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Storyboard18's Brand Blitz Quiz, India's First Panel Business Quiz, decided to have some fun with brand nerds from the Indian advertising and marketing community. We got Sai Ganesh, founder, India Wants to Know, and Varun Duggirala, founder, Plot Device Entertainment, to join us for the North Regional Final round on September 3.

During the North Regional final round, Ganesh asked which Indian organisation was the first of its kind to get the rights for Billy Joel’s ‘We didn’t start the fire’ for us in an ad campaign in 2014. One of the teams who go by the name "Going through a Faiz" came up with the right answer - Man se hai Mulayam by the Samajwadi Party. 

Duggirala said, “It’s one of my favourite political surprises for that election. That’s the only way I look at this song now.”

<strong>Read More:</strong><a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/quantum-brief/who-was-the-inspiration-for-sanjana-in-pepsis-iconic-90s-ad-with-aamir-khan-and-aishwarya-rai-12239.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Who was the inspiration for 'Sanjana' in Pepsi's iconic 90s ad with Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai?</a>

Almost 10 years ago, Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party had bought the rights to Billy Joel's popular song. To attract young voters, the party chose the American singer’s 1989 hit and adapted it into Hindi ahead of the 2014 general elections.

According to Javed Ali, who had sung the Hindi version of the hit, it was Akhilesh Yadav (Mulayam Singh Yadav’s son) who had bought the song’s rights. It was his idea to use the song as the party’s anthem. Apparently, the lyrics were reworked lyrics to portray the party’s ideologies.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a6-wHK1qCWM?si=bqmOSZAAMTPQrUBn" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<strong>Read More:</strong><a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/quantum-brief/little-advertising-secrets-of-the-iconic-amul-girl-12344.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Little advertising secrets of the iconic Amul Girl</a>

Find out which Indian political party got the rights for Billy Joel’s Grammy-nominated song

Storyboard18’s first edition of Brand Blitz Quiz is truly national. Brand Blitz Quiz, which is India's first panel business quiz show, received over 600 registrations from different corners of India. From Shillong, Bokaro, Thrissur to Tezpur, Surat and Trichy, and from top metros cites in the country, Brand Blitz Quiz got madvertising geniuses from across India together for the National Prelims. 

Our quiz master Sai Ganesh, founder of India Wants To Know, was joined by guest panellist Mithila Saraf, CEO, Famous Innovation. The duo shared lesser known brand stories and fun-facts from the world of marketing.

Watch the full episode that features iconic brands like Burger King, Oreo and Uncle Chipps, among others. 
 
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Brand Blitz Quiz: What you should know about iconic brands

Brand’s make advertisements to get consumers to buy their products. Now, that’s a fact. But, what if that wasn’t the case? What if a brand released a campaign not designed to promote any product, new offering or discount offers? Would that be a waste of precious marketing money? Many would agree. However, one such campaign did wonders in the A&M world, going on to even win big at Cannes Lions. Surprised and confused?

Well, Sanket Audhi, Kartik Srinivasan and Lloyd Mathias cleared everything during the pilot episode of Storyboard18’s Brand Blitz Quiz hosted by Sai Ganesh. A few months ago, Swiggy released an ad titled, “Why is this a Swiggy ad?” It was absolutely confusing. No context, no information, no product placement. Just some random objects and people in space. It made no sense, whatsoever. But, it did do one thing right. It got people talking. Everyone who saw the ad started analysing the advert and began theorising and deciphering. The one with the best theory would win a sum of Rs. 1 lakh. Everyone was talking about Swiggy and all of a sudden, the ad was a hit.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/quantum-brief/why-did-swiggy-make-a-cryptic-ad-inviting-whacky-user-generated-theories-2778.htm">Read more: Why did Swiggy make a cryptic ad inviting whacky user-generated theories?</a>

The ad was ingenious. Just think about it. In a world where people thrive on 30 second content, the conceptualizers at Talented had the audacity to be confident that millennials and Gen Z would stare at a post for more than 10 seconds and take the time to come up with theories.

Sanket Audhi, one of the minds behind the ad at agency Talented, said that they decided to flip the general premise of an ad with this one. It spoke more to the tune of each consumer’s memory experience that they associate with brand Swiggy. He further added how brands and agencies look forward to Karthik Srinivasan sharing his two cents on their ad campaigns and featuring them in his LinkedIn and podcast. Mathias was quick to laugh and second it.

