At Goafest, conversations don’t just end when the panels do. From agency rivalries and creative legacies to viral marketing and award culture, the festival is packed with strong opinions from every corner of the industry.
So, IMPACT decided to make things a little more interesting. We put some of advertising’s biggest debate-worthy statements in front of attendees and asked them to do just one thing: swipe left if they disagreed, swipe right if they agreed. The result was a series of candid, thoughtful and sometimes unexpected takes that offered a glimpse into how industry leaders are thinking about creativity, culture and the changing world of advertising today.
Mayank Shah
CMO at Parle Products
Piyush Pandey's Ogilvy still has the strongest creative hold in advertising.
“I would swipe right. I think there is some very good work happening at the agency. Even after the late Piyush Pandey’s passing, Ogilvy continues to churn out strong work. So, the legacy remains.”
Dheeraj Sinha
Chief Executive Officer, McCann Worldgroup
Independent agencies are cooler than global networks right now.
“I think it’s a matter of spirit. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an independent agency or a global agency. The spirit of freedom and creativity, and being updated about what’s happening currently, is what matters.
If you’re young at heart, attuned to current times and fluid in your thinking, you’ll succeed anywhere — whether it’s an independent agency, a global agency or even an in-house client agency.”
Navin Khemka
President, WPP Media
Clients asking for 'viral ideas' ruins creativity.
“I would swipe left. A viral idea obviously has great creativity, right? Otherwise, it wouldn’t go viral at all. For any idea to go viral, it has to be creative first.”
Rajeev Jain
Senior Vice President - Corporate Marketing, DS Group
Agency award shows matter more to agencies than clients.
“I would like to swipe left. I strongly believe that once you do meaningful work, business results will follow. And if that work also wins awards, then it becomes great recognition and motivation for both the agency and the client.
But the objective shouldn’t just be to win awards. It should be to do something meaningful—whether for business, the environment or society.”
Compiled by Antora Chakraborty
