Here V Sunil responds to the Design Indaba audience questions:
1. For 1 million dollars: “Have you ever met Latika?”
Latika as in that particular person in the movie, NO. But similar people in real life, YES.
2. How does making a brand political effect sales? Does it work to attach that slant to all brands?
Ideally it’s an avoidable situation for any brand. Very rarely does the public attach good sentiment with anything political. Unless the brand is seriously trying to change something in society or make life better for people, in the long term it won’t work.
3. Has India’s caste system integration/movement helped to enlighten the middle class?
India has always been an enlightened society. Only recently with the economic growth and political propaganda, has the middle class started to lose some of those values. Both in terms of religion and solid values, but now we are witnessing change. People are becoming more aware again and some kind of introspection is going on.
4. Who was the photographer of the Royal Enfield trip campaign?
Bharat Sikka (www.bharatsikka.com OR www.julianmeijer.com)
5. India has many languages and yet the ads and communication are all in English? Does this not contribute to the India 1 and 2 divide?
Most people can read English. English is either first or second language in schools. Even if people don’t speak English in small towns, they understand the meaning. Most of the TV work is in Hindi or in regional languages. The India 1 and India 2 divide is of haves and have-nots, rich and poor. Not really about knowledge. There are some seriously illiterate people with massive amounts of wealth and some have knowledge but are very poor.
6. How do you manage client push back?
Typically this is a big problem for us, especially in the beginning of the relationship. There’s almost always some kind of ego at play. We guys come across like people who take an unnecessary stand on our creative product. But after a few meetings and some good results later, clients understand that we are actually only worried about the work. I think the trick here is to be very sincere and open about the whole process. In the long term this works very well for everyone. Also keeping personal ego aside helps. A lot of creative agencies suffer from this.
7. What is the DJ in the Nokia ad’s name?
Jelebee Cartel
