Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group, Chairman, Aaren Initiative and Director, Karishma Initiative

“An excellent idea to recreate interest and remind all about the power and impact of the print medium. My only reservation is that there were too many submissions of ‘pretty pictures-pithy headlines’ work that may or may not have been published and did not appear to fully grasp how the medium must be used effectively.”

TOP 5 Choices:

1) DNA – ISKCON (Scarecrow India)

Reasons for choosing: The intelligent use of the cigarette-turned-food visual immediately targets the smoker and invites him/her to contribute in a very simple way to a cause that benefits both beneficiary and the giver – something not easy to achieve. I like the simple, clean look of the ad and the directness of the headline and copy.

2) Flying machine “What an Ass” (Lowe)

Reasons for choosing: This is my idea of perfect ad! One that has used all the elements of the print medium – headline, visual, copy to present a bold, modern attitude through a perfectly harmonised contribution of all three. It’s an unmissable ad whether you are a guy or a gal.

3) Parker – Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards (Lowe)

Reasons for choosing: A stark headline supported by the simple bottle of ink that says it all. An attention grabbing reminder of the power of the pen to influence the world. Perfect synergy for the subject – Journalism awards and the ‘always memorable’ image of a gold Parker fountain pen.

4) The Times of India – A day in the Life of India (Taproot India)

Reasons for choosing: Fantastic art direction – great visual appeal that hooks you into reading the whole ad. The contemporary feel, using India n kitsch, with attention to detail, is riveting. (Check out the dog lifting his leg to pee on the bed of nails!) Bright, colourful, crowded yet not messy. I could read it again and again!

5) Vaseline ‘Dear Mr. Vaughan’ (BBH India)

Reasons for choosing: The kind of ad that every Creative Director who woke up to it that morning would have said: “I wish I had written this”. There are some things you can do impactfully in a topical yet ‘permanent’ medium like print that you can’t do anywhere else, and this ad fits the bill. Nose-thumbingly outstanding!

Mallikarjun CR, CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group

“This is a fantastic initiative. As media agency professionals, our lenses to view the world are different. However, what comes across is that great creative work is universal. Really enjoyed it.”

TOP 5 Choices:

1) Audi – World Cup (Creativeland Asia)

Reasons for choosing: Great connect with the Champion’s Trophy ’85 win. Most of the target audience that can buy an Audi will connect immediately with that moment. For a lot of us India ns, that was the first moment of connect with Audi.

2) DNA ISKCON Food Relief Foundation (Scarecrow)

Reasons for choosing: A nice calculus linking smoking to food relief. Very innovative, eye catching visuals.

3) Indigo Campaign (Weiden+Kennedy)

Reasons for choosing: Stark, consistent visuals. The colours, space everything reflects the qualities of the airlines. Nice word play that grabs your attention and makes you read the copy. The reference to price is as value and not cheap.

4) Nissan Micra (TBWA\ India)

Reasons for choosing: Simple stark visuals. Driving home the relevance of a small car without talking price, affordability etc. Great, understated use of a celebrity.

Reasons for choosing: Great expedient use of Michael Vaughan’s comment. Superb cut through and great visuals.

PM Balakrishna, Chief Operating Ofiicer, Allied Media

“I think this is a wonderful initiative and exposes the fantastic creativity. It is a very different platform as it is more an appreciation of great work rather than a competition as I believe each creative is great on its own.”

TOP 5 Choices:

1) Bajaj Fans (Leo Burnett)

Reasons for choosing: The best part of this creative is the way it has integrated everyday common issues and weaved them into the core communication of the product. The creative is also very well crafted visually using the very cause of the product making it very effective.

2) Birla Cellulose (Salt Brand Solutions)

Reasons for choosing: The sheer aesthetic treatment to the communication draws you and I like the beautiful and colourful way the creative has used nature and the human body (woman). It brings out the environmental friendly nature of the product in a very soft and appealing manner.

3)Fuji(Grey)

Reasons for choosing: Colour and background are intrinsic material for any great creative and nothing better than drawing inspiration from Mother Nature and wildlife. The beautiful use of the animals brings the message home effectively and creatively and connects with any photographer or photo enthusiast.

4)NipponPaints (JWT)

Reasons for choosing: They say a great picture is worth a thousand words and the effect is breathtaking when it is beautifully woven into the message making the communication very compelling and effective. In this case the product USP, a central factor in the category has been brought home very beautifully for correct impact.

5) Zee 24 Taas (Draftfcb Ulka)

Reasons for choosing: Ganpati Bappa has a significant connect with the India n diaspora and especially with Maharashtrians who revere the elephant God. I like the way the creative has beautifully engaged the viewers in an innovative and personal manner and makes it unique and different.

