Faces Behind 30 Seconds

Ad-makers in unison.

- Sangheeta Bhattacharya

Power of a 30 seconds ad is such that it creates a ‘brand’  into a ‘product’. Brands like Xerox, Bata, Maggi, Ujala, Fevicol, to name a few; are identified as products instead of ‘one’ of the many brands selling that product. As Mark Twain righty said, “Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” The art of ad-film making is one of the most difficult in the creative sphere. Building a brand, creating witty and intelligent character or dialogues, capturing the consumer power, all in 30 seconds. But do we recognise the faces behind them? The director, actor, music director, cinematographer and the entire team behind these 30 seconds? The efforts put, the hard work done is yet to be acquainted with.

As I met the finest ad-film directors of Advertisement Industry one Kochi afternoon, their whims and creativity amused me. Each one of them in spite of their busy schedules and parallel profiles of work continue to meet once every week for a purpose which has not been explored earlier in the country. Unlike every industry which has an association or a council to secure the growth of that sector and the individuals engaged, ad-film industry was left solitary, till now. This group of eminent ad-films directors from South India has come forward and initiated I AM, a platform that unites all the Ad Film Makers of India. I AM is the acronym for Indian Ad-film Makers Association, aiming to unite and strengthen and build a cooperative environment in the exceedingly competitive field of advertisements.

Why ‘I AM’