Mumbai: On a Monday evening when many of the top guns of Indian Marketing, Advertising, Media and Industry had gathered at the glittering Star Re.Imagine Awards gala, little did imagine that India’s Most popular Cricketing heart throb, Captain Cool M S Dhoni, would not only speak in public, but speak at length, in fact, pour his heart out and win the hearts of the doting audience with his simplicity, honesty and love for the game. His entire conversation set the mood right for the award ceremony and left the audience mesmerized.
The Star Re.Imagine awards night were graced by M S Dhoni who, along with Sanjay Gupta, MD – Star India, awarded one of the two top awards to Fevikwik’s ‘Khushiyonkechand pal’, for Best Creative Campaign, with the second,for Best Integrated Creative Campaign, going to Swiggy’s ‘No order too small’ campaign.
TVNEWS4U.COM’s Yohan PC caught up with popular leader and industry mentor, Bharat Puri, MD – Pidilite Industries, for an exclusive chat on their grand victory.
Edited excerpts
How do you feel on winning the award?
The IPL is India’s biggest advertising event by far. Any recognition from a credible industry body is welcome and is a great feeling. The award is a testimony to all of my teams who are doing all the hard work. They are the orchestra players and we are the conductors standing on the side. So it’s their award. We will continue to do our best to create good, entertaining and relevant advertising and if it wins awards, even better.
Pidilite, Fevicol, all your brands, have been been at it for decades now. How have you continued to create such great campaigns for Pidilite all these years?
We have had wonderful partners. Fevicol, you know, is known for long-lasting bonds. Our partnership with Ogilvy and the media is a long lasting bond and normally when you have a great team, you produce equally great advertising.
What are your thoughts about the Star Re. Imagine Awards? Should it be continued to inspire ever better creatives?
Oh I think the Star Re.imagine Awards are a wonderful idea! It is clear that the IPL Is India’s Super Bowl and more. Therefore to recognize the best and the most creative Indian work during the IPL was a great idea.
Of course it should be continued. It’s inevitable that the Star Re Imagine awards is going to get bigger and better with every edition of the IPL, and it will be another media event which people in the industry will look forward to.
How has your association with the Pandey brothers been?
They’re the two lions of Indian advertising, and they have worked with us for years and years. Fascinatingly, all of these films are made by Prasoon Pandey. The Pandey brothers have worked on Pidilite for actually over thirty years and they aren’t just part of the agency; they are a part of the Pidilite family. It’s been a wonderful journey and the best part is that we all work as a wonderful team. They own the Pidilite brand as much as we do, and it’s always a pleasure working with them.
What is the way forward for Pidilite’s advertising?
Obviously, we have to keep evolving with the times. The lovely thing about both the Pandey brothers and Ogilvy is that they are always willing to be challenged. It’s important to be relevant, credible and persuasive with the consumer. We just need to keep pace with time and continue to the great work.
