Two NCD set-ups don’t last long. Look at Piyush-Sonal (Dabral). Even Ashish Khazanchi (Publicis Ambience) is a one-man show. Ramanuj-Sagar (Rediffusion DYR) are good right now, since its a pairing of art and copy.

Stalwarts like Prasoon and Santosh Desai?
No. Where was the conflict there? Someone’s priority just became column centimetres in newspapers.

What if you’re tempted into ad films again? Your contemporaries say you’ve been very whimsical in your choices?
See, ad film-making is a lonely process. There are a lot of enthusiastic kids around, unlike an agency, which is full of intelligent people. I began to miss that atmosphere. Yes, I’ve realised I’ve been very casual with my choices. And that’s why it took my 3-4 months to decide on the Ulka offer.

At Rediffusion DYR, you worked on the DNA ad campaign when it launched. What do you think of the current campaign being executed by Contract Advertising?
See, DNA was an amazing challenge, because one, the paper was taking on TOI, which nobody has ever succeeded in doing. Two, it was an only-hoardings campaign. Our whole idea was about provocation. We wanted to provoke Bombay, because it had gotten into this ennui. TOI was very happy standing there and saying, Hum aise hi hain ji… that was their whole advertising strategy. A day in the life of India was a ridiculous idea. DNA’s new campaign (Headlines for sale, Truth is in our DNA) has completely lost the plot. It is any other newspaper in the world, but not DNA. I cringe everytime I see it. Read the World? What’s that got to do with DNA? Call yourself The World Tribune!

You made several ad films, including Balbir Pasha. What do you think of the current state of ad-film making?
Excellent! Nirvana, Abhinay, Corcoise are doing some great work. Better scripts are being written today. Clients are becoming conscious that their ads need to be well-made and their wife and daughter must not curse them, when their ad comes on TV. They also go home, no?

You’ve always loved long copies. While it’s managed to make your old friend Aggi (Agnello Dias, JWT) win the Cannes Lion, the long copy is considered obsolete these days…
In the old days, long copy was the norm, because people used to read copy. Today, there is a dearth of readers. Aggi is still keeping our flag flying. Thank God for that! In fact after winning at Cannes, he called me at 2:30 at night and said, “Sorry to disturb you. I know you sleep everyday, but I win a Grand Prix only once in a while!” (laughs)

How are you planning to revive the creative scene at Draft FCB+Ulka?
See, the ultimate test of whether an ad is good or not still remains the same. Let’s face it. Consumer doesn’t understand craft, long copy, short copy and all that. As an agency, to test an ad, only a few basic questions must be asked — “Did somebody say something interesting? Was it well said? Did you enjoy seeing it? Will I see it again? Will I run from the other room to see it? Will I tell others to see it?” And the ultimate expression of that is a viral-ad, wherein I send you an ad, you like it so much that you send it to your friends so that they will think better about you.