SWAPAN SETH IS ON DESICREATIVE
Moderators: kikikikikiki, diptanshu, Dalbir
A bit rude but really want to ask...
Sorry guys, i'm from Singapore as you guys know but i really want to know Swapan Seth since so many of you are talking how great he is. I knew Prasoon Joshi from McCann and saw him before in person as well in Singapore, his coca cola light ad is something i will never forget but i am sure Swapan Seth also a great desi in creative fields in India after it hits 10000 views in Desicreative. So can someone please explain more about him?
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swapanseth
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:57 pm
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swapanseth
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:57 pm
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swapanseth
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:57 pm
Advertising | May 09, 2007
Guest article: Swapan Seth: Scam, Bam, thank you Sam
Swapan Seth
Equus Red Cell
May 9
I was saddened that it actually took Trevor Beattie to shame us into realising that we had, courtesy the rush for rewards, buggered up this entire business that we are in.
Advertising is on the fringe of relevance.
Scams ads push it even further into the pond of pointlessness.
At a recent awards show, in the print category, more than 99 per cent were scam stunts. You had the executive creative directors of the finest and most formidable agencies accept the fact that their agencies had done that scam work. An intellectually innocent executive director even went to the extent of saying that he encouraged the practice.
Swapan Seth
You should have seen the scam stunts that agencies put up. One had done an advertisement for a leading Delhi based FMCG company on one of their major brands. They had the gall to not even run it past the client. I can assure you that should that piece of work ever be seen by that client, the agency would not just be sacked, it would also be sued.
In our rush for scam tainted glory, we now give two hoots for our clients.
Where did the malaise set in?
I think globally, with the profusion of awards, metals have sadly become the only benchmark of brilliance. Which is fine. But what brilliance is there in doing advertising that works without a brief and is targeted to a jury that is, in any case, in a terrible hurry to award itself? And one that is morally bankrupt because it has no choice.
After all, we do know that bonuses to most executive creative directors are indexed to the quantity of metal they carry back, like coal from Newcastle.
The executive creative directors, on the other hand, have selective amnesia. Some, while professing complete knowledge and ample encouragement, wonder where the scam slipped through.
One executive creative director actually sounded stupid when he said he encouraged kids to do scam ads and had, in fact, set up scam teams to do the job. Typically, these blokes wake up around the end of December and then unload their deficiencies on the pages of a low cost newspaper.
In what world are we bringing up the young in this profession?
We, as executive creative directors, are actually telling them there are no rules. That ethics can be dumped in the bin and the only thing that matters is winning.
And do we actually share the glory (if at all we have the moral high ground to) with our scam sweatshop workers? No, we don’t. The hefty bonuses are pocketed by the top dog. All the lowly scam labourer gets is a mention in his resume.
And, sadly, that is all young people want on their resumes.
Not one resume stresses the harvesting of insights. Nothing on the construction of great brands. Little on leadership.
All that resumes contain are details of pencils, erasers, sharpeners, lions and chimpanzees.
Will it ever end? I think not, until someone has the testicles to stymie this senseless attitude.
I do not for a moment blame the ad fests.
They must continue.
No organiser would like to have his show erected on the foundation of scam ads.
But the fact is, they do not have a choice.
The show must go on. It’s what gets into the show that must change.
I refuse to believe that we cannot do impactful and good work for our clients.
I was saddened to hear the executive creative director of an agency say that clients buy crap work.
That is poor salesmanship on our part and a terrible comment on our clients.
The world over, you have some lovely clients, for whom you can do some half decent work.
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is the refuge of the rascal in my book.
So where do we go from here?
That depends a great deal on where we want to go.
We can pause and see how we can bring respect back to the entire awards game.
Or we can continue living in our fairytale world and do work for clients who do not have any need for it and consumers who never see it.
The choice is entirely ours.
As in it lies the future of this once wonderful business.
(The writer is chief executive officer of Equus Red Cell. You can write to him at swapan@equusads.com)
Guest article: Swapan Seth: Scam, Bam, thank you Sam
Swapan Seth
Equus Red Cell
May 9
I was saddened that it actually took Trevor Beattie to shame us into realising that we had, courtesy the rush for rewards, buggered up this entire business that we are in.
Advertising is on the fringe of relevance.
Scams ads push it even further into the pond of pointlessness.
At a recent awards show, in the print category, more than 99 per cent were scam stunts. You had the executive creative directors of the finest and most formidable agencies accept the fact that their agencies had done that scam work. An intellectually innocent executive director even went to the extent of saying that he encouraged the practice.
Swapan Seth
You should have seen the scam stunts that agencies put up. One had done an advertisement for a leading Delhi based FMCG company on one of their major brands. They had the gall to not even run it past the client. I can assure you that should that piece of work ever be seen by that client, the agency would not just be sacked, it would also be sued.
In our rush for scam tainted glory, we now give two hoots for our clients.
Where did the malaise set in?
I think globally, with the profusion of awards, metals have sadly become the only benchmark of brilliance. Which is fine. But what brilliance is there in doing advertising that works without a brief and is targeted to a jury that is, in any case, in a terrible hurry to award itself? And one that is morally bankrupt because it has no choice.
After all, we do know that bonuses to most executive creative directors are indexed to the quantity of metal they carry back, like coal from Newcastle.
The executive creative directors, on the other hand, have selective amnesia. Some, while professing complete knowledge and ample encouragement, wonder where the scam slipped through.
