Taproot has a reason to celebrate with 20 entries at AdFest 2013

Taproot India has a reason to celebrate. Twenty of the agencies entries has made it to the finalists at AdFest 2013, the event which is presently  underway in Pattaya, Thailand. It is the highest number among the Indian entries this year.  With this achievement the agency has entered the final list across film, print, design, outdoor and Lotus Roots. The results are due to be announced on 18th and 19th March 2013.

Commenting on this commendable feat Santosh Padhi, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, TapRoot India said, “TapRoot India has 20 finalists – most by any Indian agency. This is big news for us. We are hoping to see at least 50 per cent of them getting converted into metals. The ‘I am Mumbai TVC’ and ‘The Domestic Violence Campaign’ are the two pieces that we are very hopeful about.”

The other Indian agencies that have made it to the finals other than TapRoot include Leo Burnett India, Grey Worldwide India, BBDO India, McCann Worldgroup India, Contract Advertising India, Scarecrow Communications India and DDB Mudra Group India. 

This year the theme at AdFest is ‘Connect the Dots’. It aims to link and converge strategic knowledge, tools and experiences with creative innovation and ideas. With regard to this Mr. Padhi avers, “It is a lot tougher this year as they have opened up for the Middle East to participate as well, so it is more than Asian now. Also, the entries have  gone up as well, according to the AdFest committee.”

The agency’s entries in various categories are as follows:

Film Lotus
Mumbai Mirror – I am Mumbai
Fox Movies – Subtitles
Bombay Times Born Glamorous
TOI – Teach India

Press Lotus
TOI – Visual classified
Audio books India – 3 ad campaign
Save our sisters – Abused goddess 3 Ad campaign

Design Lotus
Red Cross India – Packaging

Print Craft
Save our sisters – Abused goddess 3 d campaign
Bartan – Utensil cleaning bar 3 ad campaign
Prayas bharti – Family 3 ad campaign

Outdoor
Rollings Stones – Recycle CD's poster
Save our sisters – Abused goddess 3 d campaign

Lotus Roots

Mumbai Mirror – I am Mumbai TVC
Save our sisters – Abused goddess 1
Save our sisters – Abused goddess 2
Save our sisters – Abused goddess 3
Bartan – Utensil cleaning bar - toilet
Bartan – Utensil cleaning bar - bar
Bartan – Utensil cleaning bar - fish market

According to Donald Gunn, founder of The Gunn Report, which is presented at Adfest every year, there is a revolution in progress. Adfest’s decision to launch the Effective Lotus at this year’s “Connect the Dots 2013″ festival of advertising comes after a study that was conducted by IPA/Gunn which states  that “over the period of the study from 1996 to 2012, advertising that was both effective and creatively awarded was seven times more effective as advertising that was not awarded for its creativity”.

Elaborating further with regard to the study Mr. Gunn shares “The study shows that two things are happening at the same time. Firstly, advertising that is strategically accurate but with a tendency to be boring is finding it harder to deliver commercially. Secondly, ads that people like and talk to their friends about are working better and actually faster than ever before, thanks to connectivity and the internet.” 

Jimmy Lam, President of Adfest said “This is a powerful statement and one that is difficult for creatives to ignore.” He continued to say, “Adfest has wanted to introduce Effective Lotus for a number of years but wanted to make sure that it struck the right balance alongside our main focus of creativity. It is great to know without doubt that we are on the right track.”

Sharing his opinion on the work being showcased at AdFest, Mr. Padhi also said, “They really value Asian work. This region is obsessed with craft; so no matter how brilliant the idea is, if you do not do justice in terms of the execution, there is no mercy for making that mistake. There is a great learning on the craft front.”

Padhi is also Jury Chair for Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus categories at AdFest 2013. AdFest, founded in 1998, is one of the largest annual advertising festivals in Asia and the Pacific, celebrating and raising the standard of creativity in the region.