What will adland do with complete creative freedom?  

This Independence Day… is the refrain with which most campaigns dedicated towards India’s independence begin. While the messages that these ads carry have been widely appreciated, there is also the sense of the campaigns being repetitive and low on innovation. 

So, this year we reached out to our creative greats to know how would they craft their I-Day campaigns if there were no briefs, no rules and absolute liberty.

This is what four of our admen shared:

Prasoon Joshi, Chairman McCann WorldGroup Asia and CEO & CCO McCann Worldgroup India

I have written songs like ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon, Bharat Yeh Rehna Chahiye’. All of them portrayed my love for the country. 

But if I have to write a song today, it will be full of hope. It won’t be about critiquing the country, but about filling everyone with a sense of hope. It will drive home the idea that ‘India can make it’ and rekindle the faith in all of us. 

If you remember, in Taare Zameen Par, there was an example given about Solomon Islands where if people have to cut a tree, they don’t cut it but curse it. And with the curses, the tree falls. The opposite is also true, if you encourage, inspire, and reassure each other that we as a nation can really do well, the nation will do well. 

So, it is a time for positively inspiring the nation and if I were to create something today it would be around positively inspiring the nation.

Hemant Shringy, CCO, BBDO India

In response to our challenge, Shringy penned down a poem on an issue that he said has been affecting the country for long. He talks about achieving “actual freedom” when women will no longer be harassed, thanks to “better parenting, better learning and better punishing”.

Azazul Haque, CCO, Media.Monks India 

Well if there was no brand and no brief for an Independence Day campaign, then I would have chosen a subject that is most relevant in today's context and best portrays what Independence truly means.

Also, I wouldn't have chosen a message that paints our nation in a bad way or picked a topic that showcases what's wrong with us. I would have chosen a subject that celebrates Independence. Vividness is India's most unique characteristic and I would have loved to do a campaign that celebrates that. Like a campaign that showcases the various dialects of India, we have the freedom to speak our own language. Imagine a campaign that celebrates 700 plus dialects of India. And using Machine Learning AI would have made it possible for any Indian to talk any language. Imagine a Kashmiri talking in Tamil or a Keralite talking in Gujarati. 

Ideally, on occasions like these, we must use AI-based tech to make the campaigns more interactive so every Indian can literally participate and feel a part of the Independence Day celebration.

Mukund Olety, Group CCO, VMLY&R India

I would do product innovation. I would make one of the most popular conspiracy theories in WhatsApp come to life - inserting a chip in currency notes to eradicate corruption. Great idea from the WhatsApp Bureau of India.