Ad guru, brand strategist and board member of various companies, Prahlad Kakkar founded Genesis Film Production Pvt Ltd in 1977 and virtually invented a genre of television advertising in India in the years that followed. He has ruled the advertising world with his brand of irreverent humour and memorable brand building campaigns. He has created award-winning commercials for most reputed corporates and agencies in India and the Asia Pacific. He won the lifetime achievement award given by the IAAFA in 1999. His aesthetic sensibilities have found shape in hundreds of ad films done in a career spanning 32 years. Not without a social conscience, Kakkar has co-founded the Reef Watch Marine Conservation involved in creating marine awareness, education, scientific research and documentation. He is a certified scuba Diving Instructor who successfully runs ‘Lacadives’, the first scuba diving school in the Kadmat and Bangaram Islands of Lakshadweep and in Wandoor in the Andamans. The Prahlad Kakar School of Branding and Entrepreneurship in Mumbai encourages students to overcome fear and free their minds to develop creative strategies. In a telephonic interview with Shabiha Nur Khatoon, the ad guru explains why creativity is essential in advertising. Excerpts:
Was it the advertising world that you always wanted to enter?
No, advertising happened to me accidentally. I graduated with military strategy as my main subject and economics was my second subject, so basically I am a strategist. After the completion of my studies I started looking for a job. I was walking around Delhi one day and found an interesting building where there was a garden in which I saw people having their lunch. I thought to myself ‘this is cool’, and walked in. There was a receptionist with the best pair of legs I have ever seen and she inspired me to join the company. I was inspired by the thought that I would be surrounded with beautiful women in the office and so promptly accepted the offer.
You once said in an interview that you accept job dropouts in your company. Why is that so?
I take hungry people in my company. One may be brilliant in academics but that doesn’t mean s/he is a creative person. If you are in advertising, you need to be hungry for trivia and information. You need to interact with people as advertising is an interactive profession. People who are creative are the ones I accord preference to.
How important is risk-taking to success and creativity?
Very important. The first thing you should do is get rid of your fear and learn to take risks. We all should take chances and try new things. Don’t get into something that’s so tried and tested, that you would know exactly where you will be next year from now because then your life is over before it even begins. To be a creative person one needs to get rid of fear and learn to take risk. You have to learn to do things which everyone tells you not to do. Everybody is creative because creativity is dreams and we all dream. The difference between creative and non-creative people is that while the former follow their dreams the latter forget about them. Through my advertising I wanted to give wings to people’s dreams because advertising is about what you are dreaming to become. Advertising is not about yesterday, it’s about tomorrow.
What are the essential elements of advertising?
During the making of a commercial we make sure what new elements can be added to the presentation. We often incorporate short messages that would attract the attention of viewers. The more authentic the presentation, the catchier it becomes. I am lucky to have got scripts and characters that have added to the aesthetic dimension of the ad films rather than just marketing the products. Ad-makers focus on the promises a product makes and whether it has brand value or not. Another significant point is that the manufacturers need to give us freedom without which creating a good advertisement is impossible.
What would be your advice for youngsters keen to make a career in advertising?
This field has two inter-related aspects – marketing and creativity. Everybody thinks advertising is only the creative side; however, that is not true. The ad world is populated by marketing people who advise clients how to market their products. Of course, there are creative people who generate ideas. An aspirant has to decide which side of the professional spectrum they want to belong – the creative side or the marketing side.
What is the success mantra in advertising?
As I said one needs to be free from fear and willing to take risks. One needs to question the rules. For me rules are meant to be questioned because I am not afraid of what will happen the next moment. You just have to give your best shot every time. That is the success mantra.
You have worked with almost all the biggies of the Hindi film industry. Who are your favourites?
I have worked with almost all the actors and they all are very good but some of my favourites are Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut.