CANNES: It’s an ad with a foot-tapping score that slowly envelopes you and swiftly gets you into the groove. And now, it has taken Cannes by
storm — The Times of India ‘A Day in the Life of Chennai’ ad has won India its first Gold Lions in the film category. ( Watch )
On Saturday, when the jury gave a unanimous verdict, the ‘Naaka Mukka’ campaign made history winning two Gold Lions. And with that, JWT India has wrapped up its total of three Gold Lions. This win has taken India’s tally to 25 medals compared with 23 in 2008.
David Lubars, president of films jury and chief said the TOI win was a combination of all elements coming together. But he singled out the song as a special mention. "Any other song wouldn’t have done," he said.
Andrea Stillaci, a jury member, said he was blown away when he heard ‘Naaka Mukka’. "Mixing social life, politics and amazing music in just one minute... It’s fabulous," he said.
Agnello Dias, chief creative officer, TapRoot India, who was chief creative officer (CCO) at JWT India when the ad was made, said: "This is very satisfying because it was one of my last projects in JWT and it is just great to end on a high note for a truly outstanding client and agency."
Senthil Kumar, writer and ECD, JWT India, said that the interesting part is that the world’s largest English newspaper spoke to the largely Tamil audience in their mother tongue and helped raise a folk phrase from the underbelly of Chennai with its cinema, politics, superstar minister and every other double role in just two words: ‘Nakka Mukka’.
The ad film, created for the launch of TOI’s Chennai edition, delves into the life of a cut-out character in the city – starting out as an action hero, becoming a political hero and ending as a zero. In an earlier interview, executive creative director of JWT Senthil Kumar said the idea was to bring out the characteristics of the city through cut-outs, which "are a metaphor for all the characters in Chennai, which play double roles, switching from cinema to politics and being bathed in milk by fans to hundreds of cut-outs of political figures to even our Gods outside temples and churches, Chennai is surely the cut-out capital of the world."
The Films Lions, Titanium and Integrated awards ceremony will see an invigorated Indian contingent with Indian agencies having outdone everyone’s expectations. With a little help from ‘Naaka Mukka,’ of course. So what’s the story behind the words, ‘Naaka Mukka,’ literally meaning ‘tongue-nose’? "It represents the taste and smell of Chennai and is a Tamil folk expression urging people to let their hair down and dance like it’s your last," said Senthil.