Adtech regulation a priority for Modi govt in third term: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Credibility of news and platforms are as important as monetisation challenges: Anurag Thakur

HUL: Meet the leaders who have emerged from "The CEO Factory"

Punit Goenka addresses Zee employees; ensures no layoffs due to failed merger

Disney's strategic sale to Viacom18 set to boost market share to 40 percent

The Leader's Edge: Storyboard18 in conversation with leaders, decision makers and disruptors

Nobody’s Perfect Retro Porsche Ad

In Conversation With Raja Rajamannar, Mastercard

Shahid Kapoor And Varun Ganjoo Speaks On PokerBaazi's Campaign

In conversation with IHCL’s Puneet Chhatwal & GroupM’s Kate Scott-Dawkins

Why are brands including e-sports in their sports marketing itinerary?

Storyboard18 x The English Nut: How to pronounce these 10 brand names

Experts' Take On Reinvention Of Ad Campaigns Through Technology

Experts Speak On Key Emerging Trends In Cannes Lions Entries

Leaders of the future have to be outstanding human beings: Nestle MD

In conversation with VMLY&R’s Hari Ramanathan

Header Menu

Latest News

Brand Makers

Gaming News

Brand Marketing

Media News

Special Coverage

Header Sub Menu

Digital Entertainment Summit

Delhi Literature Fest

Share the Spotlight

Global Pioneers Summit

Power of Purpose

The Visionaries

DNPA

About Us

Hamburger Menu

Quantum Brief

#FreeOurSkylines

Watch.Listen

Advertising

Agency News

Media

Interviews

<strong>L&K Saatchi & Saatchi and Akasa Air</strong>

L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, which is a part of the Publicis Groupe, won the creative mandate of the recently launched low cost airline, Akasa Air. The account, which will be managed by the agency’s Mumbai office, will see L&K Saatchi & Saatchi manage strategic and creative initiatives for the airline. This would include developing brand, and tactical communication for above-the-line and below-the-line elements.

Further, the agency will look into developing brand communication campaigns, and creatives for launch and sustenance phases. And, they would also be involved in designing brand identity applications across mediums. 

Akasa Air was launched by the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Akasa Air is a frugal airline and will be very competitive in the aviation space, Jhunjhunwala said on August 8, a day after the Mumbai-based company launched commercial operations. "Our competitors are ordering new chairs in response to Akasa's chair," he told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive interaction.

<strong> Social Panga and Home Credit India</strong>

Integrated creative and digital marketing agency Social Panga won the mandate for digital and offline activities for Home Credit India. The account, which will be handled by the agency’s Gurugram office, will see the agency aim to drive relevant brand and product conversations. Further, the agency will also roll out multi-level creative strategies and digital campaigns. 

Two weeks ago, Home Credit India appointed Ashish Tiwari as the chief marketing officer. And, in April, the local arm of the international consumer finance provider, had also announced its partnership with the merchant commerce platform, Pine Labs.

Last month, Social Panga had also bagged the social media marketing mandate of Tally Solutions, a multinational technology company.

<strong>Kinnect and R.K Marble</strong>
 
Digital marketing agency Kinnect won the mandate for R.K Marble, a marble and granite manufacturer. The account will be managed by the agency’s Gurugram office. The mandate involves creative strategy and execution, and social media management. It also includes planning and performance-focused media campaigns across every channel for the brand. Last month, Kinnect appointed Ankur Garg as the executive creative director for the Delhi and Bengaluru office.

<strong> Team Pumpkin and Stovekraft</strong>

Digital marketing agency Team Pumpkin won the digital and print mandate for the cooking appliances manufacturer Stovekraft. The account, which was won following a multi-agency pitch, will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai office.

The mandate is to develop and strengthen the brand's digital presence by creating social communication strategies. This would involve ideation, execution and promotion. The agency will also oversee the entire digital presence of Stovekraft’s brands, which includes Pigeon, Gilma, Skava, and Black + Decker.

<em><strong>Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy</strong></em>

Biz Moves:  L&K Saatchi & Saatchi flies away with Akasa; Social Panga, Kinnect, Team Pumpkin land new biz

It is an irony of sorts that HDFC Bank’s campaign that talks about fraud detection and prevention is now being accused of plagiarism. Created by advertising agency Kinnect, the campaign titled ‘Vigil Aunty’ is accused of being plagiarised from author and artist Appupen's character that was created in 2016 for the Indie satire comic called Halahala comics.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9MSG1IhME7E" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Users have been flagging the uncanny resemblance to Appupen's original character across social media. 

The artist has also taken to Instagram to mock HDFC ad campaign through his comic strip which also includes HDFC campaign’s protagonist Anuradha (Anu) Menon, well-known for playing the character of Lola Kutty.

His caption read “Vigil Aunty’s journey from indie satire comic to mainstream bigbucks advertising is all about power and fear. And it changed her. Adspoof." 
<div style="width:80%;">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cha1Hskv1yN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cha1Hskv1yN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cha1Hskv1yN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Appupencil (@appupen)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>

The resemblance in HDFC Bank's Vigil Aunty and Appupen’s creation ends at the name though. 

Appupen’s satirical character is a saffron-clad, moral policing Vigil Aunty, while HDFC Bank’s protagonist (played by Menon) is a good samaritan who takes it upon herself to protect people from online financial frauds.

The HDFC campaign is a long-drawn initiative which will feature Menon in a series of videos, reels, and chat shows, as Vigil Aunty as she creates awareness on safe banking do's and don'ts. The new awareness initiative is targeted to complement the bank's popular 'Mooh Band Rakho' campaign which urges people not to share their confidential banking information with others.

While advertising agency Kinnect has declined to comment on the issue, an email sent to HDFC Bank remained unanswered at the time of publishing this report. 

Sambit Mohanty, creative head, McCann Worldgroup thinks that ‘Vigil Aunty’ is a great pun on ‘vigilante’ - and admittedly Appupen was the first to use it for a character - as part of his ‘Rashtraman’ comic series on Instagram.

“I feel the agency should’ve been more careful in its choice of nomenclature as it’s a well-known online satirical series. In a world where everything is perennially under scrutiny, such instances of intellectual property infringement can be glaring,” he notes.

However, Mohanty is quick to add that to give the agency the benefit of doubt, if the name wasn’t ‘inspired’ it ought to put out a disclaimer in this regard.



KINNECT