Subtle versus obvious eloquence

AGK SPEAK/ Art must not override the communication function in ads

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this definitely is one of them. Elegant, stylish and extremely tasteful, the new half page ad for Perfect Radiance is reminiscent of an era gone by when beauty and sensuality were achieved without baring skin and other desperate measures.

True beauty, as they say, needs no ornamentation and this piece of work demonstrates this remarkably well. I love this ad not just because it is such a phenomenally striking piece of work, but also because it has not let the art override its communication task.

For all purposes, it is still a 'hardworking ad', selling the benefits of the product loud and clear. But it does so with sophistication and undeniable aesthetics.

I must admit that the last time I saw such elegance was in the Garden and Vimal Sarees and Dress Material ads of the 1980s. They were the benchmark for sophisticated advertising art then.

Subtle expression of beauty, I thought, was dead and I had resigned myself into accepting that those days were in the past and that today's generation needed a more in-your-face kind of obvious articulation. So, I wonder if they would respond to such a classic rendition.

However, I urge you all to look at the ad again. It's all there "� the message, the requisite drama, the sophistication, the articulate tagline "� beauty at its best, the product story "� everything.

Congratulations to the Perfect Radiance team, both client and agency for a job truly well done!

What I've learned
Peace at home, peace at work

Shortly before Diwali every year, my senior colleagues' wives found Mudra's office boys at their doorsteps with gift boxes containing a saree and a letter from me addressing them and applauding their husband's contribution to Mudra's performance and saying that it couldn't have been possible without his help.

My letter would then quickly take them through Mudra's plans for the next year and bring them up to date with the company. The first year that I did this, it was on pure gut-feel that the recipients would like the gesture.

But the overwhelming response it received was the reason it stayed on to become a tradition. I discovered that this little gesture of goodwill was setting off a string of wonderfully positive consequences.

My colleagues' wives were truly touched that the chairman of their husband's company was treating them so specially that in no time they became more understanding when their husbands needed to put in longer hours at work, which, in turn, freed my colleagues to focus guilt-free on their jobs. Again, this led to getting more accounts, more billings and higher salaries!

And of course, this is how Mudra built its reputation as an advertising agency to reckon with, in a remarkably short span of time. Admittedly, this is not your grand Butterly Effect, but I would like to believe that the Mudra Diwali Saree Effect had its own role to play in building/accumulating loyalties for the company.

Thoughtfulness is never inked out in a company's agenda for the year, but few realise that this is what keeps its wheels friction-free when it needs to pick up pace. It's not the pay packet and the negotiated perks that bring out extraordinary performances in people. Strangely enough, it is simply knowing, and showing, that you care.

 agkbrandconsult@yahoo.com