Contract Advertising creates the campaign buzz for Festival
February 26, 2008
Rishi Vora

There is still time for Goafest 2008 to kick off on April 3, but Contract Advertising, the creative agency handling the Festival account, is losing no time in rolling out a campaign to create the right buzz. Contract had bagged the account following a multi-agency pitch that also involved JWT and Euro RSCG.

It is known that a committee comprising Jagdip Bakshi, CEO, Contract Advertising and Chairman of Goafest 2008; Saugata Gupta, CEO, Consumer Products Departments, Marico Industries; Ajay Chandwani, CEO, PerceptH; Suman Srivastava, CEO, Euro RSCG India; Subhash Kamath, CEO, Bates David Enterprise; and Pranesh Misra, Global Director, Marketing and Accountability, Lowe; took the decision to award the creative duties of Goafest 2008 to Contract Advertising.

The multi-media campaign, which is expected to roll out soon, comprises six films, besides press ads, posters, e-mails and web banners.

The creative team led by Manish Bhatt and Raghu Bhat, both VPs and Executive Creative Directors at Contract Advertising, have crafted a humourous and fun-loving campaign in sync with the brief – which was to showcase Goafest 2008 as a vibrant and most celebrated advertising festival of India.

Commenting on the insight and the central theme of the campaign, Manish Bhatt said, “We thought that by using humour in our commercials and press ads, we could relate to advertising in Goa in a better manner. Working on similar lines, we came up with an idea to take many quirks associated with the advertising industry as an insight for our films and press ads.”

Elaborating on one of the TVCs, Bhatt Said, “One of the films that we have recently concluded is about how art directors tend to not read the copy even when they take several glances at several ads. The film shows a naked person on the beach kicking a ball that hits a banner which says, ‘Nude Swimming Strictly Prohibited’. The guy looks at the banner, straightens it, yet doesn’t read the copy. Completely oblivious to the message on the banner, the guy continues to enjoy himself. The film concludes with the guy (hinted to be an art director) being shown as an attendee at the Goafest.”

Along with the TVCs and print ads, the campaign has also used Interactive Typography in designing ‘Goaspace’, the new official language of Goafest, with uniquely designed fonts and numerals for identity, signages, logo, the website, and several items under merchandise. Prior to this, an exclusive typeface for the Festival was created, which would soon be registered and be available for download and use.

Black Magic Motion Pictures is the production house for the campaign, while Raj Mistry and Getty Images have worked on the photography.