Hello World, this is how I flow.

This site shows what I have been able to achieve in my journey so far. It's not a lot. It may never be. Because I don't believe in volume.

 

I believe my work needs to speak to the audience for long. Our TG doesn't change overnight or even year wise. It takes time, no matter how fast the pace of tech being driven by a few voracious and greedy technocrats and TechTheists.

 

Yes, TechTheists. It's the new God around, technology. And its priests and worshippers can so easily be seen. As can be commoners who believe in being a part of the crowd because that's what the dominant narrative is.

 

But just as the absence of God is deafening in this world, so are the ill-effects of this new tech-thiesm.

 

Fake news, paid reviews, hell, even paid views, because you can't have real ones...! That's sad.

 

And the unending whelp, "People's attention spans are not the same...!" I think as someone with autism and ADHD since birth, I have enough of an experience of fleeting attention spans. But that never takes me or my kind away from a beautiful and remarkable piece of story-telling. The same goes for a stark insight expressed in an inimitable way or a memorable spin put on a real-life anecdotal observation. We listen to and watch these with rapt attention, full of wonder, curiosity, suspense because the 'remarkability' of the way it;'s done, compels us unconsciously to pay heed to it with any outside and overt instruction to do so.  

 

So you see, fluctuating attention spans don't prevent you from remembering.

 

Let's go back to the world of "Cheeku, the Rabbit" from Champak, "Chaacha Chaudhary, Sabu & Raka," "Nagaraj," "Super Command Dhruv," a magazine called "Suman Saurav," another called "Nandan," and yet another called "Tinkle." And in Tinkle, let's travel to the world of "Supandi" and "Shikara Shabhu," of "Tenali Rama." Remember, "Srimati Ji," from Manorama magazine for women... the one that every middle and lower-class house got every month...?

 

Ever wondered what's so special about these that we all bought magazines year after year just to read them again and again? It was the 'remarkability' with which they told us things we understood and enjoyed. Or as is harped upon in 'addy' lingo... they made it 'relatable.' 

 

Yes, my references are all from the world of Indian animation. Somewhat askance, isn't it? But then, a) I love it, and b) it would be so boring quoting campaign lines to people who create campaign lines day in, day out.

 

So yeah, why do we remember the above mentioned, shall I say, intellectual properties...? Much like the online properties of today, the apps we can't live without...! It's because they were so memorable that they gave us our life back, a bit twisted, funnier, sarcastic, surprising, charismatic and magical.

 

They stirred us, and we laughed with them, spoke about them, wanted the next edition of them, thought about them. They became one with our minds. Remember the internally experienced mental hype in our mind, that heavy feeling of wait for the next issue? SinChan does the same for today's kids. And if it was written better, designed better, animated better, it would do a better job at it.    

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So yes, I want to create work that stays. That brands the mind, rather than just the Outdoor space. Because better work has that power.

 

It borrows from culture, and lets the audience, the consumer, reshape their worldview by engaging with it in a way above just what it is.

 

Better work is more than the basic, but relevant and entertaining. Better work makes you step into a store, online or offline. Because the basis of Better Work is that something has to happen, something has to give, something has to explode, something has to corrode, something has to scratch your mind's furrows. The fundamental principle of Better Work... is that it better work.

 

And if the above happens, thought, desire, consideration, action, sale and the act of ownership align like ping-pong shots by drawing you into a world of wants, expectation, promises and fulfilment. Or the lack of it, thereof, it the product is really bad, and the advertising, impactful.  

 

I want to create more and more of Better Work. Because I like it. Because only Better Work is Impactful Work is Real Work... and is its own reward... it's own award. Better Work is Stellar Work.

I know that this is an unpopular conviction in today's uncertain times because a lot of people are thinking of advertising as a stepping stone or gateway to something else... In fact, for so many, it's time-pass. And what better way pass time than by conquering award for awards sake that agencies tottering on their hind legs want for PR.

 

But if you confer with Art History... Why art? Because Art Pieces are very high value commodities with a very strong investment potential that lasts and escalates for decades and centuries, not just years. Ask any Super-HNI, and you'll know they don't do mutual funds or SIPs. They do Art, Gold, Land, and Real Estate. And they do oil fields, entertainment platforms, bridges, airports, airlines, train stations.

 

So yeah, a brief study of art history clearly reveals that just like the "Art for Art's Sake" didn't work... in an over-enterprising, chaos-ridden India full of "Cheeku Rabbits," Award for Award's sake won't either. Also, I hate the short-term thinking and the waste of potential and time, this practice entails.

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And I know that only if my work matters to the consumers, the customers, the brand and my own vision for the brand's growth and impact in business and cultural conversation, would I continue to matter.

 

Bill Bernbach, David Ogilvy, David Abbott, J Chiat, David Droga... did these guys build advertising empires on work built for getting trophy for trophy's sake...? No naa...? They simply did their best for their clients in their markets decade after decade, and made history, rewrote formats of advertising, and birthed not just companies, but huge conglomerates. I want to do the same... 

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So yes, the myriad ideas, poetry, lines, films, stories, insights, positionings, anthems, spots quibbling under my skin keep me restless. And I'm best that way. It "brings out the dog" in me...! Sorry, Ben Stokes, but I can't forget that. 

So yeah, if you're someone who's looking to do Better Work... if you're someone who'll empower me to unleash my full howl... (remember the dog in me?)... my full potential and range of work that I can produce for your brands' best interests, do give me a call. Do WhatsApp me. Call me over to see my writing and ideas. And decide if you want to work with me...

 

Also, one thing about me is that I fight to get the best work out in the best possible form it can acquire in pre, post and release stages. So yes, I stick my nose into everything... like costing, the talent we need to use, the music we need to create to make a piece of communication stand out... I push and push and push... I don't like compromises... I saw my parents and my brother masking some really dishonest ones... and once you agree to start making one, once you're happy making one, there's stopping you deserting quality work for lopsided, loose 'unwork.'  

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And for all those who love Tommy Hilfiger... do you know about his first campaign when he was a boot-strapping designer, fresh out of training...? Well, now that you've got AI, finding it will be a lot easier, I bet. 

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So yeah, go ahead, and just do it...

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