The much-hyped biennial advertising congress ‘AdAsia 2003’ finally began with a big bang in Jaipur. Strapped with the adline ‘Break the rules’ the advertising congress broke quite a few old rules on the very first day. Deviating from the traditional mode, the convention chose a chief guest who’s neither a CEO nor a management guru, but a film star — our own home grown brand Amitabh Bachchan. In addition, the advertising congress was even formally inaugurated with a nursery rhyme! In fact after 21 years, India is playing host to the advertising congress where 1,400 delegates from 20 countries have assembled to devise winning strategies that trample upon the tyranny of tradition. Inaugurating the convention, Bachchan said: “For those of you who do not know me and there are several who may not, I am Amitabh Bachchan, a professional actor — a qualification least suited for an occasion such as this.” In his baritone voice, Bachchan further explained how history is replete with examples of those who broke the rules and were burnt at the stake. “But I presume for this discussion you want to break the rules for creating new trends. Please look for the rules that the ordinary want to break. If you do it for them, you’ll find your pot of gold,” he said. Quite inadvertently, Bachchan added that he had broken the first rule that management guru C.K. Prahalad laid down years ago: Stick to your core competence. Recalling his last visit to Jaipur, Bachchan said it was for a raunchy song sequence with Manisha Koirala last year. In his inaugural address, Jean Claude Boulos, world president, International Advertising Association, said the industry is rapidly changing. “Yesterday it was brands. Today it’s ‘show me what’s my return on investments —ROI,” he observed. In essence, AdAsia 2003, organised by the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA), plans to focus on breaking rules to devise impactful communications across the globe. In sync with its theme, the convention plans to host non-traditional events for its 1,400 delegates in the next four days. And the Pink City is playing the perfect host to delegates from China, Singapore, Pakistan, Japan, Vietnam and Bangladesh, among others. Zanjeer clicked because of emergency: Bachchan
