Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

The earth song

A down-to-earth campaign wins accolades at the 2006 New York Festivals Advertising Awards

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION Swarup B.R. has won two finalist awards

"It's not just that I'm in love with cows - the whole idea of having the endangered Vechoor cows instead of lawn mowers is fascinating - that too in a resort that spans many acres," says Swarup B.R., creative director, Stark Communications. No wonder cows feature in the campaign that won a finalist certificate at the 2006 New York Festivals Advertising Awards.

The campaign that won the award in the `copywriting' category, was written by Swarup for cgh earth. For Stark, this is the second award at the festival considered one among the top international advertising events.

Each of the six ads in the campaign focuses on elements like the Vechoor cow, Ayurveda and organic farming, all of which are integral to the cgh philosophy.

Says Swarup, "cgh earth has founded their entire business on principles like sustaining and developing the community and protecting the environment. They outsource everything from the community around them and also hire people from the immediate environment.

"I think the campaign worked because I incorporated the brand characteristics of cgh earth into my communication strategy - so the watchwords were understated elegance, charm and absolute simplicity. In a world filled with clever, gimmicky solutions, this is probably the reason why this communication stood apart!"

The campaign works essentially around the word, `earth' using headlines that begin with `why on earth' and `what on earth.' This was to also drive home the name change the client underwent from the Casino Group of Hotels to cgh earth.

Clean, green hotels

Explains Swarup, "While the world interpreted CGH as Casino Group of Hotels, Jose Dominic, Managing Director, interprets it as clean, green, hotels. Whatever be the interpretation, the fact remains that the key element is `earth.' And everything about the cgh experience is earthy."

So of the six advertisements, which is his favourite? "I think it is the one that features Vechoor cows," smiles Swarup returning to his love for the gentle animals. Last year, Stark won the same award at the New York festivals for an advertisement that celebrated the 125th anniversary of The Hindu. So why the New York festivals? Swarup believes that the New York Festivals has more categories like `craft and technique' that make it possible to enter work under various specialties like writing, art direction, illustration and so on, which is not the case with say, a Cannes.

The judging parameters of this festival are also fairly interesting explains Swarup. Rather than judging the entry in isolation, "they ask the participant to send a brief to them, so that they can relate the work to the task at hand."

So, two finalist awards later, how does it feel?

"Frustrating... One needs to move up," laughs Swarup. In response to a raised eyebrow, he quickly adds, "Jokes apart, it feels good - especially if you were to look at the winners in the copywriting category this year - Carlton Draught, Amnesty International, WWF... It also feels good because it is in a small way, an answer to that oft-repeated question in the advertising circuit: Where on earth is Kerala?"

In a world where advertisements are increasingly becoming global, any international recognition is welcome, surely. "Good ideas are always universal. They work across the world," adds Swarup. The award is stark proof of that.

ANUPAMA R

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail