Indiantelevision dot com's : Interview with O&M's senior creative director Sumanto Chattopadhyay

Interview with O&M senior creative director Sumanto Chattopadhyay

"Indian advertising has become television-oriented!"

Posted on 21 May 2003

"O&M is not just 'positioned' as the creative hub of Indian advertising, it 'is' the creative hub of Indian advertising."

This statement from O&M's senior creative director Sumanto Chattopadhyay epitomises confidence and self-belief in the WPP Group agency, which has resulted in some of the memorable advertising produced over the years.

Chattopadhyay, who has worked in O&M for a major part of his 11-year advertising career, is one of the key members of the O&M team. To his credit, the long-haired creative professional has done award-winning television and print work on brands such as Maharashtra Tourism, Onida TV and Asahi Glass among the others.

Chattopadhyay spoke to indiantelevision.com's Ritesh Gupta on O&M's culture, challenges in today's market place, importance of television and more. Excerpts:

How is it working in O&M?
After getting an MBA at McGill University, Canada, I decided to opt for a career in the creative field. I joined Response ad agency in Kolkata, nearly thirteen years ago. Two years later, I shifted to O&M Kolkata. And after a year, I moved to the Mumbai office.

So, I associate both 'working' and 'advertising' with O&M. I know little else. Working for O&M means working with the best and the brightest in the industry. Which, in turn, means that most of our competition is internal. We push each other to reach greater creative heights.

This also means that we push our clients to break new creative ground. Because, ultimately, what we do is on their behalf.

What do you think is the key to O&M being positioned as a creative hub in India?
O&M is not just 'positioned' as the creative hub of Indian advertising, it 'is' the creative hub of Indian advertising. It all began with Piyush Pandey. He wanted to make O&M the best creative agency in India.

And luckily, he had Ranjan Kapur - a like-minded agency head. In the beginning, it was Piyush alone winning the awards. But as O&M's creative reputation grew, it attracted talent, and today, we have an extraordinary concentration of truly creative people working here. Many members of the team are winning national and international advertising awards on their own accord.

Piyush has been able to institutionalise creativity in O&M.

Give us an insight into your work? Which ads were the most challenging ones and why?
I work on a wide range of brands: Maharashtra Tourism, Onida TVs, Ponds Talcs, World Gold Council, to name a few.

Any campaign can be challenging but in two ways: the first is the positive way - the inherent challenge of getting one's message across in a memorable way. The second or the negative aspect of the challenge comes about when clients believe that their category demands boring advertising. This seems to be more true of certain categories, such as financial clients.

Do you think that campaigns today have a shorter lifespan? If yes, why?
With an exponential growth in the number of messages the consumer is being showered with, it is increasingly so. Unless a campaign can keep itself fresh through innovative expressions of the core idea, it dies an early death.

Let us look at the Center Fresh campaign. It has been on air for a year or so. In today's context, it may seem to have already had a fairly long run. But, if you compare this to campaigns from 10 years back, this would seem like a short run.

On the whole, the life of campaigns has shrunk considerably as life itself is changing at a much faster speed. Campaign strategies also tend to change fast as clients want instant results. There is a huge reliance on various formal market feedback tools, and clients are quicker to react and have no qualms about replacing their campaigns with fresher ones.

Of course, we need to be sensitive to the market. But I think we also need to rely more on common sense and gut feeling to interpret how people respond to advertising, rather than having knee-jerk reactions.

How has the segregation of media operations affected the operations of creative professionals?
One has to build bridges between creative and media professionals. The best solutions come through collaboration. Although there has been segregation of media from other agency functions, we still work closely together. Whether it is in-house media or a separate media company, the association has to be there for an optimal solution. It's the only way that ensures 2 + 2 will add up to five.

"Any client with a decent advertising budget goes for television commercials, as TV is virtually the only medium with a national reach"

How do you think the functioning of creative guys has changed over the years?
Years ago, the copywriter would write lines and hand them over to the art director, who would then do the visual. Today, they work far more closely. The idea can come from either party. The visual idea can come from the writer. The line can come from the art director.

In a way, the distinctions have blurred. I think Indian advertising has become television-oriented. Any client with a decent advertising budget goes for television commercials, as TV is virtually the only medium with a national reach.

Also, India is something of a post-literate society. Purchasing power and literacy do not necessarily go hand in hand. The role of a visual medium like TV becomes highly critical in such a scenario.

And if any creative director is not comfortable with the medium, it would be very difficult for him to function effectively. Personally, I love working for the television medium. I enjoy the challenge of taking the film I see in my head and crafting it into a real film-which tells a story well in just 30 seconds!

What is your view on usage of animation and 3D techniques in advertising?
Animation, 3D or otherwise, is a valid technique. It can be used effectively in advertising, as long as one does not forget that it is just a technique and not a substitute for an idea.

Which campaign would you term as your favourite and why?
I am partial to the Maharashtra Tourism campaign because I have worked on it. From being a virtually unknown brand when I first started working on it, the Maharashtra Tourism brand has made its mark today.

How important are awards?
I think awards are very important. There is no doubt that advertising is about business and is related to selling products. But the job of creative professionals is to make advertising memorable, because that is precisely what leads to sales. That is what awards recognise.

Over the years, I have won awards for both TV and print work done on Maharashtra Tourism, Onida TV, Asahi Glass, etc. It's a great feeling.

What's your source of inspiration?
Life is my inspiration. For advertising to work, it must reflect the lives of people. If you are showing slice of life, then it must be authentic. That's why it must be born out of your experience or observation of day-to-day life.

For example, once in Shivaji Park, I saw an ice cream vendor on a hot day. He was eating his own ice-cream to keep cool. The picture stuck in my head because I can think of no better testimonial.

A lot of people study international advertising for inspiration. One should look at these ads to expand ones horizons in terms of what can be done, but one should never try to imitate them. Because what you might end up with is a pretty looking but empty shell.