Punitha Arumugam, Director – Agency Business, Google India

“This initiative continues the long tradition of Dainik Bhaskar – breaking boundaries and setting new trends in the industry.”

TOP 5 Choices:

1) DNA Mumbai Marathon (Scarecrow)

Reasons for choosing: The power of long copy. It brings back memories of the old era, which was marked by a great headline and the power of long copy. It inspires and bonds with its audience.

2) Murphy Richards epilators (Contract)

Reasons for choosing: The power of a picture. The visual intrigues, makes you pause, demonstrates the benefit and brings a smile – all this without a single word.

Click on the picture for larger view

3) MTR Spicy Pickle (Ogilvy)

Reasons for choosing: The power of insight. A true South India n like me will see this ad and can only say “How true!” Equating spicy with ‘tears’, the way the ad captures the cultural nuances – awesome!

4) Parker – Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards (Lowe)

Reasons for choosing: The power of words. While most entries used the power of the picture, this ad stands out because it uses print for what it does best – leverage the power of words and intriguing headlines.

5) Saffola Healthy Heart (McCann)

Reasons for choosing: The power of an innovation. A great collaboration between the creative agency, the brand team, the media agency and the publication to convey the brand message interestingly and inclusively so as to trigger an action from the reader.

Some may see India’s performance of bagging just four Press Lions at Cannes out of the 30 that were shortlisted as a drab effort, but then there are some who would like to think of it as being otherwise. After all, Press Lions as a category managed to get India its largest tally of four metals versus any other category at the awards – a valiant effort considering that India finished 2012 with just 14 metals in its kitty.

While the category may have received its fair share of fame at the pinnacle of creative awards, many would agree that Indian adland has failed to laud the finesse that stems out from Print creatives over the years. While such is not the case in some large international markets where creative works across categories gets noticed and rewarded that gesture seems to be missing when it comes to India. Luckily for the creative frat in India, an opportunity to showcase their best works – besides the awards shows – were given a fillip by the Dainik Bhaskar Group that released the first of its kind creative compilation of the finest works produced in Print in the form of MOSAIC 2011.

Elaborating on the initiative, Sanjeev Kotnala, VP & National Head, Dainik Bhaskar Group said, “This has been a first year for MOSAIC, which is a rich collection of 150 creative units part of 77 campaigns that have been submitted by 23 agencies.” The creative showcase has been made special through some individual comments and insights that have been posted by creative leaders of individual agencies.

Elaborating on the thought process behind the compilation, Mr Kotnala said: “As a group, we believe that the Indian creative across mediums and media is of international standards, in its thinking, relevance and in its execution. Unfortunately there has been no single reference point for the same. MOSAIC bridges this gap and we would want it to be referred by the creative, clients, media and trade.”

As for the method that was adopted in getting the agencies to submit their campaigns, Mr Kotnala said that it began with Dainik Bhaskar requesting the creative heads at the agency to send their best Print work. “They know better than us – as by placing it in MOSAIC affirms it to be their best work. Though we did have constraints on the number of campaigns we could place in Mosaic from a single agency. This has all been a by-invitation. On the other side, there were few agencies that sent lesser number of creative units as they felt others were not up to the standard to feature in such a compilation. So it was created and evaluated by the creative teams themselves.”

On how print has evolved over the years as a medium, Mr Kotnala said: “Today print ads are working on all fronts of communication. They are not just for the purpose of awareness building or as a source of providing tactical information; they engage and involve the readers and are very result-oriented in their approach. We always held that the idea is more important than the medium. And it will automatically find its right medium for better efficiencies and effectively delivery of the message.”

In fact, the compilation has been made special with the involvement of four media agency heads who’ve provided their assessment of the campaigns. They include Lynn De Souza, Chairman and CEO, Lintas Media Group, Chairman, Aaaren Inititative and Director, Karshma Initiative; Mallikarjun CR, CEO, Starcom Mediavest Group; PM Balkrishna, Chief Operating Officer, Allied Media and Punitha Arumugam, Director- Agency Business, Google India.

With the first edition already finding appreciation within the industry, the Dainik Bhaskar group have their task cut out for the next year too. On his plans for a sequel, Mr Kotnala said, “We would want to see more regional and language work in the collection – and they still should meet the standards set. We would and could try getting clients and media owners also picking their favourites and definitely may wish to incorporate a section on media innovations. Though we have taken the task and brought out the book, in our mind it is an industry level initiative and we would want to keep it that way.”

Mosaic 2011 can be accessed and downloaded at http://i10.dainikbhaskar.com /dainikbhaskar2010/books/ Final_Book.PDF