Diary of a delegate

First, my fellow delegates seemed as young as ever but more focused on the content than before.

Second, for all those who described this as a festival drenched in booze, quite honestly, except for the occasional beer I saw in some corner of the banqueting facility, people seemed to be just high on life. The cancellation of the rain dance, which was a sought-after annual feature, was something that showed the sensitivity of the organisers to the acute drought prevailing in neighbouring States. As far as the senior members of the community were concerned, they were all present. Many more clients than in the last few years were also in evidence. The number of sponsors too seemed to have increased judging from the number of logos one could see all over the common branding boards. And to the lay person this too was a sign that the festival was a “happening” event.

I attended most of the knowledge sessions. I loved the way Arjuna Ranatunga in his avatar as a Minister in the Sri Lankan government fielded questions from Rajdeep Sardesai. His story about his mother’s advice never to sell himself for money, thereby depriving the advertising industry of a star model was very interesting, more so because it was told with such refreshing candour to an audience of advertising people. Not to speak about the huge amount of money he could have made himself. The message about money not being the most important thing in life was something great, especially as it was addressed to a predominantly young audience.

Karan Johar came as a refreshing surprise. His candid self-deprecatory humour and his rather articulate demeanour made for a very interesting session. Shobhaa De was a disappointment to me. I expected a lot more pointed observations from her. What I heard was the re-churning of day-before-yesterday’s news.

Overall, the content strategy where they had not just advertising strategy and creative experts but also film personalities, writers and entrepreneurs seems to be working. Today’s audience wants to listen to much more than just advertising.

And the advertising part is taken care of by the Abby nights, three of them (I stayed for only the first two). I love the energy that crackles in the air on an Abby Nite. It’s something I have seen several times and it never fails to excite me. Maybe the entertainment slot could have been shorter and surely the technology could have been glitch-free, but the advertising and the creators of that advertising were the heroes and we were all there to salute them.

So why did we see such few golds? Maybe the jury have raised the bar and are realising the stature of the Abbys as the Oscars of Indian advertising. Maybe the quality of the entries wasn’t so great. As a delegate I really shouldn’t be speculating.

And what was my “a-ha” moment? It was the rousing reception the audience gave Piyush Pandey when he entered the hall. It moved him to tears and made me very emotional. Honouring him on the Abby stage he has graced so often in the past, all dressed up in black, was a fitting tribute to someone the industry, and that includes me, dearly loves. It was a great gesture and the emotion of the moment wasn’t lost on him.

So the Abby stands tall, supported solidly by a strict adherence to processes (I’ve got my Chairman’s hat on again) and rules. Embellished by the finest talent as jury members and buoyed by the enthusiasm of every member of the advertising fraternity. The advertising industry can take a bow!