One father of this baby!

AGKSPEAK

A diaper commercial gets a thumbs up; while success fathers many claimants.

What I've Liked
The ad for Huggies Diapers where a little toddler is relentlessly chased by a "wicked" cactus, is adorable. It helps articulate the brand's key insight that a wet diaper can be as prickly and as persistent. Marketing requirements aside (which the ad conveys extremely effectively), I salute the makers in garnering such a wide range of emotions from the baby.

Remember, there would have been the entire crew chasing the baby around, and still they managed to pull it off! Happy baby, annoyed baby, sad baby, curious baby (when the cactus stops following her), and triumphant baby, all packed into an absorbing 30/40-second space.

A story can look charming on paper but requires a Herculean effort to translate on screen. This little gem of an ad is also complemented by an equally imaginative and entertaining sound track for a perfect partnership of sound and visual.

All the facets of the ad synchronise harmoniously and command rapt attention every time it is aired. Most adults have a soft spot for babies and I'm quite sure that the channel will rarely be flipped when a well-made baby ad is playing.

What I've Learned
Success has many fathers
You know your work is truly admired when at least two or more strangers claim authorship to it! Jokes apart, this is an unfortunate feature in our industry. During Mudra's initial years when I used to interview candidates for our creative department, I came across at least three people who claimed authorship for the Titan brand.

Titan was just beginning to establish itself and every creative that came out was avidly anticipated and pretty much universally appreciated. Why would anyone risk laying claims to work other than their own?

An idea on its own cannot create an ad. A well-made ad is a tribute to teamwork. Many people rally together, aiding and enhancing one team member's suggestion by investing their own creativity to help take the idea forward into different media, with the same level of passion.

It is only when everyone comes together, that an ad becomes "brilliant". In all fairness, the credit of any ad's success should go to the team and not to any one individual. This often gives a wannabe ample leeway for claiming false credit.

The advertising for Liril was another favourite in the '80s. A lot of portfolios contained many "adaptations" that claimed they were the original ideas for the final product. I too would frequently get calls from various agency heads verifying claims on Vimal and Rasna's work!

Flattery aside, the proof of the pudding lies in the eating. Convincing conning may get a person a foot in the door, but ultimately performance is the test. The ad industry can be quite ruthless when it comes to showing impostors the door. And I must add, it is adept at adding large spoonfuls of salt to tales told by compulsive storytellers!