An ad-film director, media educator, hospitality connoisseur, marine life conservationist, Prahald Kakkar is the one name for all. The guru of the ad industry, Prahlad Kakkar, is driven by versatility. Having a reputation of being tongue-in-cheek with clients and crew in the advertising world, he is famously known as the enfant terrible referring to a French expression of a stubborn child.
His journey of nearly 42 years consists of notable advertisements for brands including Pepsi, Kit Kat, Maggi, and Whirlpool among many more. During the inauguration of a brand, the spine of the brand should be curated in a manner so that it touches the audience in a human way which is done by storytelling, Kakkar said while interacting with students during a recently concluded digital conclave - MediaNext 2020 - organised by Adamas University, Kolkata. ABP Education was the media partner of this event.
Kakkar has often quoted that creating stories for cinema is not an ordinary craft; it has a different language almost like poetry. It was this quench for storytelling that led him to start his own venture in 1977 with the inception of Genesis Production. His key to lucid portrayal of ad films was that of curating an audio-visual story within a limited duration in 30 seconds to engage and reach out to the audience, thus making the brand a household name.
His iconic artistry can be found behind iconic advertisements like “Sirf 2 minute mein Maggi” to Pepsi’s “Yehi Hai Right Choice Baby! to the Britannia jingle “Ting Ting Ti Ting”, Limca with “Zor ka Jhatka”, Maggi Sauces with “It’s different”, to name a few.
Whilst sharing his views on brand building and reputation at MediaNext 2020 conclave, Kakkar stated that it is very crucial for a brand to communicate what its core essence stands for; brand building starts with staying true to the ethics which also adds value to the product. Brands lose their credibility when they fail to abide by their promises to the consumers.
Co-existing with client needs and societal prejudices, an ad filmmaker might stumble upon hurdles in creativity. Ad makers should stick to their ethics and conscience no matter what. Kakkar believes a quest for the northern star will find one’s way home, a person who wants to be successful in life should have a clear perspective of their north, he affirms.
Social media advertising and brand promotion has gained momentum in the present times for both small and big businesses. If we observe the lockdown period, the ad industry had adapted an at-home shoot by brands, cutting on production cost as well. The ad world might see a crunch on high-budget outdoor shoots now that producers seem keen on “Less people-Less money”, only time will tell.
With the post-COVID scenario kicking in the ad world, Kakkar said that brands need a concrete value system and should adapt to the new world needs to stay in the business. Brands should step forward and help those who are not in the privileged Diasporas; it is the right track for brands to build reputation in the consumer market, he added.
Emphasising on not settling for mediocrity, Kakkar said in a pandemic-stricken world, brands like Dominos, McDonalds, Coca-Cola - that promote closeness and bonding, have already redesigned their logos & taglines emphasising social distancing, marking a change in their core essence of brand image.
Kakkar urged learners to have knowledge about who their consumers are; 70% of consumers are below 30, the brand in order to remain young and relevant has to walk in parallels with consumers and accordingly change dress code or linguistics, but the brand’s values should never change.
