President South East Asia and Chairman, South Asia of Grey Worldwide, Nirvik Singh is captured in a mellow mood on 'Commercial Break', aired at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, 28 January on Janmant, India's first 24 hour views channel. 'Commercial Break' focuses on the creative process, the highs and lows of the advertising world and the people who mould words and images to make us laugh, cry and think.
This half hourly show covers one leading Ad Agency every week. The discussion veers to the agency's memorable works, awards won and ad creatives that made the grade or fell by the wayside. Shot on location, Commercial Break captures the human angle behind the women and men who lead advertising agencies in India.
Nirvik Singh, who has seen the giddy highs and abject lows of the business, reveals how Founder Ravi Gupta's demise spelt disaster for Grey. The lean phase saw Grey give up on many clients. "We had to start from scratch," says Singh.
Grey now has rebuilt its reputation and manages Proctor and Gamble, Incredible India for the Government of India, Ambuja Cement, Kinetic Velocity among many other clients. But when asked about the India Shining campaign, which turned out to spark the debacle for BJP, Nirvik Singh said, "Powerful advertising can make or break a client, and we learnt that from the India Shining campaign." Grey's inimitable Thums Up campaign, considered by many to be inspired advertising, has helped Thums Up to maintain its dominant status in the Indian cola market.
Commercial Break departs from the current industry norms of having a very formal or structured interview format. Instead it also introduces segments on old Indian commercials that have entered Indian marketing lore - for example the 40-year old Hamam ad campaign was recently showcased. There are segments on international ad campaigns, a Vox Pop for the common man to react on current campaigns and a section on the top three ads of the week.
Positioned as India's first Views Channel, Janmat has brought a fresh breeze in the country's TV viewing landscape. Janmat is a 24-hour current affairs channel targeted towards the discerning Indian audience. Through its innovative positioning and its interactive programming Janmat is breaking old stereotypes.
