Mumbai: One of Mumbai’s most celebrated advertising creatives, Ravi Deshpande, will be Jury President for Direct Lotus at ADFEST 2010. He will also give an insightful Seminar on Day 3 of ADFEST on 20 March 2010.

Deshpande is famous for building Contract into one of India’s most awarded agencies since its launch in 1987. Within a few years, he led the agency to win over 400 – yes, that’s 400! – local awards for creative excellence along with awards at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Clio and other international festivals.

So how did he do it?

In Part 1 of his exclusive interview with ADFESTbuzz, Ravi explains how he came to be one of India’s most successful creatives…

ADFESTbuzz: Do you think the Global Financial Crisis will damage the quality of entries to ADFEST next year?

Ravi: They say necessity is the mother of invention. The financial crisis has created a situation where being innovative is imperative. We are either creative or we perish.

This year, I expect to see work that is more responsible besides being highly creative. These are trying times and advertising on the whole must be more accountable than ever before.

ADFESTbuzz: How has the definition of ‘Direct Marketing’ changed in light of new technologies?

Ravi: Direct marketing is in the midst of an upheaval because the landscape is changing so quickly. The cost of reaching vast audiences is coming down to a point of naught, yet there are so many more parameters for measuring direct campaigns, which makes our job more complicated.

Today, DM software can generate responses in days, unlike the weeks and months it used to take traditionally. Mobile telephony is changing the way brands communicate with people in India. A new kind of hybrid model is emerging where traditional advertising or direct marketing is being bolstered by the use of new technologies.

The only thing that will remain unchanged is the power of the idea. If the idea is good, it will evoke a response.

ADFESTbuzz: In the 1990s, you transformed Contract Advertising into one of India’s best-known agencies. How did you achieve this?

Ravi: I think we achieved it by badly wanting Contract to be creatively successful. I set about gathering talent and turning Contract into a breeding ground for gifted copywriters, art directors and designers.

We created an environment where creativity could prosper. I would say Contract developed a unique tone of persuasion, which wasn’t a bad thing because everyone seemed to enjoy it. I was always keen on sharing my learnings as opposed to sitting in the corner office and doing my own thing.

ADFESTbuzz: As Creative Director, do you still like to come up with ideas, or are you too busy running the agency?

Ravi: I have always believed in being out there doing the work. Even today I often team up with writers and other creative people to create new work. From ideation to designing the final product is really the most exciting part of our business. And being surrounded by great ideas all the time, supported by the power of great craft, stimulates you to think harder.

As far as Contract’s performance today is concerned, the agency has again started to emerge as a creative force in our region.

ADFESTbuzz: What are the strengths and weaknesses of advertising in India?

Ravi: There is a lot of effort to create work that stands out. Given the clutter in the Indian media, this is hard to do. There are so many pleasant distractions, and people are more aware and less vulnerable to advertising, which means it’s increasingly becoming harder and harder to grab people’s attention. There’s a definite need to reinvent and re-imagine the solutions.

The strengths of Indian advertising are: India is a very eventful country right now. It’s booming with opportunities, which is why there is great demand for advertising;  people in India take advertising seriously and they also participate in advertising – that’s where the success of its advertising lies.

The weaknesses of advertising in India are an over-dependence on “briefs” – great work happens when creative people take the initiative to make it happen. The absence of good briefs should not be an impediment to the creation of great work. Good briefs can be arrived at together. Creative people must put their heads together with planners to come up with the real requirement. And the brief will follow.

There is also an over-dependence on celebrities. Whether it has to do with face creams, soaps, cars, refrigerators, cell phones or polio vaccinations, in India, every message apparently gets taken seriously when it comes from a celebrity.

Also, I think execution skills could be better: we are still better off with great ideas, executed simply but there aren’t enough demonstrations of great execution.

www.contractadvertising.com/

For Part 2 of this interview with Ravi, don’t miss next week’s ADFESTbuzz.