Our issues have to be resolved for us to participate in Abbies: Piyush Pandey

Interview with Executive chairman and creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, South Asia

For all the controversies that he courts, 59-year-old Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, Ogilvy & Mather, South Asia, has the knack to silence his critics at most award shows. At the just-concluded Effie Awards, for instance, when it seemed that his agency would be overtaken by rival Lowe Lintas & Partners, which had seven golds to O&M’s two, the latter sprang a surprise winning back-to-back silver and bronze trophies and walking home with double the number of finalist entries. This ensured it was the winner. In this interview with Viveat Susan Pinto, Pandey speaks about how his agency continues to maintain its creative chops in a cut-throat advertising environment and whether the Effie is replacing the Abby as the benchmark award in Indian advertising. Edited Excerpts:

You have won in a tight race at the Effies. How does it feel and how do you ensure you are ahead of the pack almost everytime?

To answer the first part of your question, it feels fantastic to be leading a team that is driven, committed and young. All the work here (at the Effies) was created by young people, and the future of the industry is in the hands of these people. As a team leader, this is a very reassuring feeling that we are not only doing work for the agency, but, in a sense, also building leaders for tomorrow. Look around you and you will find that many creative leaders and agency heads have at some point in time come out of O&M. There has to be something in an Ogilvyite for him or her to be at the top. I think it has to do with the Ogilvy spirit. There is a genuine endeavour to nurture good, creative work and if we are rewarded for that, so be it.

Are the Effies replacing the Abbies as the industry benchmark. The wholehearted participation from the industry seems to suggest that. Your views on this?

The Effies are very important. Ironically, that is what we are paid for. For producing campaigns that work in the marketplace; that can help a client's business. I am glad they (Effies) were instituted in India because it is in many respects an award that truly recognises the worth of a campaign, for what it is and what it can do in the marketplace.

There is also a counterpoint to this argument that agencies in reality are rushing to enter work in Effies because it has been mandated by their global management. Work that wins here is taken into account at the global level and also finds a mention in the Gunn Report that details the most successful print and TV ads of the year. Your comments on this.

There is no taking away from the importance of the Effies at the global level. You have to remember that it (Effies in India) is part of the global Effie franchise. So, to answer your question, there is a global connection to the Effie Awards. But that is not why we enter work year after year in Effies. There is a recognition that the Effie Awards rigorously evaluates work on parameters that demonstrate whether it has clicked or not in the marketplace. Whether it has helped improve sales or top-of-mind recall for a brand. Knowing this, I believe, is important for people in advertising. It will only make your work sharper. Besides, the fact that it involves clients in the judging process makes it that much more sweeter for us. Because we, as agencies, ultimately work with them as partners to help further their marketing communication objectives.

Will you participate in Goafest this year, notably, the Creative Abbies, which you had boycotted last year?

I think it needs to get its act together. We never boycotted Goafest, we simply said there were certain issues with the awards and if they were resolved we would be happy to be part of the show. The point is that our issues have to be resolved. And if they (organisers) wish to have a meeting with me and discuss, I am open to it.

Please specify what are the issues you have with Goafest?

Let me say at the outset that there is a role for creative awards. To develop your creativity and outlook, you need an awards show that recognises creative work. But the manner in which things have taken a turn at the Abbies suggests that the system there has to be overhauled. At the Effies, for instance, it was heartening to see so many jurors, notably, from the clients’ side, and I didn't even know half of them! The limited point I am making here is there was no question of a bias creeping in as a result of the number and different people who were judging the work. The creative awards, I guess, will have to bear these factors in mind.