SO Coke has set the cat among the pigeons and shifted its Rs 50-crore ad account. I say 50 because that's the largest figure my poor brain can adjust to. One of the nicer side-effects of this will be hours of speculation in ad agencies and marketing departments across the land: Whose fault was it? How did Chaitra Leo Burnett swing it? Why didn't they call us? So where did McCann screw up?
The answer that a lot of admen will subscribe to, is, they didn't. That it's basically been a marketing failure, with McCann as the scapegoat. Most of us have been at the receiving end of this at some time or the other. For beleaguered TNC marketing people, changing agencies is a relatively painless way of demonstrating that Steps Are Being Taken. The only discomfort is the accusing eyes of weeping, betrayed agency people. In all fairness, though, there have also been management changes at Coke, so they don't seem to be taking this rather simple-minded position. Which obviously means that McCann messed up, right? Their ads just weren't good enough.
Since no two people can ever agree on this subject, this is a safe line to take, so long as you look like you know what you're talking about. Coke advertising has been debated a lot--after all, there's been quite a bit of it. The fact is, Coke was committed to it. There was talk of taking it across the region. At least one Indian commercial has been aired in the US. So the ads can't have been totally hopeless, can they?
At the end of the day, Pepsi and HTA have been universally acknowledged to be fleeter of foot. Festivals, sporting events, college jamborees--Pepsi's always there, right in your face. Aha, you say, so it was a marketing failure. Not necessarily. Like all the best journalists, let's speculate without access to a shred of factual evidence.
Here we have a global brand, entering late, with a young and small team who're still figuring things out. An interesting mix of arrogance and nervousness. Surely an ideal situation for an agency? One where you build mutual trust, redefine traditional roles and become the marketing partner? There's no mystery in this. It boils down to what's fundamental to business: relationships. We all know it's important, and yet mess it up so often. It looks like if McCann failed anywhere, it was in relationship management. Then again, maybe they were just scapegoats!
(* The author is associate vice president, Contract Advertising.)
