Some sand is sure to be kicked up on the usually lazy stretch of Cavelossim Beach in Goa this week, when two competing ad awards unite for the first time. The decades-old Ad Club Bombay’s Abby award will become the centrepiece of the three-year-old Goafest ad event, featuring as the Abby awards section of the three-day extravaganza starting Thursday.
This rapprochement is worthy of an award in itself, since it promises to bridge the long-standing rivalry between two ad bodies (the Advertising Agencies Association of India, or AAAI, and Ad Club) and their respective awards.
Over the past two years, most big agencies—including Leo Burnett India, JWT India, Saatchi and Saatchi India, McCann Erickson (India) Ltd, Contract Advertising (India) Pvt. Ltd—had boycotted Abby and entered AAAI’s Goafest, while Ogilvy and Mather India (O&M) only took part in the Abby awards.
Ad chiefs, who do not wish to be identified, say that some agencies felt Abby’s judging process was flawed since O&M had been sweeping these awards for many years running and, hence, decided to take part only in the AAAI event.
Now, under a blue Goa sky, most creative big guns will once again compete with each other for medals. This year, however, McCann Erickson will keep away, and see how the newly merged awards pan out in the debut year. Lowe India will also keep away, as it has been doing for some years since.
Says chairman of Lowe India R. Balakrishnan (Balki): “We do not believe in awards. We would continue to do good work for our clients, irrespective of what awards we win.” He does, however, believe that there would be bigger and better participation in the Goafest Abby this time around because “there are sensible people handling the show”.
The spring of contentment may, however, not blossom fully this year. The union of the awards is still labouring under transition pangs, especially as very few categories of Abby are being taken forward by the Goafest committee in the new Abby. Many feel these are not progressive enough, say some committee insiders. Other industry veterans, however, say that if the Cannes festival can carry an Agency of the Year award, then the logic of eliminating this and some other old Abby slots at the Goafest Abby eludes them.
Still, ad and creative luminaries such as Josy Paul, chairman, BBDO India, are enthused about this union. “Just like you go to Cannes to win a Lion, you go to Goafest to win an Abby. The idea is to make Goafest and Abby synonymous. What we are seeing here is a marriage, and it will evolve and strengthen with time. This is no longer a half-baked award. Everyone is coming,” says Paul.
Adman Kurien Mathews, director, TBWA\India, agrees: “In its third year, and with the Abby joining in, it (Goafest) provides an unparalleled, unified platform for the Indian advertising industry to celebrate our work and our people.”