MAM
Publicis bags the ‘Best In Category’ award; JWT leads metal tally with 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze
MUMBAI: There couldn’t have been a better closure to the three day long celebration of advertising genius than the final night of Abbys 2016 that unfolded amidst the hedonic mix of music, creativity and intoxication. While the abundance of alcohol kept everyone in elevated spirits, the winners of the night were seen enjoying a different level of high as they walked up the stage to receive their metals.
Continuing its winning streak, JWT once again snared the most number of metals, with five golds, 21 silver and 21 bronze that put it on the top spot with a metal tally of 47 metals. While the absence of a Grand Prix let down many, the newly introduced Best In Category award drew a lot of attention. It was Publicis Communication that bagged the Best In category award for its ground breaking work in ‘A Giant’s Story’ for Ambuja Cement, in the film craft category.
On the newly introduced award, Percept Limited director Ajay Chandwani shared “You can consider it as a recognition above the gold awards, but not equal to Grand Prix. To evaluate the best in gold in each category, the jury was given an option to either select a grand prix or a best in category. Usually grand prix is awarded to a piece of work that has made a path breaking and game changing effort in the category. There was no work that amounted to that this year.”
Apart from the Best In Category award, Publicis claimed four golds, four silver and four bronze metals, putting its total metal figure to 13. DDB Mudra also shone at the Abbys with four golds, four silver ad 15 bronze setting its total number of metals to 23. If one went by metal tally, Taproot Dentsu emerged as the clear second with 40 metals to its name – two gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze.
A total of 10 categories’ winners were revealed on the third day. The category wise break up of winners is as follows.
Ambient Media: Out of a total of fifteen metals, the jury gave away one gold, four silver and 10 bronze. JWT Mumbai bagged the one gold and bronze leading the category, followed by DDB Mudra with two silver and four bronze.
In Design, Alok Nanda and Company took home a gold, three silver and three bronze making it a category leader. Alok Nanda and Company was followed by Publicis Communications with one gold, two silver and one bronze metal. Out Of Box was closely behind with a gold, silver and a bronze; and McCann World Group India with a gold and silver. A total of four gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze were given away in the category.
Digital: As per the Goafest Organising Committee chairman Nakul Chopra Digital saw the most number of entries this year – a first in Goafest. There were a total of 614 entries, as compared to 548 last year. DDB Mudra took home gold and silver in the category making it the genre leader. R K Swamy BBDO brought home the second gold, followed by Experience Commerce taking home the final gold in the category. Taproot Dentsu also shone in the category with four silver awards.
Integrated: DDB Mudra and Publicis Communications each received a gold and bronze metals in the category. Star India too was recognized with a silver for its exceptional work for Mauka Mauka.
Out of Home: With a total of 15 silver and 21 bronze given away in this category, there were many intense contests for the top position. JWT scored five silver and five bronze followed by Ideas@work bagging two silver and four bronze. There were no golds awarded in this category.
Film Craft: Early Man Film bagged one gold, three silver and a bronze in the category followed by Flying Saucer pictures with a silver and gold.
Film Single: While Publicis Communications claimed the freshly introduced Best In Category award followed by a bronze, it was DDB Mudra that bagged the most number of metals with a gold, a silver and four bronzes.
Print Single: Dentsu Creative Impact got one gold and four bronze metals to its name followed by Contract Advertising with a gold and bronze. Taproot Dentsu dominated the genre with five bronze and three silvers to its name.
This year saw the Goafest Committee introducing two new categories or special Abbys as they are otherwise being called. They were the Young Abby and the Gender Sensitive Abby. “Since last year there has been a growing interest in introducing this award. For this category we accepted entries that were especially made to address gender issues, but were just another advertisement made for a brand that naturally took a gender sensitive approach. Hectic Content from Mumbai won the gold in this category for The Calling done for Anouk.
The Young Abby invited entries from creative and art director teams from agencies who were under the age of 30. The creatives were required to especially tailor campaigns on ‘Gender Violence’ in the medium of their choice which was then later judged by a special jury. Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Nitesh Shah from JWT Gurgaon bagged the gold in this category along with the golden chance to ravel to Cannes for the Cannes Lion Awards this year.
Going by sheer numbers, 2016 proved to be a very exciting year for Goafest as well as the advertising fraternity with a total of 4460 entries submitted for the Abbys as compared to 3475 last year. In terms of metals awarded, the number went up from 359 in 2015 to 418 in 2016, with 245 bronze metals and 134 silver metals given away. The number of gold however went down from 71 last year to 38 this year.
Brands
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to step down after 18 years in role
Board begins CEO search as Narayen prepares to move to chair role
SAN JOSE: After nearly two decades at the helm, Adobe’s long-serving chief executive Shantanu Narayen is preparing to pass the baton.
The company announced that Narayen will transition from his role as chief executive officer once a successor is appointed, ending an 18-year run that reshaped Adobe from a boxed software seller into a global cloud and AI powerhouse. He will remain chair of the board following the leadership transition.
Adobe’s board has formed a special committee to oversee the succession process, led by lead independent director Frank Calderoni. The committee will evaluate both internal and external candidates.
“Shantanu’s leadership has been instrumental in Adobe’s transformation and in positioning the company for the AI-driven era,” Calderoni said in a statement. “As we begin the next phase of succession planning, our focus is on identifying the right leader for the company’s next chapter while ensuring a smooth transition.”
In a note to employees, Narayen described the moment not as a farewell but as a pause for reflection after a long journey with the company.
“I love Adobe and the privilege of leading it has been the greatest honour of my career,” he wrote, adding that he will continue to work closely with the board over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership change.
Tributes from the technology industry quickly followed the announcement. Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella congratulated Narayen on what he described as a “legendary run” at Adobe.
“Congrats Shantanu, on a legendary run at Adobe! You’ve built one of the most important software companies in the world, and expanded what’s possible for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands everywhere,” Nadella wrote on LinkedIn.
“What has always stood out to me is the empathy you’ve brought to the creative process and the example you’ve set as a leader. Grateful for your friendship, mentorship, and for all you’ve done for Adobe and for our industry.”
Narayen’s career at Adobe spans nearly three decades. He joined the company in 1998 as vice president and rose steadily through the ranks before becoming chief executive officer in December 2007.
During that time, he orchestrated one of the most significant reinventions in the software industry. In 2013, Adobe made the bold decision to abandon traditional boxed software sales and move its flagship creative tools such as Photoshop to a subscription-based Creative Cloud model. The shift initially rattled investors but ultimately transformed Adobe into a predictable recurring revenue business and a case study in digital reinvention.
Narayen also pushed Adobe beyond creative tools into the world of marketing technology and data-driven customer experience, spearheading acquisitions such as Omniture and Marketo. Those moves helped build Adobe’s digital experience division and broaden its reach far beyond designers and photographers.
The numbers tell the story of that transformation. When Narayen took over in 2007, Adobe generated roughly $3 billion in annual revenue. Today the company reports more than $25 billion. Over the same period, its workforce expanded from around 3,000 employees to more than 30,000.
In recent years, Narayen has steered Adobe into the generative AI era with the launch of Adobe Firefly, aiming to keep the company ahead in a rapidly evolving creative technology landscape.
Born in Hyderabad in 1963, Narayen studied electronics and communication engineering at Osmania University before moving to the United States for a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University. He later earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s most steady and effective leaders, Narayen has earned multiple honours during his career, including India’s Padma Shri in 2019.
For Adobe, the upcoming leadership change marks the end of a defining chapter. For Narayen, however, the story is far from finished. As he told employees, the company’s next era of creativity, powered by AI and new digital workflows, is only just beginning.
