Straight answers

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Prasoon Joshi, </span><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Jury member (Press and Outdoor) Cannes 2005, On the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2005</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">The Cannes fest this year has three Indians on the jury.Does this signify a coming of age of Indian advertising on the global front?</span><br /><br />Definitely. Being part of a panel of judges comprising 12-15 of the biggest names in the ad world is not just an honour, it''s also a big high for Indian advertising on the whole.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">You''ve been at Cannes before, only now you''ll be on the other side of the table as part of the jury. Can the Indian entries breathe a sigh of relief?</span><br /><br />As an Indian on the jury at Cannes and the Clios this year, I would want to explain the nuances of our advertising to the panel when our entries come on. Indian advertising is full of cultural nuances and references, with its own idiosyncrasies which makes it special and relevant to our audience. <br /> <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">We keep hearing about how Indian advertising is the next big thing. Is India living up to its potential, looking back at its performance at Cannes in the last couple of years?</span><br /><br />Indian advertising is world class.We have performed well. The number of shortlisted entries have increased in the last few years, which is a sign of things to come. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Indian advertising: flava'' of the moment or still miles to go?</span><br /><br />At Cannes, most of our entries are print, not film. This should be a wake-up call for the Indian ad industry. In our ad films, we have to depict contemporary Indian reality -- the chaos that underlines Indian society and art -- and not the exotic mystical world that we think we should project. Another pointer we can pick up from international ads is the idea of simplicity. Our ads can be a bit confused and even contradictory at times. We have to learn to create ads with a focussed idea that communicates the message effectively. <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vrushali.haldipur@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>