So, why is it a Swiggy ad? Is Swiggy going to Mars? Metaverse? Is the brand going to accept crypto? Delivering samosa to Elon Musk or to outer space? Will the gulab jamun uncle get a new avatar? All the answers could be right. It’s open-ended. It is a Swiggy ad because it made you think about the brand all along. Clever, cryptic, engaging and digital-first.

Why did Swiggy make this ad?

Storyboard18's Brand Blitz Quiz, India's First Panel Business Quiz, decided to have some fun with brand geeks from the Indian advertising and marketing community. We got Sai Ganesh, founder, India Wants To Know and the quiz master of Brand Blitz Quiz, to quiz angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias; communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan; and indie creative shop Talented's creative and founding member Sanket Audhi.

In this the Pilot Episode of the Brand Blitz Quiz, Ganesh asked Mathias, Srinivasan, and Audhi questions on ads from the past that evoked nostalgia. The episode also captures unheard brand stories, interesting points of view on iconic campaigns, and the impact it had on consumers.

Watch part two of the Pilot Episode here:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DII-qJEZOyM?si=KHXsWOT-lvZNpDvu" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Watch what happened when we quizzed Lloyd Mathias, Karthik Srinivasan and Sanket Audhi (Part 2): Brand Blitz Quiz

Part two of the pilot episode of Storyboard18’s Brand Blitz Quiz saw the eruption of a rather interesting conversation about one of the most iconic ads from the 90’s. Quiz master Sai Ganesh posed a question to brand expert Lloyd Mathias that showed pictures of five individuals and Mathias had to guess which ad those pictures were referring to.

The pictures were of a cricketer being kissed by a fan on field, Ogilvy’s ad legend Piyush Pandey, Musicians Shankar Mahadevan, Gary Lawyer and Louis Banks. If you haven’t guessed it already, the answer is Cadbury Dairy Milk’s renowned ‘Kuch Khaas Hai Zindagi Main’ advertisement.

Mathias shared the intriguing story behind the evergreen advert. It was in the 60’s when Indian cricketer Abbas Ali Baig was in between an excellent innings when a female fan jumped onto the field and ran across to plant a kiss on the cricketer’s face. It was that incident that sparked the inspiration in Piyush Pandey and Ogilvy conceptualised the famous 90’s ad for Cadbury.

The ad became so popular that Ogilvy remade the ad in 2021 with a role reversal. A female cricketer on the pitch and her Sardar boyfriend running onto the pitch to show his appreciation for her. Ganesh went on to share another fact about the ad. The famous song featured in the ad was originally written in English. However, it was then re-written in Hindi for it to work across India.

Mathias too went on to share another piece of trivia. There was in fact, another famous cricketer who got pecked on the cheek by a female fan who ran onto the field in the late 70’s. Brijesh Patel, now the president of the KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association) was kissed on the cheek by a female fan after he scored a half century.

We guess, getting kisses on the cheek during a match was quite the thing back in the day. The modern equivalent in today’s time would probably be getting hit by an empty plastic bottle.

What’s kuch khaas about the iconic Cadbury Dairy Milk ad?

The National Prelims of Storyboard18’s Brand Blitz Quiz was super fun and entertaining. We had participants from 80 plus cities joining in for India's First Panel Business Quiz Show. We received over 600 registrations from different parts of India including Shillong, Bokaro, Thrissur, Tezpur, Surat, Trichy, among top metros.


Sai Ganesh, founder of India Wants To Know, our quiz master was joined by Mithila Saraf, CEO, Famous Innovation, a panellist for the National Prelims. The duo shared several unheard brand stories and fun-facts. After intense 5 rounds, the Regional Finals' contenders were locked in. Here are the contenders who will be contesting.  


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/08/North.jpg" alt="" width="627" height="200" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12372" />


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/08/South.jpg" alt="" width="586" height="216" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12373" />


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/08/West.jpg" alt="" width="565" height="201" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12374" />


<img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/2023/08/East.jpg" alt="" width="588" height="204" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-12375" />


Devaiah Bopanna, co-founder, Moonshot and Saksham Jadon, founder, Youngun will be co-panelists for the South Regional Final round on August 27th.

 

Roshan Abbas, co-founder, Kommune India and Varun Duggirala, founder, Plot Device Entertainment will join us for the North Regional Final round on September 3rd.

 

Sumanto Chattopadhyay (aka The English Nut), former chairman and CCO, 82.5 Communications and Tista Sen, CEO and CCO, Ladyfinger are the co-panelists for East Regional Final round on September 10th.

 

All the regional rounds and finale will live-streamed on CNBC TV-18's YouTube Channel. All prices are courtesy of Ajio e-vouchers.

 

Brand Blitz Quiz is presented by Cadbury Dairy Milk, and our style partner is Ajio.


<strong>Read More:</strong>  <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/watch-listen/watch-what-happened-when-we-quizzed-lloyd-mathias-karthik-srinivasan-and-sanket-audhi-brand-blitz-quiz-12236.htm">Watch what happened when we quizzed Lloyd Mathias, Karthik Srinivasan and Sanket Audhi: Brand Blitz Quiz</a>

Brand Blitz Quiz: Here are the contenders for the regional finals

We at Storyboard18 decided to have some fun with brand nerds from the Indian advertising and marketing community. As a pre-cursor to Brand Blitz Quiz we got Sai Ganesh, founder, India Wants To Know and to quiz angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias, communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan and indie creative shop - Talented's founding member Sanket Audhi.

 

Ganesh, who is also the quiz master of Brand Blitz Quiz, asked Srinivasan asked a question - which company named its logo/mascot after a basketball legend? The answer to this is an interesting one.

 

Veteran American basketball player Larry Joe Bird, famously known as “Larry Legend” inspired the logo of Twitter's 'blue bird’. Twitter was launched in 2006 and underwent a rebranding on July 23 and is now known as X.

 

Mathias had an interesting story to share about the brand. The first tweet by former chief executive officer of the platform Jack Dorsey was auctioned for $48 million when Twitter was founded 17 years ago. That kicked off the trend for future social media platforms where users would rush to be the first to put out a message.

 

When Mark Zuckerberg introduced Threads in July 2023, the majority were saving Zuckerberg's first thread with the hopes to auction it for a tonne of money.

 

Watch part one of the pilot episode here:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lz_sPmCyFl0?si=5ZjuiuEpRFlhoFdo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/quantum-brief/little-advertising-secrets-of-the-iconic-amul-girl-12344.htm">Little advertising secrets of the iconic Amul Girl </a>

Did you know Twitter’s logo was inspired by an American basketball legend?

Storyboard18's Brand Blitz Quiz, India's First Panel Business Quiz decided to have some fun with brand nerds from the Indian advertising and marketing community. We got Sai Ganesh, founder, India Wants To Know and the quiz master of Brand Blitz Quiz to quiz angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias, communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan and indie creative shop - Talented's founding member Sanket Audhi.

In what we call the pilot episode, Ganesh asked the guests, "Which brand introduced a mascot to compete with Polson’s mascot?" Mathias was the one with the right answer - Amul. Polson was a dairy products brand that was started in India by Pestonjee Eduljee in 1915. Amul was launched much later in 1946 as a part of the white revolution movement.

However, it was only in 1966 when the little girl with big blue eyes in polka dots frock made her first big appearance. Created by Eustace Fernandes, the mascot appeared on a few lamp posts in Mumbai, with her very first line, "Give us this day our daily bread: with Amul Butter."

Mathias also highlighted that prior to the introduction of the mascot, the packaging of the brand was simply butter paper. Further, he went on to narrate an interesting story on why Amul chose to continue working with daCunha Communications. 
 
Dr. Verghese Kurien was the chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), and Amrita Patel was the head of the board. Patel is the sister-in-law of late Sylvester daCunha. She mentioned to Kurien about that her brother-in-law is an ad man, and to give his agency a chance to work with the brand. Rest, as they say, is history!

Srinivasan shared another fun fact about the iconic mascot. Since the Amul Girl has as a point of view on topical news, many consumers still are under the impression that it is a part of the many newspapers’ editorial line up. But, in reality, it is a branded ad, which Amul pays for.

Mathias believes Amul is the pioneer of moment marketing. He recalled a conversation he had with Sylvester's son Rahul daCunha. Sometimes the Amul topical ads get by without any formal approval by the client. Most of the time, the conversations would happen telephonically with the MD of Amul on the topical themes and they release them the following day.


Watch part one of the pilot episode here:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lz_sPmCyFl0?si=HSAQEW74nnwo55xc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>


<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/quantum-brief/who-was-the-inspiration-for-sanjana-in-pepsis-iconic-90s-ad-with-aamir-khan-and-aishwarya-rai-12239.htm">Who was the inspiration for 'Sanjana' in Pepsi's iconic 90s ad with Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai?</a> 

Little advertising secrets of the iconic Amul Girl

Storyboard18's Brand Blitz Quiz, India's First Panel Business Quiz, decided to have some fun with brand geeks from the Indian advertising and marketing community. We got Sai Ganesh, founder, India Wants To Know and the quiz master of Brand Blitz Quiz, to quiz angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias; communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan; and indie creative shop Talented's creative and founding member Sanket Audhi. 


In what we call the pilot episode, Ganesh played a familiar Pepsi ad from the 1980s featuring Canadian-American actor Michael J. Fox. His question to Audhi was to recall the actors who were featured in the Indian version of the same ad, made in the 1990s. Aamir Khan, Mahima Chaudhary, and Aishwarya Rai appeared in the commercial.


In the ad, Khan is seen playing chess at his home all alone. He hears his doorbell ring and sees his beautiful neighbour, played by Chaudhry, at the door. She is seen asking him to get her a bottle of Pepsi. In order to impress her, Khan goes out in rain, battling his way through hurdles he ultimately manages to get a bottle of the beverage. When he gets back home, the doorbell rings again and  Chaudhry, who's waiting for Khan to return, says, “It must be Sanju.” That's when Aishwarya Rai enters the scene and says, “Hi, I am Sanjana. Got another Pepsi?”


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nS1WCD2PL6U" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Mathais, former marketing head of Pepsi, recalls why Rai was named Sanjana/Sanju in the ad. Vibha Paul Rishi (currently independent director, ICICI Bank), who was the head of marketing at Pepsi India then, had just delivered her daughter whose name was Sanjana. She called her daughter Sanju. A month later, as Mathias puts it, another “young Sanjana was born.” Rai featured in the commercial much before she was crowned as Miss World in 1994.


Several media reports indicate that there were more than twice as many Sanjanas born in 1993 as in the preceding three years. The reports also stated that almost 50 girls were named Sanjana in 1993 after the ad was aired. The obsession over Rai and her character was real, it seems. 


Lloyd revealed another fact. At the time, there was a global policy at Pepsi that the brand would work only with mainstream Bollywood producers. Pepsi's Sanju ad was shot by Bollywood filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra and was played out in cinema halls across India. But Lloyd says that in actuality less than two percent of the audience watched it on cinema screens. Instead India watched the now iconic ad on their television screens at a time when TV was booming in a post-liberalisation era. It successfully brought the largeness of Bollywood to advertising and the small screen.


After 1994, the brand worked with Prahlad Kakkar because of his associated work with veteran film director Shyam Benegal. Pepsi’s ‘Yehi hai right choice, baby’, was directed by late film director Mukul Anand and was released in 1992. It starred Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla.


Watch part one of the pilot episode here:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lz_sPmCyFl0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Who was the inspiration for 'Sanjana' in Pepsi's iconic 90s ad with Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai?

Storyboard18's Brand Blitz Quiz, India's First Panel Business Quiz, decided to have some fun with brand geeks from the Indian advertising and marketing community. We got Sai Ganesh, founder, India Wants To Know and the quiz master of Brand Blitz Quiz, to quiz angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias; communications strategy consultant Karthik Srinivasan; and indie creative shop Talented's creative and founding member Sanket Audhi.

 

In this the Pilot Episode of the Brand Blitz Quiz, Ganesh asked Mathias, Srinivasan, and Audhi questions on ads from the past that evoked nostalgia. The episode also captures unheard brand stories, interesting points of view on iconic campaigns, and the impact it had on consumers.


Watch part one of the Pilot Episode here:


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lz_sPmCyFl0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Storyboard18’s first edition of Brand Blitz Quiz is getting truly national. Brand Blitz Quiz received over 600 registrations from different corners of India. From Shillong, Bokaro, Thrissur to Tezpur, Surat and Trichy, and from top metros cites in the country, Brand Blitz Quiz is bringing madvertising geniuses from over 80 cities together.


Our Regional Final Rounds and Finale will feature industry experts and celebrity panellists from the business and brand world, infusing excitement with their expertise and insights. Piyush Pandey, Devaiah Bopanna, Roshan Abbas, Varun Duggirala, Saksham Jadon, Sumanto Chattopadhyay, and Tista Sen will be joining us.

<strong>Read More:</strong> <a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/how-it-works/over-600-people-register-for-brand-blitz-quiz-12138.htm">Brand Blitz Quiz attracts participants from different corners of India; on-boards marquee panelists</a> 

MONTH IN FOCUS