Author: Devyani Srivastava
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: February 15, 2004
URL: http://web.mid-day.com/diary/2004/february/77117.htm
Which ad agency made the India Shining
ads? What was the government's brief? Why didn't they settle for India
Dazzling? Prathap Suthan, national creative director, Grey Worldwide tells
all.
How did you land the India Shining
campaign account?
Twenty agencies were approached
before we got it. Around July last year, some ads (by Rediff) had been
released under government patronage along similar lines, talking about
how India's time had arrived. The ads were apolitical but they just didn't
work. The government did not like the response they were getting, so in
about three months, another 11 ad agencies were approached. We were part
of these 11 and they gave us the account.
What was the brief given to you?
It was very clear. These are good
times for the country. Each and every sector is doing really well. This
was to be conveyed to the people of the country - to boost their confidence
and also to tell them to do something good for themselves. Invest and buy
property. Basically, "feel good."
Whose brainchild is it?
The whole campaign is my baby,
through and through. I wrote the body copy, coined the term 'India Shining'
and interacted directly with the ministers involved. There are 13 ads in
the campaign, of which 12 have been aired and one is yet to be released.
What was your strategy?
After the Rediff campaign, I knew
what not to do. This had to be apolitical but we could not make it look
like a government ad because then no one would give it a second look. The
idea was to approach it like an ad campaign being done for a corporate.
It should ultimately be a confident campaign, great-looking and sending
out positive signals. At the same time, it had to capture the essence of
the government's message.
Which politicians contributed to
the campaign?
Jaswant Singh was part of it from
start to finish. He has been extremely accommodating but once he told me
that since he's a writer himself, he would be able to judge any overclaims
in the ad. He was specifically against us using terms that were over the
top.
Which terms were those?
Before we chose and stuck to 'India
Shining', I came up with three other alternative terms. India Alive, India
Rising and India Dazzling. Each of them were wrong in certain ways. India
Alive carries with it the implication of death or sickness. India Rising
takes you back to the Independence era when we were just formulating an
identity. India Dazzling was an overclaim - it's not like we're dazzling
yet, but we're getting there. We did not want to convey a sense of over-promise.
So why did you finally settle for
'India Shining'?
Look at the connotations the word
shining carries. It conveys a sense of health, prosperity and radiance.
A happiness, an inner well-being. It's exactly the right word to use for
our country at this time.
How did you research for the campaign?
The planning department, which
has a research wing, took care of the preliminary information-gathering.
A lot of the stats and figures involved came from the Internet. But the
Finance Ministry also provided us with relevant facts and figures.
If you were to design a campaign
for the Congress, what would it look like?
It will look exactly like this.
India is shining. Why run down the achievements of the country?
