Reet Ahluwalia, Head of Arms Communications, brings his own spirited take to the talk. He believes that after the filmstars and cricketers, it is the turn of the ad guys to become the next demigods. “It’s a part of our popular culture. That’s the way we are as people, enjoying high comfort in their presence,” says Ahluwalia. [Note: He recently lost a big account because the clients were promised Piyush Pandey’s personal supervision.]
Arvind Sharma, Chairman, Leo Burnett, India, is up next. He insists that the personality cult thing has always been around in Adville and while it is an alluring assumption to believe that a hotshot adman or charismatic creative whiz will wave a magic wand and part the waters, unfortunately that is not how things work. A large agency has at least 30-50 brands to work on and it’s not possible for one individual to cast his spell on all of them. Sharma believes that it is less an individual and more of internal culture that defines effective work. “Our NCD Pops Sridhar is no less a star than any of the ones mentioned, but he chooses to downplay his persona or promote himself, and instead remains organisation / team centric,” says Sharma. Everest Industries’ Amit Oberoi begs to differ. He insists that the stars are stars because of some unique and special qualities they bring to the table. “They fascinate, turn-on and delight their constituency with their amazing talent and charisma, which others can’t. That’s what constitutes the difference between a Shah Rukh Khan and Irfan Khan. One is a worshipped megastar: the other an admired actor. I rest my case.” Titus Upputuru agrees. Saatchi and Saatchi’s NCD believes that iconic faces in your team bring colour, flair, chutzpah and imagination to their calling, “They have the unique ability to transform the ordinary to the extraordinary with their magnetic personalities, the way look and present things and drawing power. They inspire awe; no wonder, clients want a photograph or two with Piyush, Prasoon and Balki. Of course, Prasoon and Balki’s Bollywood connect cannot be overlooked, nor Piyush’s dosti with most of the movers ‘n’ shapers of the entertainment and cricket frat. But that’s value addition! As for some of the overshadowed guys complaining, more, believe me, are happy basking in reflected glory. Being in a star-driven agency is like being in a SRK or a Big-B project.”
Arvind Sharma, Chairman, Leo Burnett, India, is up next. He insists that the personality cult thing has always been around in Adville and while it is an alluring assumption to believe that a hotshot adman or charismatic creative whiz will wave a magic wand and part the waters, unfortunately that is not how things work. A large agency has at least 30-50 brands to work on and it’s not possible for one individual to cast his spell on all of them. Sharma believes that it is less an individual and more of internal culture that defines effective work. “Our NCD Pops Sridhar is no less a star than any of the ones mentioned, but he chooses to downplay his persona or promote himself, and instead remains organisation / team centric,” says Sharma. Everest Industries’ Amit Oberoi begs to differ. He insists that the stars are stars because of some unique and special qualities they bring to the table. “They fascinate, turn-on and delight their constituency with their amazing talent and charisma, which others can’t. That’s what constitutes the difference between a Shah Rukh Khan and Irfan Khan. One is a worshipped megastar: the other an admired actor. I rest my case.” Titus Upputuru agrees. Saatchi and Saatchi’s NCD believes that iconic faces in your team bring colour, flair, chutzpah and imagination to their calling, “They have the unique ability to transform the ordinary to the extraordinary with their magnetic personalities, the way look and present things and drawing power. They inspire awe; no wonder, clients want a photograph or two with Piyush, Prasoon and Balki. Of course, Prasoon and Balki’s Bollywood connect cannot be overlooked, nor Piyush’s dosti with most of the movers ‘n’ shapers of the entertainment and cricket frat. But that’s value addition! As for some of the overshadowed guys complaining, more, believe me, are happy basking in reflected glory. Being in a star-driven agency is like being in a SRK or a Big-B project.”
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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