Brandpotion.com || Spikes Asia 2010 Ad Concepts

The Brief: Spread word about Spikes Asia Awards as the Cannes of Asia. The idea is to increase the participation by way of:
1. Entries in various categories
2. Delegates.

Here are my concepts - do let me know what you guys think... Please click on the photos below to go to the link, use your FB details to login and vote for me :) And do wish me luck - thanks!

"Spikes"
A play on the word Spikes using its Literal Imagery.

"Get Spiked!" - 1
The imagery used is that of a man with an ultra spikes hairdo (aka Liberty Spikes) that is quite the rage amongst the youth today! The idea is to reiterate the name of the event with the literal imagery and use bold colors to draw attention and thus encourage participation...

"Get Spiked!" - 2
The imagery used is that of a man wearing a leather spiked wristband and has a tattoo. The logo of Spikes Asia is built into the tattoo. Overall the ad has a grungy, edgy feel that should appeal to the creative types - the target audience. The idea is to reiterate the name of the event with the literal imagery and use bold colors to draw attention and thus encourage participation.

"You know you're the best, tell the world" - 1
The heart rate is morphed into the number one... the tag line is self explanatory. The word Spike is here used in the connotation of heart beats. A spike in the heart rate indicates excitement… such as when the awards are being announced maybe? In any case, the idea was to reiterate the word “Spike” in the mind of the viewer and use the tag line to drive participation.

"You know you're the best, tell the world" - 2
The word Spike is here used in the connotation of heart beats. A spike in the heart rate indicates excitement… such as when the awards are being announced maybe? In any case, the idea was to reiterate the word “Spike” in the mind of the viewer and use the tag line to drive participation.

"Showcase your talent" : Mini-series of 3 ads

"Now Asia Cannes!"
A play on the word "Cannes" with the intention of positioning Spikes Asia as the Cannes Festival of Asia...

"Have you applied yet?"

This is a simple ad with a simple message - Participate at Spikes Asia 10!
The imagery is an envelope with a Singapore postage stamp (showing the Merlion) and the Cannes Lion logo. Also has the Urgent stamp to indicate that the deadline is nearing.

Ads that make you think...

The unlikeliest of people forwarded this to me at work... and guess what? I loved these ads - check'em out... makes you think, don't they?

1. Title: Encourage Adoption | Headline: Adopt. You never know who you'll bring home


2. Title: Save girl child

3. Title: Chewing tobacco causes mouth cancer

4. Title: Drive safely

5. Title: Feed the Children | Headline: The next time you waste food, think
6. Title: Save Girl Child | Headline: Do not neglect the girl child.

7. Title: Parenting is by example | Headline: Children learn fast. Don't fight at home.

8. Title: Stop Domestic Violence | Headline: 78% of domestic abuse incidents resulting in death occur in the victim's home

9. Title: Stop Racism | Headline: Defend human rights against racial discrimination

Slice of Time | Raghu Rai

I have long admired the work of the great Raghu Rai. The man truly sees from his mind's eye... Check out this SlideShare Presentation of some of his best photographs:

Raghu Rai

View more presentations from arka.sircar.

A Xaverian and a Xavierite.

Have you ever that that unique feeling of déjà vu? Of course I don’t mean the “Oh! Shit not again!” sort of feeling that most of us have that when we wake up to go for work; I am talking about the feeling that tells you that you belong to a place, even though it might be the very first time you walked in there. Well, it happened to me a couple of weeks back…

It all started when a colleague of mine, who had seen this brochure of XIC, was asking around whether anyone wanted to join a photography workshop – the basic requirement was to own a camera with manual shutter and aperture settings. A work friend of mine and I expressed interest. I had been clicking with the puny camera of my old Nokia N97 for a couple of years and was itching to upgrade to the real thing – a DSLR. The only hitch was that I did not want to spend upwards of twenty five thousand rupees and realize that I had landed a lemon. I figured that at the very least, I would learn which camera to buy by the end of the workshop – to get in, my old trusted Samsung S500 would do. On the other hand, my friend from work who likes all things electronic and can afford them, didn’t want to go in half prepared – and he got himself a brand new Nikon 3000D. It was set then – three of us would be going to this photography workshop at the XIC.

