‘Innovation drives excellence in action’
A DISCUSSESION IN INNOVATION AND PUBLICITY WITH ACE INNOVATOR ALYQUE PADAMSEE
"IMAGINATION is more important than knowledge," said Albert Einstein - the physicist who gave the world the theory of relativity.
Call them innovation, intellectual capital or intangible assets as financers call them, ideas are of such paramount importance that we live and die by them. Some smart ones have helped countries tread the trail of success, while some other flop ones have even lead to the fall of civilisations.
Every human endeavor starts with an idea and our ability or potential to realize our ideas makes us what we are. 'Innovation Drives Excellence in Action' is how ad-guru Alyque Padamsee defines an ‘Idea.’ He in fact goes on to say that wealth is measured by ideas, not money.
India has become the brainbox of the world as the country has now taken to exporting intellectual property - its most bounteous and highly-valued asset. In the global circuit, India is reigning supreme, for it has realised that good ideas, marketed well can be a major driving force of a developing economy like ours.
Ideation is so big and prime these days that like marketers and financiers, we are consciously creating space for ideators too at our workplace.
No idea can be foolproof. It is the implementation that distinguishes a bad idea from a good one. Sometimes, apparently small ideas click big because of their wellthought-of execution. Padamsee fondly reminisces the time when the idea of using Charlie Chaplin as a mascot of Cherry Blossom shoe polish was slammed by all. The argument was that how could a comedy character be associated to a shoe polish. Later, the ad became a phenomenal success and proved that it is all a game of implementation, presentation and consumer connect.
Also, there are evolutionary ideas that simply take a concept from the past and improve upon it. Take for instance Fair and Handsome - a fairness cream for men by Emami, developed on the lines of an already existing Fair and Lovely. The strategically positioned product with Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador went on to become the fastest growing FMCG product of all time. If presented fresh and better, an old idea can also sometimes become a success story.
"In times when advertisement and brand building have become the biggest corporate expenditure, unique ideas are the sole way to stand and survive the competitive times. With brands scrambling for shelf life, innovative advertisement is the key to survival," says Padamsee.
When asked to comment on comparative advertising that has almost become a norm these days, Padamsee vehemently criticised it saying that an ad should be conceptualised to bring to surface the highlights of a product. Prime time should not be wasted in criticising competitors.
With ads being compared on the scales of creativity, agencies are vying to create innovative commercials to strike a chord with the consumer. However, with ads becoming fancier than ever Padamsee feels that the basic objective of advertising is not being met. He feels that the whole concept of advertisement has morphed into 'advertainment' and consequently even the consumers successfully register ads, but fail to relate and recollect the brand advertised.
Despite being an advertisement veteran, he condemns too much of advertisement. Padamsee feels that excess advertisement becomes a distraction and steals the charm of the show. The adman who says that remote is a 'kiss of death,' feels that unreasonably long ad breaks encourage viewers to flip channels, and nothing can be more disastrous than that.
When asked about his favourite ad, the genius behind Cherry Charlie, Hamara Bajaj and the Kamasutra couple very nostalgically smiles and confesses that it is the recent Hutch series that he best relate to.
For young professionals, Padamsee's word of wisdom is to hone creativity and to have a never say die attitude.
Sunil Sharma
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