Lee Lynch, the founder of Minnaopolis advertising agency Carmichael Lynch, which is a part of Interpublic Group is responsible for advertising such mega-brands as Harley Davidson, Porche and Gibson. Harley Davidson has been with Lynch for 22 years, and this consistency is at the heart of the brands success. Lynch understands what is the target market and what messages are relevant to them. Branding , accordingly to Lynch, does not just aim at making the brand popular. It is all about sticking to the core . Harley,  as you are aware, is a cult brand and very popular so to say. The advertising is thus kept a little on the dark side — a lot of happy people are not shown. They appeal to freedom  — freedom from the boss, from congestion and freedom on the open road. Harley is made an aspiring brand for the young in their 20’s and 30’s. Harley has many professionals who want to be bad on week-ends. Harley sold 2.76 lac bikes in 2001. The company has made this progress from near bankruptcy in 1984 to a company worth $ 3.3 billion. Lynch is worried about ad clutter. He wants company to understand the critical values of the brand.Coca Coca cola is physically just water and syrup. But it is great stuff. It is refreshing and represents American vallues. It makes it a big product.

Nadia (Fearless) Wadia was born Mary Ann Evans in Perth, Australia in 1908. She came to Mumbai in 1913 when she was five. She lived in Colaba with her father, a Scotsman, in the British army and mother. She left for Peshavar with her mother. In 1928, she returned to Mumbai. She joined a dancing troupe. Her first film was Hunterwali (1935). She acted in 50 or 60 films. She was called Fearless Nadia, Hunterwali, Miss Frontier Mail, Diamond Queen or Jungle Queen. She died in Mumbai in 1996. Her best known films were for Wadia Movitone in the 1930s and 1940s. She was directed by  Homi Wadia in Diamond Queen (1940) whom she later married. The Wadia brothers J B H and Homi Wadia used Nadia to Indianize the stunt-film genre. Her stunts survive as clips on YouTube and low quality VCDs in the market. A musical Fearless Nadia was performed at Liberty Cinema in Mumbai and Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Chennai in November, 2012. Wadia’s grandson in 1993 (the late Riyad Vinci Wadia) introduced her to the world through a documentary on her life called Fearless : The Hunterwali Story. It generated a lot of interest. She expired in 1996. Shiamak Davar is Nadia’s grand-nephew.

Piyush joined O&M as an account executive in 1982 and made his first ad of Sunlight soap. He created in 1987 Chal Meri Luna campaign. In 1989, he created Dam Laga Ke Heisha for Fevicol. In 1991, he created Each One, Teach One for National Literacy Mission. He became a Creative Director at O&M, Mumbai in 1993, and National Creative Director in 1994.His work on Cadbury chocolate was recognized in 2000. At the same time, he was recognized for his commercial of Fevikwik. He was inducted into Ogilvy’s worldwide board in 2006. The AAAI gave him the Life Time Achievement Award in 2010. In 2012, he becomes the first Indian and the first Asian to receive the Clio Life Time Achievement Award, New York.

Prasoon Joshi is indebted to advertising for giving him his wife Aparna, and the luxury of writing poetry. His biggest inspiration is his 10 year old daughter Aaishaanya and his nani.

He belongs to the quiet hills of Almora in Kumaon.His father was a civil servant and during his tenure in the education ministry., he was posted as PCS officer. Prasoon used to remain in the library during night, and woke up to his mother’s early morning riyaaz.Prasoon’s mother is an A-grade singer and sang for AIR and was a teacher at a college. Prasoon thus inherits music in his blood. She also writes in Pahadi and has recently written a book. Sumitranandan Pant is her father’s cousin.At 16, he began reading Nietzsche which blew his mind. He was from a religious family, and could not believe reading ‘God is dead.’ and that sort of thing. He could not believe that someone could be so iconoclastic. he did not know how much he understood but he understood the style.

He did his  masters in mathematics and MBA from IMT, Ghaziabad.His summer assignment was at Grey Worldwide. He joined O&M on the creative side.His boss was his guru — Suresh Mallik who created Mile Sur Tumhara.Suresh Malik was the Creative Director of O&M. Prasoon would make tea for Malik and do all the odd jobs. Malik even flung a shoe at him for making a mistake and would keep asking him to write visuals as he would for a child. It taught Prasoon to reach out to a lager audience. Then Piyush taught him metaphors and language.He honed his skills under the shadow of Piyush Pandey. Piyush taught him the nuances of connecting with the masses. The combination of these two people groomed him. He was taught the craft of writing by Neil French.He moved to Mccann Erickson as the Creative Director and created Thanda Matlab Coca Cola and Happydent’s Mera Tan Roshan, Mera Man Roshan.He is now the executive chairman and South Asia Creative Diraector of McCann Erickson.

He wrote for Subha Mugdal’s music albums. Amitabh heard a song Matti from the album and wrote a letter to him. He told Raj Kumar Santoshi about him.He wrote lyrics for the title track in Lajja. Ilayaraja composed his first song which Lata Mangeshkar sang. He met Adi Chopra at airport and their equation clicked. Adi made him write the lyrics for Hum Tum.He wrote lyrics for Rang De Basanti and Tare Zameen Par.

He writes in the languages he has heard — Hindi, Urdu, and the dialects. His real obsession is with sunshine. That comes from his childhood. The sun moves across the valley in the meadows. The shadows play with the sunlight. It is like a sound and light show.These images reflect in his poetry.