As is the trademark of most MBAs, none of us overcame our inertia till the last moment. As luck would have it, there were only 3 slots available on the last day of registration and if we could pay the course fees by 2 p.m., we could get in. The problem was that it was a working day and we needed to cut office in order to rush to the other side of town to make it. Just then, the stars decided to smile upon us and my colleague happened to have a meeting scheduled in the area around one in the afternoon. We would make it class, after all. I sure owe her one!

Where I work, the weekend is a myth. Saturdays are supposed to be half-days – the key phrase in the sentence being “supposed to be”. Thus committing to classes on weekends was a big deal. It meant sacrificing the pittance of “me-time” that I had and three weekends later, I’m positive it was worth it. But to borrow a line from Jerry Maguire, it had me at hello. The moment I got off the kala-pila cab in front of the grand old building of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, I knew I was coming back home.


As I walked into the hallowed portals the bust of St. Xavier seemed to smile at me through its kind stone eyes. And then came the famous courtyard (yes that same one where Hrithik had danced, much against the ethos of this institution – man, money talks rather dances I guess) and the hallway that led to the back of the college where the Xavier Institute of Communications is located. Down that hallway, as I passed by the familiar classrooms (with their ancient oak benches, wooden platforms for the teachers and the blackboards that have played their parts in innumerable classes) and the laboratories (that smelt exactly the same as my school labs did), I was overcome by this feeling of unexplainable happiness. As if, the prodigal had returned.

I shall forever be grateful to my alma mater, St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, Calcutta, for the values that I have imbibed. Attending the handful of photography sessions at the Xavier Institute of Communication made me realize that both colleges share the same DNA. For once I don’t agree with Rudyard Kipling’s famous “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet”.
e
The Jesuits know how to build great institutions of nurturing and discipline and irrespective of where they build the institute, the ethos remains the same. Their students imbibe compassion for the world around them and the passion to succeed. Nostalgia has clouded my objectivity, you say? Allow me to prove my ‘hypothesis’. As a student of branding, I am forever fascinated by the logos & tag lines of famous companies and the powerful symbolism that they convey. A comparative analysis of the crests and mottoes (the logo and tag lines, if you pleae) of two Jesuit institutions in Kolkata and Mumbai amply elucidates my belief (please click on the picture below to enlarge):

All I can say is that I am proud to be a full time Xaverian and a part time Xavierite... and please do join XIC if you interested in photography. Dr. JB Mistry's workshop is an experience!

Brandpotion.com || Buckle Up - Part II

The results of the "Not Just Another Face in the Crowd" got announced today at Brandpotion.com - sadly this time around, none of my ads for this competition made the cut. I must say that I enjoyed making these ads the most!

Phikar not - here are some more of my entries for the latest competition on Brandpotion.com... the brief this time around is "Get people to remember to wear a seatbelt when they enter a car." You can see my previous contributions to the same competition here.

Please click on the photos below to go to the link, use your FB details to login and vote for me :) Wish me luck!

Every crash has a story - Mini Campaign

Key to a longer life

Brandpotion.com || Your world is our canvas

The Brief: Convince brands that BrandPotion has the creative team for them.

The campaign concept: This time around, I thought of putting together a mini-campaign of print ads instead of isolated print ads... It all started with this quote I read somewhere: “Dreams are like the paints of a great artist. Your dreams are your paints, the world is your canvas. Believing, is the brush that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality.”

This campaign attempts to communicate to brand, that by harnessing the power of the internet (and the talent of hundreds of people who may not have the privilege of working in the branding domain but have a flair for it), BP has the biggest creative team in India... and thus tell them - Your world is our canvas!



As always, please do click on the photos above to go to the link, use your FB details to login and vote for me :) Thanks!

Brandpotion.com

The Brief: Convince brands that BrandPotion has the creative team for them.

My concept: No matter what sort of brand we manage, Team Brandpotion has the Team to kick a**!

Please click on the photos above to go to the link, use your FB details to login and vote for me :)

Brandpotion.com || Buckle Up

Here are my entries for the brand new competition on Brandpotion.com... the brief this time around is "Get people to remember to wear a seatbelt when they enter a car."

Please click on the photos below to go to the link, use your FB details to login and vote for me :)

"Not just for Dummies"

"Seatbelt = Lifeline" - Version 1
"Seatbelt = Lifeline" - Version 2

"The most important belt..."

"OK Seatbelt Please..."

BTW while researching, found the ad below which I really liked... gets the message across perfectly, doesn't it?


In fact, the entire road safety campaign is awesome... here are the rest of the ads: