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"Buland Bharat ki Buland Tasveer... Hamara Bajaj!!!"

Does the jingle ring a bell somewhere? It would be tough to find someone who wouldn't have lived his years without listening to this evergreen tag line and the familiar music that goes with it.

Though I am supposed to write about Confluence, it would come a bit later as I couldn't help penning down today's experience lest it fades away in my memory!

We students had the opportunity to listen and interact with the ad guru of India, who not only was the mastermind of the above but has also created such powerful advertisements and tag lines that have etched in the memory of millions across the country for years together!

Alyque Padamsee was here today to share his mind and enrich us with his insights!

For the uninitiated, this is the man who has created some of the most enduring, catchy and ever-lasting advertisements Indian television has ever witnessed. No wonder he is known as the advertisement guru of the country.

He explained the circumstances and the creatives that went into coming up with these ads. He dissected the ads and we soon realized their relevance as well as the huge role they played in building brands. Brands, that have become household names, brands that have at times become more powerful than the product itself, and brands that often thrive on the wonderfully brilliant marketing (advertising included) that breathes life into them.

'Hamara Bajaj', the 'Liril Girl', 'K-S' and the more recent 'Fair and Handsome' are some of his creations that re-defined the way these products were perceived in the market and revolutionized the product as well as the market. He showed us clips of all these ads (trust me, it felt so wonderful to see the old and original Bajaj and Liril ads), and explained to us the dynamics and behind-the-scene creativity that went into making these ads the success they were.

He has a good sense of humour, and that kept all of us in splits more often than not. His anecdotes from the tremendous experience he has in the advertising world, his experiences at Lintas, his advertising agency, were all too enriching for young budding marketers.

He did explain to us some of the basics of brand advertising, with a complete understanding of what an IDEA is, and how it has the power to change the world. However simple it may sound, it proves to be the toughest thing when it comes to creating a unique ad that touches the customer.

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* Contributed by -
Vinamra Srivastava (Campus Associate),
PGP - 1,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.