Pinch Your Bottom. Hard!

Ennui is a killer. So are feel good awards that do nothing but “makes the frog feel that he is the king of the world - the well he lives in and the tiny piece of sky above”. Remember the frog that asked if the sea was as big as his well?

Be that as it may, the fact remains that, collectively, we have underestimated the Monday Morning Meeting. We’ve begun to lose respect for the forum that is supposed to make us a design house that is the envy of those who stand outside our doors, waiting to get in.

And it’s there for us to see. The swords did not ‘roll’ this week.

Granted that it’s not a disaster. But it’s a beginning. A frightening one at that. Complacency never got anyone a podium finish.

As we ask ourselves why we’ve suddenly gotten complacent, let’s not find blame elsewhere. That’s not sportsmanship. Let’s see things as maturely as we can, because it’s maturity that will get us where we want to be.

Let’s also remind ourselves that it’s one thing to tell ourselves that we should be the best and that it’s another to get there without compromises.

Without bowing to Saint Ennui.

Without lowering the bar.

Saint Ennui’s Here!

This is exciting. We have a new winner this week. Someone who has observed what goes on around him and has learnt fast. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present Arshad! That was quite an effort from him and there he stands under the spotlights.

(At this point in the ceremony, the spot light shifts to the next winner. But…)

Oh! We’d actually saved up some wind to congratulate the winning copywriter too. And now we find that there isn’t one. So Saint Ennui is here to stay. It happened before and it’s happening again. Horrors! What do we lack? If only we were enlightened or at least if we were to see a winner next week...

Copy That!

Aruna has picked up the sword with her very first submission. And look at her smile. If you remember, we didn’t have any submissions from the copywriters the last two weeks.

Rags took the sword again for design. That’s Sampath handing him the sword with some reluctance there. But Rags, pretends he doesn’t notice. He’s just won it for the third time now.

This time round we had an outsider. Shankar decided to drop by and stayed on till the end. We haven’t asked ourselves if it’s a good thing. Maybe we should. Suits in meetings of Creatives? Ugh… perhaps that isn’t such a good idea.

Mo's Wakaow!

“You see,

I don't believe

in 'initiatives'.

I believe

in Full-Scale

Assaults ...

on Enormous

Opportunities.”

Tom Peters

Along Came Sampath

Ok, ok, so that's a weak pun on Along Came Polly. But Polly did shake things up remember?

So has Sampath. He's swept away the sword again. He's truly broken fresh ground where once the collective opinion was the hackneyed "but the client will not accept it". He's been brave with colour, contrast and style.

These are clearly not the times when adventure is shunned and the 'tried and tested' rules smug. Way to go Sampath. You are one brave chappie.

And the sword for Copy... ugh. You'll excuse us, we must be going now, rather quickly because...

Happiness is a Baby's Smile

That's Shiva Haran, Sampath's little baby. He's just eleven months old. Does he remind you of the Farex baby?

Satisfaction Guaranteed!

Hell! That sounded like a bad advertisement. (No, no, no... don't guess the advertisement... not loudly).

Remember Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen? There's something he said in one of his interviews that's an absolute wake-up pinch. This interview was recorded thirteen years after they were formed and were still one of the most happening rock bands in the world.

Question: How did they stay together for years, belting out number one hit after number one hit, when other bands like them were falling apart?

Answer: Freedom of individual expression.

There wasn't just one song writer. There wasn't just one ideator. All four band members wrote songs. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. It wasn't as if one person dominated over the others and suppressed individual expression. Everyone's individuality was nourished and that's why Queen stayed tops.

Imagine! Four talented people. Four song writers. Four musicians. All passionately immersed in individual projects, close to their hearts. And then bringing it all together as an album under the umbrella 'Queen'!

Is there a lesson there for us? While you are thinking about that one, you can download their songs here.

PS: Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara to Indian Parsi parents. He was educated at St. Peter's boarding school in Panchgani near Mumbai, where he gave his first onstage performances in a five-member school band called 'The Hectics'. It was here that he was given the name Freddie.

Judicious Interruption

Sampath, took the sword for the first time this week. That's a fantastic independent effort Sampath. But our copywriters (sob)... we can't say anymore. We're sorry.

Jo, as usual, was the only one who submitted his interior design assignment. None of the visualisers did. It was supposed to be an exercise in colour coordination, with no brownie points attached. But then, the most apt entry was to be published here. Wasn't that reason enough, guys? Anyway, Jo's submission is here. What do you think?

Oh... and there was a judicious interruption to the meeting this week. Karthik was "distressed" by some of the work he saw and decided enough was enough. Maybe we should have him down once in a while when we generally put things on the back burner or feel smug with what we've done.

There's nothing like a well meant pinch to wake us up and keep us on track to being the best. Oops! That's what we're here for. To mould ourselves into the best. We have an agenda to stick to... Thank you Karthik.