'Advertising is always the one that gets hit'

Ad man Prahlad Kakkar says that if recession continues, many heads in the ad world may roll in the next six months

The economic slowdown has started to affect the glamorous advertising industry, and if the situation remains as grim as it is now, then in the next six months many heads will start to roll.



"Advertising is always the one victim that gets hit," Prahlad Kakkar told to MiD DAY while in Pune to address the students of Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communications.

Pune boy

Kakkar said he had a strong connection with the city, having studied at Fergusson College. He was in his element when he addressed the students and expressed his own unique definition of a brand.

He enthralled the crowd with his amazing sense of humour and accounts of some successful ad campaigns like Nestle, Maggi and Pepsi.

And he explained how the brands that he has worked on, have a little bit of him in them. "Ever since I left Pepsi, it has lost its way. You don't have to call the young people to join youngistaan, they're already there!"

Talking on the core of advertising, he said, "Advertising is about insights, dreams, human foibles, courage..." Celebrities, he says, are not very important in advertisements. "Celebs by themselves are not enough. You have to create good stories round them."

Given his fun-loving personality, he made a relevant observation, "I brought in humour into advertising, at a time when it was not there at all. Humour works best, as people live with problems," explained Kakkar.