He has great respect for Gulzar whom he calls a safed moti. He says, ‘Mumbai ko kai cheezon ke bawajood maaf kar deta hoon kyunki yahan Gulzar sahab rehte hain.’ I ignore many limitations of Mumbai because Gulzar resides in Mumbai.He likes poet lyricists like Kaifi Azmi, Shailendra and Majrooh. According to him, poetry expresses feelings economically.

He has written the script, screenplay, dialogues and songs for the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.He wrote his first book at the tender age of 17 — Mai(n) Aur Woh.

Prasoon Joshi has donned the role of a music composer in Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan. He composed the tune of Kaun Si Dor.He conceived the tune while taking bath and reecorded it on iPhone, and emailed the same To Prakash Jha and Shankar Mahadevan. They liked the tune and decided to retain it as it is. Pandit Chhanulal Mishra agreed to sing it.

He feels that ideas choose a man rather than the other way round  — a man choosing the idea. Some songs are like ripe mangoes. They fall out of a poet’s imagination. A lyricist is given a narration.There is a discussion.Then it is down to the music director and the lyricist. A word that is important is adjusted in the tune by the music director. In a song, there are several things left unspoken. That allows the listener participation. He likes writing songs featured in the background. In Taare Zameen Par, a child being left at the Boarding School has unspoken fears of a child being abandoned. Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin, Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon, Ma(n).There is a choice here — whether to articulate mother’s feelings or child’s. The song appeals as there is a parent and child in each one of us.

He does not take success too seriously. But success makes others take notice of your work. Your view-point is respected. You are given space to work. But there is a disadvantage. You can get away with some mediocre work.

Elsie Nanji is now the managing partner at Red Lion, the design wing of Publicis Communications. She hails from Chennai.

She had internship at Chennai, and the switched to Ogilvy. She was called by Mohammad Khan of Enterprise, and she learnt advertising there by working hands on. She left a few years later to patner Ashok Kurien at Ambience. She headed Ambience at 30. She designed some iconic campaigns at Ambience — Lakme to Garden Sarees. She gave a new twist to the commercial of Sil Jam. And the ad of Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre for Tuff shoes, who wore a snake and shoes and nothing else.She spent 20 years at Ambience.

Publicis, Paris took over Ambience and wished Nanji to stay back. They asked her to head its design unit Red Lion in India.She thus diversified from advertising to design. She brings fresh approach to everything creative she does.

Helen Brown is the legendary editor who put sex on the cover of women’s magazines. She passed away in August 2012 at the age of 90. She was associated with a prominent women’s magazine in 1965. The 1960s were the time the Feminist movement was on the rise in the US. The signs of femininity — bras, lipstick — were discarded, and equal, non-sexual look was aimed at. Brown put women of substance — writers, artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, movie, stars — on her covers wearing a short shirt, plunging top and a neon- coloured bra. This overt sexual look in the midst of feminist movement emphasised feminine desirability without compromising her personality. That makes her no less of person, on the contrary she becomes more of a woman. She has to become more attractive to hereself, more comfortable and more confident. Brown wanted to tap this confidence. Brown’s version of feminism — fun, feminine and yet powerful — has survived. A woman could be sexy, serious and successful at the same time.

Susie Wolff is the first woman driver in Formula One for 20 years. Someone does feel like asking her, ‘Wow, can you actually drive?’ She feels like saying with a smile, ‘ Why do you think I’am here?’ According to her,whether you are a man or woman, when you come on the track, what matters is the performance. Yes, she recognises that her USP is being in motor sports despite being a woman. She is a 32 years old Scot. She participated in DTM for 20 years. She is the first to compete at the Race of Champions. She tested for Williams at Silverstone last season, and maybe she would be the first to drive at a GP. As the official test driver of a team for the next season, she will be on F1 regular. However, whether she will be in the full-fledged race seat is yet to be seen. Maybe an opportunity comes for her if she knocks on enough doors. She is talented and she has the speed. Embarrassingly, she has faced the questions like how her bust could take the bounce due to the bumps on the track.She drove a pink car, and people came to see the pink car. She clearly had no role models to follow, but she herself aspires to be a role model for others. As in any other profession, women have to work harder to prove themselves. Her husband Toto Wolff is an executive director in the Mercedes team and is on the Williams Board. That attracts a charge of nepotism, but then her husband recuses himself when she is a matter of discussion. As he is an investor and she a sports person, both the roles are different. There is no conflict of interest.

Bimal Roy had strong social themes e.g. Do Bigha Zameen ( 1953 ), Sujata, Bandini (1963 ) and even Devdas. He started his career as a cameraman in New Theatres. He assisted P C Barua on Devdas (1955), where K.L.Saigal was the lead actor. His directorial debut was Udaye Pathe, a Bengali film. It was remade in Hindi as Humrahi later. Do Bigha Zameen was about land aquisition to promote industrialization. Balraj Sahni was the lead actor. Bimal Da believed in realism, and simplicity. Devdas was once again made by him with Dilip Kumar, Vyjanthimala and Suchitra Sen. As the her could not marry his childhood love, he takes to the bottle. Dilip Kumar won the Filmfare award for the best actor. Devdas was recently made once again by Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead, ( 2002 ). Bimal Da’s Madhumati (1958) was on reincarnation. Bandini was about a woman charged with murder. Sujata ( 1959 ) touches untouchability. The key works from Indian film industry will have Bimal Roy’s Madhumat, Guru Dutt’s  Andaz Pyasa and Mehboob Khan’s Andaz and Mother India.