Meenakshi Menon, Futurologist at A & M Investments and Co-Founder, Chairperson of WayBeyond Media Pvt Ltd, and one of the finest minds in Media planning buying and much more – indeed, the First Lady of Media planning and subsequently ROI measurement in India – writes about Jayshree M Sundar’s book, Don’t Forget 2004: Advertising Secrets of an Impossible Election Victory.
Meenakshi writes about how the book grabs your attention from its opening pages and outlines how advertising can change the world – both, positively and negatively.
Read on.
Unputdownable…
This was a coined word created by Lintas decades ago for the launch of a newspaper. It’s a word that always disturbed me. Coined words often assume a heft they lack. Over the last few days I have been able to understand the all encompassing impact of this word. I came across a book that was unputdownable.
I joined advertising in the early 80’s to change the world. Communication and it’s ability to change consumer behaviour was always the core of my lifelong fascination for the art and craft of advertising. Over the years I realised that some of those changes me and my ilk were responsible for, were not that good. Not for the people nor for the Planet. There was enough proof that advertising worked and it could indeed change the World both positively and negatively.
That’s why Don’t forget 2004, sunk its elegant talons deep into my heart. Jayshree Sundar has written an unputdownable book that grabs your attention from its opening pages and holds on effortlessly till the very end. The drama, the sweat, blood and tears, the secrecy and the angst are all captured so beautifully in a behind the scenes deep dive into the world of advertising. That to my mind is one of the many untold stories this book tells. The story of how much diligence and hard work goes into crafting meaningful brand stories.
Since this is about heartfelt tributes, listen to Meenakshi’s impromptu tribute to the sagacious brand guru Kiran Khalap. She spoke 4 years ago on the occasion of chlorophyll completing 19 glorious years. Scroll down in this post to the SoundCloud link, and
Listen to Meenakshi Menon’s tribute to Kiran Khalap
The second untold story is about consumer insight driving strategy. Every powerful idea is built on understanding the consumer and letting the consumer guide the brand. There are very few brands that can survive with utter disregard for the consumer, even though we do see those rear their heads now and then.
The third untold story is about the Elephant that danced. This to my mind was not a David and Goliath tale. It was about waking up the belly of the beast and seeding hope in an organisation that was lost in its own hubris.
The fourth and most critical untold story is still waiting to unfold. Can the beast rise again? Is there spine enough to hold up the sagging shroud of multiple defeats? Can these shards of history come together to complete another revival?
Will the India enshrined in our constitution survive?
Hats off to Jayshree Sundar for taking us back in time. For sharing hope, for sharing her fears and frustrations. For being an amazing team captain. Thanks to Ali Imran and Anita Nayyar (these are the people I know hence the call out) and the entire crew that made this campaign a pivotal part of our nation’s history.
PS. I could actually picture Jairam Ramesh and Chamber of Salman Khurshid as harried clients coping with JMS’s firm no nonsense demeanour😂
Her intractable demand for the official confirmation must have made Arvind Sharma very happy.
What a story JMS, and so well told.
