MAM
Abby awards turn spotlight on admen’s favourite TV stars
MUMBAI: Is TV stardom a stepping stone to the modelling world or is it the other way around? In a pioneering effort, Ad Club Bombay’s Abby Awards 2003 ceremony to be held on 16 March will honour the best actor, actress and director in a TV commercial.
Well, the new generation of TV stars is really becoming very popular with ad film makers, creative heads of ad agencies and model coordinators. Of course, TV stars working in Balaji Telefilms and UTV productions are climbing peaks of popularity.
Some of the new kids on the block include Gurdeep Kohli, Sanjeet Bedi and Mihir Mishra (of Star TV’s Sanjivani fame); Shakti Anand (of Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame who is also seen in the Hindustan Petroleum “Achcha Lagta Hai” TVC); Shweta Tiwari and Cezzanne Khan (Star’s Kasautii Zindagi Kay); and of course, favourites such as Smruti-Malhotra-Irani, Sakshi Tanwar, Amarr Upadhyay and Aman Verma. Many of these stars will be vying for the top honours at the Abby Awards 2003.
Creative head honchos of top ad agencies have good things to say about TV stars as models. Lowe’s creative head Neville Balsara says: “The usage of TV stars in ad commercials is an increasing trend. I feel that the film stars (Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan) and cricket stars (Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly) have been overexposed. Also, sometimes, these larger-than-life stars send out wrong messsages – Sachin would never ride a TVS bike in real life. Also certain clients cannot afford these giants and settle for the TV stars!”
Famous ad film maker Jeet Surendranath of Far Productions says: “Increasingly, TV stars are being used so long as it fits in the strategy. People have faith in the TV stars and they relate to them pretty well. But an overdose leads to an overkill. We used Amarr Upadhyay much before he became a TV star. We have also been enjoying the experience of working with the likes of Sangeeta Ghosh of Desh Mein Nikla Hua Chand.” Sangeeta Ghosh was used by Far Productions in the Nirma campaign.
Model coordinator Ruchita Mittal who works with some of the top agencies such as Lowe Lintas, Interface and Leo Burnett amongst others adds: “We are aggressively promoting TV stars on the basis of the requests of clients and creative heads. The popularity of TV soaps (Balaji offerings) has helped the clients to connect with consumers instantly. In terms of “on-shoot behaviour”, TV stars are down-to-earth and very cooperative.”
While speaking at the Advertising Club Bombay’s Value Creation seminar on marketing entertainment and their growing inter-dependence in January 2003, creative consultant Rekha Nigam urged that advertising agencies must leverage TV personalities in a better way to sell products and services. She stated that using them is more advantageous than using film stars.
However, there are some dissenting voices which tread cautiously! Ace filmmaker Genesis Films’ Prahlad Kakkar claims that he doesn’t advocate using TV stars in ad commercials! However, he adds that his view isn’t a reflection of their talent; he says that these talented actors and actresses are best suited for performing character roles in TV soaps and serials.
White Light Productions, a leading ad film production house, general manager Sanjay Bhatia adds: “The usage of TV stars or film stars depends on the script and the role. We never take any stars without auditions and check whether they fit the character. We have been approached by actresses from several productions house such as Balaji Telefilms and UTV.”
White Light has done some the recent campaigns of De Beers Nakshatra (with Aishwarya Rai), Hindustan Lever, Lakme, Kissan, Tata corporate and Aquaguard.
Mudra’s creative head Anup Chitnis makes an interesting point: ” The script is the most important thing and the characters should blend with the storyline. Sometimes, TV stars are likely to come along with the baggage of their image. In these cases, agencies shouldn’t recommend them. If TV stars are used, I would rather present them as the characters they portray on screen.”
What do the stars, themselves, have to say?
When contacted by indiantelevision.com, Gurdeep Kohli (of Sanjivanifame) says: “I did 45 TV commercials before I became a TV star. I have bagged some great contracts with Ogilvy and Mather (Bangalore) for Lipton Taaza. You will see a great film on the TV screens pretty soon. My recent Nokia TVC has received rave reviews. My favourite ad film makers is Abhinav Dev of Ramesh Dev Productions and I have done good work with Black Magic Productions.”
Sanjivani serial’s actor Mihir Mishra is also upbeat about getting several more TVC offers. He has just completed a Sony Handycam TVC.
Sanjeet Bedi plays Dr Omi Joshi in Sanjivani and is a VJ on B4U. Bedi says: “I did some good work with Thums Up, Sprite, Lakme, Charms, Ford Ikon and Arrow. Now, I have become more selective and am rejecting offers. My focus has changed and I am concentrating on being noticed as an actor.”
Remember Hritu Deepak – the housewife who drops the Pepsi bottle in the TVC with the Big B Amitabh Bachchan. “Immediately after my studies, I did a couple of ad films (TV commercials as well as print ads). I did some campaigns for brands such as Gits, Breeze and Rexona (Hindustan Lever). I also did a Pepsi ad with Amitabh Bachchan,” says Hritu.
Well, the Abby Awards will clearly indicate the toppers who rule roost. Till then, let us wait and watch as they regale us!
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
