Ad mens' thought on Effie winners

The year end celebrations began early for some, but for others it was back to the drawing board. BE spoke to ad men to get their thoughts on Effie winners 

Tata Docomo 
(Won the Grand Effie, Client of the Year, 2 Golds, 1 Bronze) 

Nitesh 
What worked for Docomo was the proposition they brought in a country that constantly seeks value. It redefined the rules of the game. 

Sagar 
It did extremely well in the market. I think, when you look at it as an Effie winner, all the parameters were met. It redefined the telecom game. When everyone was speaking about paying per minute, they spoke about ‘pay per second’. 

Deepesh 
The train ad — the launch of the jingle was very average. It did make a noise. It has a jingle stuffed with people. As advertising, it worked, but as an advertising thought, it’s not a fresh idea. As far as the ‘pay per second’ campaign’s concerned, I liked their ‘Hear what you want to hear’ ad better. 

Prasanna 
I think what worked for the brand was the music — the signature track that was created for the brand. But I don’t think it was great. ‘Pay per second’ — they changed the game, but the ads were a creative expression. They delivered it decently, but I don’t think it gets a very high score on effectiveness. 


Vodafone 
(Won the Brand Equity Bravery award, 2 Golds) 

Nitesh 
When you compare the Zoozoos to Docomo, it worked the other way around — the creativity, not the business strategy worked for them. It didn’t bring to the table anything drastically different, but the charm of the Zoozoos took it to a different level. And they took it everywhere. Now, one doesn’t even mind wearing a Zoozoo tee shirt.

Sagar 
The Zoozoos were a brilliant format. It was a new way for story telling. In the second season, some were nice, but some weren’t as good as the 
first one. 

Deepesh 
With Vodafone, they created a property. The second time around, the Zoozoos, well, it did what it did, is all I can say. 

Prasanna 
It’s a nice brand and manages the right balance of engagement and creativity. The Zoozoos were both creative and effective. Even the message is quite direct and product-led, the Zoozoos lent an intrigue to it. 


Gillette 
(Won the Marico Uncommonsense Award, 2 Golds) 

Nitesh 
A proposition like ‘Women Against Lazy Stubble’ (WALS) is a great premise. It was emotional blackmail of sorts and worked for them very nicely. It planted a doubt, similar to what anti-dandruff shampoos did when they were launched. 

Sagar 
It was a campaign that did very well internationally. I also feel that such case studies should be accessible to everyone. That way we’ll get to know what the results were. 

Deepesh 
It’s interesting, though the execution was not as good as the idea. But the Effies are for effectiveness and not for the craft of advertising, so I guess it worked. 

Prasanna 
I know it was a huge campaign, they had numbers, roped in actresses and all that/ but on ground, as a consumer, I fail to see the activity happening.