One executive creative director actually sounded stupid when he said he encouraged kids to do scam ads and had, in fact, set up scam teams to do the job. Typically, these blokes wake up around the end of December and then unload their deficiencies on the pages of a low cost newspaper.
In what world are we bringing up the young in this profession?
We, as executive creative directors, are actually telling them there are no rules. That ethics can be dumped in the bin and the only thing that matters is winning.
And do we actually share the glory (if at all we have the moral high ground to) with our scam sweatshop workers? No, we don’t. The hefty bonuses are pocketed by the top dog. All the lowly scam labourer gets is a mention in his resume.
And, sadly, that is all young people want on their resumes.
Not one resume stresses the harvesting of insights. Nothing on the construction of great brands. Little on leadership.
All that resumes contain are details of pencils, erasers, sharpeners, lions and chimpanzees.
Will it ever end? I think not, until someone has the testicles to stymie this senseless attitude.
I do not for a moment blame the ad fests.
They must continue.
No organiser would like to have his show erected on the foundation of scam ads.
But the fact is, they do not have a choice.
The show must go on. It’s what gets into the show that must change.
I refuse to believe that we cannot do impactful and good work for our clients.
I was saddened to hear the executive creative director of an agency say that clients buy crap work.
That is poor salesmanship on our part and a terrible comment on our clients.
The world over, you have some lovely clients, for whom you can do some half decent work.
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is the refuge of the rascal in my book.
So where do we go from here?
That depends a great deal on where we want to go.
We can pause and see how we can bring respect back to the entire awards game.
Or we can continue living in our fairytale world and do work for clients who do not have any need for it and consumers who never see it.
The choice is entirely ours.
As in it lies the future of this once wonderful business.
(The writer is chief executive officer of Equus Red Cell. You can write to him at swapan@equusads.com)
hey swapan! thats a great article.
i knew one group head in a large agency known for its 'hot' creative, if she didnt win a metal, her group wouldnt get a promotion!! so what do you do? Scam!
what about the gazillions of hours you put into work that gets released? doesnt count when its appraisal time. did you win a metal? no? too bad!
maybe its time clients knew how to measure advertising effectiveness. the media has changed. google is eating into the business of traditional media buying agencies. and agencies are still busy making the traditional 3 Ad scam campaign!
I wonder how many agency folk know the web is out. Its the Web 2.0 on its way to the Web 3.0. also I wonder how many young writers can write correct grammar.
(i also wonder how many youngsters will ge googling for trevor beattie right now)
i knew one group head in a large agency known for its 'hot' creative, if she didnt win a metal, her group wouldnt get a promotion!! so what do you do? Scam!
what about the gazillions of hours you put into work that gets released? doesnt count when its appraisal time. did you win a metal? no? too bad!
maybe its time clients knew how to measure advertising effectiveness. the media has changed. google is eating into the business of traditional media buying agencies. and agencies are still busy making the traditional 3 Ad scam campaign!
I wonder how many agency folk know the web is out. Its the Web 2.0 on its way to the Web 3.0. also I wonder how many young writers can write correct grammar.
(i also wonder how many youngsters will ge googling for trevor beattie right now)
nice article swapan. i can see why 'certain people' will react violently to it.
arjun, i know of what you said. cds who don't have a creative judgement will take the safe way out and look at the awards won column. i think that should be kept as the last card, when applying for a job.
what digital is bates doing?
swapan, where was this article published?
what happened to Neil French's World Press Awards? seems like boycotted by most of the advertising media?
arjun, i know of what you said. cds who don't have a creative judgement will take the safe way out and look at the awards won column. i think that should be kept as the last card, when applying for a job.
what digital is bates doing?
swapan, where was this article published?
what happened to Neil French's World Press Awards? seems like boycotted by most of the advertising media?
David Innis writes from Canada
Swapan: wonderful piece; well written, well said.
Thank you for that.
The goal always is to sell product.
If we win an award in the process, great.
The reverse just isn't professional.
Happy to know that there are some of us in this business who care for the future of it.
its very sad to read this:
The Ad world is still recovering from the hornets nest stirred post ‘The Chillies 2007” regarding scam ads. An unusual phenomenon arose over the ad industry this year, as numerous agencies went up in arms against the excessive number of scam ads that earned recognition at this year’s awards show. The trustees of the awards and the relevant authoritative bodies are making valiant attempts to pacify the aggrieved, but they are not to be appeased.
Michael Holsinger, the Chief Operations Officer (COO) - Lowe LDB, responding to an email poll by The Sunday Times FT, said, “Firstly the issue is neither a case of yes or no or as easy to determine in black or white.”
He said the advertising fraternity “take pride in the fact that we don't always wait for the client to brief us on what is necessary for advertising, and there are many one off ads and communication that a brand requires. These are the ads that have been labelled as scam,” he said, adding that the allegation of too scams winning golds was a case of sour grapes.
He said if the industry is to join the global arena it should play by the rules currently in place. “This is also the point of view many young people in the industry share; it is the goal of many young agency leaders. Unfortunately their voices are only just emerging and they are still not as loud as the tried and tested spokespeople of the industry.”
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swapanseth
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:57 pm
A NEW AD WE JUST DID FOR FOREST ESSENTIALS
let me know what you guys think..
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swapanseth
- Posts: 78
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we work for money
indeed we do, priyanka. that is a perspective.