MAM
Lowe Lintas’ Balki shows how to do an advertising award
MUMBAI: Trust the man with the beard to do it differently. 10 years ago, the creative guru and the current Lowe Lintas chairman & chief creative officer R. Balki took a decision to put a full stop to his agency‘s participation in the advertising industry awards. But even he knows creatives have this innate desire to be patted on their backs for good creatives and advertising that they have slogged to create over zillions of cups of chai, ciggies and sometimes rum and coke or single malt scotch.
Hence, to keep those in his agency in good cheer he created his own internal awards gig calling it
‘The True Show‘ way back in 2003. And the agency has been putting it together randomly once every few years; whenever it thinks the time is right. The first was in 2003, the next in 2005, the third in 2008 and finally the last one which was held last night at the Shangri La Hotel in Central Mumbai.
At the fourth True Show, Balki made an appearance with his lovely and talented wife Gauri Shinde accompanying him as he entered the venue. And he quickly got down to the business for the evening.
R Balki chairman and CCO of Lowe Lintas strikes a pose
He was pretty blunt when he spoke: “I don‘t give a damn for awards shows. Awards are just an excuse to drink and have fun and they change no one‘s lives. True Show is not about awarding our self it‘s about awarding good work.”
And indeed it was time to down a pint or two. Instead of the usual trophies, Balki handed out bottles of wine to each of the winners onstage. He even went as far as forcing them to down a few shots before letting them go. Post their pumping their fists in the air, they returned their bottles back, for each to be handed over to the next winner.
Balki obviously was in good spirits and hence it was strange to see some vets like DDB Mudra chairman & CCO Sonal Dabral shying away from receiving their bottle of wine. Ditto with ‘Vicky Donor‘ director Shoojit Sircar, who was recognised for his film for Gujarat Tourism with Amitabh Bachchan. Both had to be pushed by their former colleagues on to the stage. They were not from Lowe, but from other agencies, and there only to have a good time.
Prasoon Joshi and R Balki – ‘The True Showmen‘
Of course, old friends like Bang-Bang Films‘ Roopak Saluja, BBDO India‘s Josy Paul, Lodestar‘s Shashi Sinha, Axis Bank‘s Shikha Sharma, Leo Burnett‘s K.V. Sridhar, McCann Erickson‘s Prasoon Joshi, O&M‘s Madhukar Sabnavis and Abhijit Avasthi, Taproot‘s Agnello Dias, Draft FCBUka‘s KC Chakravarthy ‘Chax‘ were all there to take part in the party. And clients like Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, HUL‘s Nitin Paranjpe, among others.
Rajeev Bajaj and K V Sridhar in conversation
Leo Burnett India CCO K.V. Sridhar was full of praise for Balki‘s effort. Speaking to indiantelevision.com he said: “True Show is true to the personality of Lintas and Balki. At the end of the day, it is all about celebrating good work. Unless you care about the work done by you the world will not.”
Way to go Balki!
Here‘s a list of those who got a chance to take home a bottle wine and were forced to down shots by Balki:-
| True Craft Awards |
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Show Talent | Anupam & Urfee | |||||
| True Show Best Editor | Ad: Axis Bank – Shekhar | |||||
| Work that we truly envy | Ogilvy and Mather – The Hindu | |||||
| Work that we truly envy for craft |
Shoojit Sircar for directing the TVCs for Gujarat Tourism |
|||||
| Work that we truly envy | Ad: Big Bazaar – Mudra | |||||
| True Simplicity | Ad: Havells Idli – Sriram Iyer & Team | |||||
| True Activation Idea | Ad: Tata Tea Jaago re campaign, Chotti Shuruvat | |||||
| Best Continuing campaign |
Ad: Surf Excel |
|||||
| True Brand Portfolio |
Ad: Tanishq |
|||||
| Blockbuster of the year | Ad: Idea Honey Bunny campaign | |||||
| True Idea |
|
|||||
| Truly Special Award | Ad: Lifebuoy Gondappa |
Brands
Raj Cooling Systems launches Agreyas appliances brand
Emraan Hashmi named brand ambassador for consumer appliance push.
MUMBAI: A company known for cooling solutions is now heating up its ambitions in the home appliances market. Raj Cooling Systems Pvt. Ltd. has launched a new consumer appliances brand, Agreyas, marking its entry into India’s rapidly expanding home appliances sector valued at more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The move represents a strategic diversification for the company, which has traditionally focused on cooling solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Through Agreyas, the firm plans to tap into growing consumer demand for energy efficient and technology driven household appliances.
To build brand visibility, Agreyas has appointed Emraan Hashmi as its brand ambassador. The campaign has been developed under the banner of Zoommantra Productions, with actor and filmmaker Rohit Roy contributing to the creative direction.
The brand’s initial portfolio will include mid premium air conditioners, washing machines, geysers and other white goods designed to cater to modern Indian households seeking efficient and reliable appliances.
Raj Cooling Systems, founder and chairman Kalpesh Ramoliya said the launch aligns with the company’s broader expansion plans.
“The launch of Agreyas is in line with our vision to build a strong presence in India’s consumer electronics and home appliances market. The brand has been developed as a standalone identity to meet the evolving needs of Indian consumers,” he said.
Hashmi said the collaboration comes at a time when Indian buyers are increasingly looking for innovative and functional home solutions.
“I’m looking forward to working with Agreyas at a time when consumers are seeking more innovative and efficient home products. The brand reflects changing consumer behaviour around functionality, innovation and ease of use,” he said.
Raj Cooling Systems plans to invest around 10 million dollars in developing the brand, with an additional 5 million dollars earmarked over the next three to five years for product development and distribution expansion.
Agreyas will follow a multi channel distribution approach, selling through online platforms, retail outlets and dealer networks aimed at both urban and semi urban markets across India.
With the launch, the company is positioning Agreyas as a standalone consumer facing brand while continuing to leverage its existing manufacturing, engineering and research capabilities built through its core cooling solutions business.
