The Danny Boyles of advertising

“What is the secret behind making a good commercial?

There is no secret. It’s concept driven. The visuals are just like dressing on a turkey.”

The above lines on the website of the Paris-based ad filmmaker Jonathan Lennard aptly describe something that Indian advertising agencies are now increasingly doing — dressing up the 30-second turkeys better.

In the process, more and more ad filmmakers like Lennard are directing television commercials for Indian brands.

Call them the Danny Boyles of advertising, yet most have very interesting and varied profiles. For example Lennard, who has shot the latest commercials for Lakme Sunscreen, Slice (with Katrina Kaif) and Nokia (with Priyanka Chopra), is also an acclaimed fashion photographer and calls himself, “a visual anthropologist with a specialty in curvy figures”.

Lennard is not alone. New Zealand’s Cannes finalist Adam Strange worked on a TVC for Tata Safari Dicor (What Will You Remember?), Australian director Jon Gwyther of Luscious Films got Akshay Kumar in a double role to hop-skip-jump around town for a bottle of Thums-Up and Paris-based Cannes Lion winner Mathias Hoene of Partizan Films got a love-struck couple to challenge each other to a salsa over a bottle of Tata Tea’s soon-to-be-launched cold beverage brand T!On.

Some of these directors have found a following among Indian agencies.

Malaysian director Farouk Aljoffrey of Planet Films has already worked on quite a few projects with different ad agencies. He managed to make oranges float (and lift you up) for Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, and deflate them in an earlier commercial. This apart, there were also ads on Airtel (Delhi Marathon), Bajaj (Free biking), Cadbury Ulta Perk (Postman), Cadbury Bournvita (Snatch), Thums-Up (Akshay Kumar’s car crash) and Boost (Lessons).

This trend of hiring international ad filmmakers mirrors practices of advertising agencies abroad, where for shooting an ad film, creative chiefs make it a point to bounce off the script across production houses in various countries. They then scan show-reels of potential filmmakers and narrow down on someone most suitable to shoot it.

The trend has also made Paris-based Partizan Films, an international ad film production house, walk right into India and plan an office here to get a slice of the local business.

“We know we may not get to charge the rates we command internationally, but the volume of work here is enormous and we hope to bag some good projects,” says Jay Weinstein, directors’ representative, Partizan Films.

These shades of cinematic excellence are obviously coming at a price, considering there’s a cost involved in flying down the director and also expenses on his stay and travel.

Yet, some ad men think it’s worth it.

Sumanto Chattopadhyay, executive creative director, O&M, says often the rates quoted by international directors are competitive with the best of Indian ad filmmakers. “But they bring a fresh perspective and a new approach to the story-telling,” he adds.

According to Sainath Saraban, executive creative director, Leo Burnett, who worked with Aljoffrey, clients are willing to spend a little extra so that their products stand out.
“The Thums-Up brand needs cutting-edge style and treatment. It does 2-3 commercials in a year and it wants each of them to be filmed in a way that the world takes notice,” he adds.

Saraban says there are some genres of TVCs that command certain edginess in them, something a foreign filmmaker can provide. “Cars and bike ads and beverages require certain stylishness,” he says. But he warns that if it’s an ad with Indian sensibilities, “one must only have an Indian director.”

Anaam Mishra, group creative director, Lowe, agrees. “There was a time when we thought international directors knew more about ad films and the Indian ad industry has burnt its hands and moved on from that point. Today, it’s the script that decides who’ll shoot it.”

The key reason for this willingness to try out foreign ad filmmakers is the growing access to them. Many of them are represented in India by production houses such as Bang Bang Films, MAD films and Cutting Edge Pictures and their clout is growing due to networking opportunities that advertising festivals such as Cannes Lions and AdFest offer. These production houses actively pitch show-reels and consult agencies in deciding who is the right director to work on a given ad film’s script.

Roopak Saluja, managing director and executive producer, Bang Bang Films, says, “Till a few years back, the Indian advertising industry was insulated from working with international directors. This was partly because there wasn’t a requirement — Indian directors did a fairly neat job and they understood our cultural nuances. But now they (agencies) are more open and willing to try out new things.”

How do these directors overcome logistic and cultural barriers while working with the local crew?

According to Lowe’s Mishra, they adapt very well. “Recession takes care of everything,” he adds with a smirk.