Jitender Dabas Discusses Decline of IPL Advertising Creativity

The changes in the content ecosystem will see a realignment of roles and skills, rather than a simple elimination of jobs, says Jitender Dabas, CEO, BBDO Group India.

In an interview with e4m, Jitender Dabas further spoke about the impact of AI-led consolidation on the advertising industry, the decline of memorable IPL advertising, concerns around talent retention, and why industry bodies need broader representation in an era of rapid technological change.

Edited excerpts:

The creative industry has seen significant consolidation globally, from Omnicom to WPP, often accompanied by layoffs. How do you view the current wave of cost optimisation?

If you look at the history of technology, every major technological shift has fundamentally been about making work easier and more efficient. Industrialisation, automation — all of them have led to efficiencies across industries, not just advertising.

Consolidation driven by efficiency is therefore not something unique to the creative business. What typically happens is that the first phase of any technology wave is efficiency, and the second phase is excellence. We are currently in that efficiency phase and hopefully moving towards excellence.

AI, of course, is putting pressure on every knowledge industry — consulting, advertising, creative services. Anyone sitting in front of a computer today has reason to think about how AI could potentially do parts of the job faster.

At the same time, the content ecosystem has exploded. While work that earlier required five people may now be done by one person, the volume of content required has multiplied many times over. So there will be a realignment of roles and skills rather than a simple elimination of jobs.

Many industry leaders say IPL advertising no longer creates memorable campaigns like it once did. Has creativity declined amid the clutter?

To some extent, that observation is fair. We still see good campaigns occasionally, but there are structural reasons why fewer campaigns become iconic today.

First, the storytelling canvas has become much smaller. An IPL match lasts three hours, but advertisers often only get a 20-second slot. Some stories simply need more time and space to create emotional impact.

Second, over the last decade, a significant portion of IPL inventory was consumed by venture-funded startups rather than traditional marketers. Since IPL advertising became extremely expensive, many legacy brands became cautious about ROI and finite marketing budgets.

A lot of startup-driven IPL campaigns were also project-based mandates rather than long-term brand-building exercises. Great storytelling usually emerges from deep partnerships, strong consumer insights and continuity over time. That ingredient was often missing.

There was also a tendency in the startup ecosystem to imitate successful templates. One brand would use a celebrity and suddenly several others would replicate the same approach. That made many campaigns look similar and reduced originality.

Traditional marketers, who historically invested in long-term storytelling, were comparatively less visible during IPL seasons because of the high media costs.

With geopolitical tensions and rising energy prices, are brands becoming cautious about advertising spends?

We are definitely operating in an uncertain environment. Rising fuel and energy prices eventually have a cascading impact on the broader economy and consumer spending.

So far, we haven’t seen a major pullback in advertising spends, but there is caution around the second half of the year. If inflationary pressures continue, consumers may reduce spending, which in turn impacts demand and forces companies to reassess budgets.

At this point, I would say the industry remains hopeful, but cautious.

There is increasing discussion around the need for a larger umbrella body representing media, creators, broadcasters and ad-tech firms. Do you think such a structure is necessary?

Every industry benefits from being organised and represented effectively, especially when technology is rapidly changing the landscape.

Whether it is influencer regulation, advertising policy or broader industry standards, there is always a need for strong representative bodies that can engage with policymakers and help shape frameworks for growth.

That does not necessarily mean there should only be one body. Multiple organisations can coexist and represent different aspects of the ecosystem effectively. What matters is how representative and updated they are.

The stronger an industry body’s representation — across large players, smaller firms, legacy businesses and new-age companies — the more effective it becomes.

What are the biggest challenges the industry must collectively address?

One of the biggest concerns is talent.

As industry leaders, we need to ask whether advertising remains attractive enough for  young professionals today. Are we paying competitively? Are we creating exciting career opportunities?

Storytelling remains one of the most fascinating things human beings do, so creativity itself is not losing relevance. But younger generations evaluate careers differently today. Compensation, growth and long-term viability matter much more.

Advertising has faced business model challenges for years, and those economics eventually affect remuneration and talent retention. Fixing those structural issues is critical if we want the industry to continue attracting the best young minds.