After a loooong time, I caught an ad on TV which truly captures the spirit of youth today. Airtel's 'Har ek friend zaroori hota hai'.
This is the Facebook generation, where you can have 500 'friends'. Cynics wonder *how* can anyone have 500 friends. The truth is, you can. This isn't the ''yeh dosti hum nahin todenge' kind of friendship. This is an acquaintance of casual utility, every kind of friend can have his/her role.
Jaise chai ke liye toast hota hai
Waise har ek friend zaroori hota hai.
The early morning friend, the late night savior, the guy who throws his house open, the guys who always pile on. The ones who borrow money from you, the ones who pay for you - the list is endless.
The line I liked best of all:
Ek ghadi ghadi kaam aaye, kabhi kabhi call kare
Ek kabhi kabhi kaam aaye aur ghadi ghadi call kare
Don't we all know someone like that!
In short, it is a brilliant piece of work which is definitely going to catch on. The ad airing on TV is shorter while Youtube has the extended version (another great idea!). The Youtube video also features lyrics in sub-titles (TV version should do that too!)
Google does not reveal who's composed the song and lyrics, or the agency behind the idea. But I surmise it is the effortless genius of Taproot, which is rumoured to be the new creative agency for Airtel.
Taproot is an independent creative agency headed by Agnello Dias and Santosh Padhi (both ex-JWT). Not as 'famous' as Piyush Pandey or Prasoon Joshi but their work speaks for itself.
These are the guys who worked on the Nike Cricket ad (I thought that was amazing back in 2007) . And numerous Times of India campaigns (Lead India, Teach India and the ''Day in the life of… ' series).
Yessssss I am a fan.
And here is some excellent advice Agnello has for new entrants in the creative industry. In an interview to Adgully he says:
In the creative field, success is not equivalent to talent. Success depends on resilience. It also depends on what pace you can keep coming back after a bounced ad or a released ad that has not done very well. Most of the successful people in the creative field are people with great(er) creative resilience than talent… youngsters should remember that.
I agree 100%. Creativity is about a constant flow of ideas.
Having the judgement which one to pick and run with.
Discarding the ones you loved but did not work.
Not operating from your ego or need to show cleverness but what is required, what is right, what is created from the head but finds its way to your heart.
Over time - say 10-15-20 years - this starts coming to you naturally. Whether you are a musician, an artist, a writer or a copywriter.
And yes, if the System does not allow you to work in this way, you do what Agnello did. Your Own Thing. It is tough and hassly for creative people to become entrepreneurs (looking into finances and whatnot is a dull distraction from creative work!). But it is worth it.
I hope there are more Taproots, more Agnellos, more unmundane advertising. Until then the remote control is your only saviour from sufferance and 7 day hairfall challenges. And impossibly shiny hair, whiter than white teeth and skin.
Creatively created on Planet Photoshop!
