Why does it have to happen? You buy a great commercial from a small but effective agency. You also buy in to the concept, and then completely screw it up by asking your totally-depending-upon-your-revenue-hence-incapable-of-saying-no kind of big agency to create another commercial based on the same concept?
After buying "Har ek friend zaroori hota hai" from Taproot, They have made JWT create this banal version of it for Airtel Digital TV. Where is the fun which they had with Kanjoos Friend and other extensions? Now here the agencies were different, and reputed creative forces in their own right, but the client was the same, so I am going to blame the client.
Of course, JWT would be most unwilling to add to the glory of the campaign which is not theirs anyway! Bharti Airtel should have given even the Digital TV account to taproot! Or ask JWT to create a fresh new campaign for the digital TV business. This multi-agency practice has only one victim - creativity.
Who owns a creative property? The agency who creates it? The agency who has to follow it? Or the client who is paying for it? Who's baby is it? I know this is a difficult question to answer.
Here I was, thinking "what a nice commercial, it will surely continue to be entertaining in every avatar" but I was sadly mistaken.
Sorry for a harsher than normal tone of voice, but it hurts more when you see a good ad getting a beating. I am going to fast for three days and would go for Tata Sky who have a much more entertaining commercial based on the same proposition.
Jai Jay Chiat. Jai Hind.
- Anna.
PS: Here are the two ads I was referring to for the uninitiated...
