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A special section has been devoted in the book on the unusual title
of the book. The original Dum Dum bullet dates back to the late
19th century and was produced at the Dum dum ammunition factory
near Kolkata. The bullet had an exposed lead nose which underwent
rapid expansion on impact. In Goyal's words, the power of advertising
lies in creating an idea that captures the popular imagination and
mints millions - lethal once unleashed, quite like the Dum Dum bullet.
After a few extracts from the book were read out by Geeta Rao;
a panel discussion was held on the topic - 'Has the fun gone out
of advertising?' The panel comprised personalities like - Quadrant
CEO Geetanjali Kirloskar, Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing
director V Shantakumar, SKA Advisors Pvt Ltd chairman Sunil Alagh
and writer Kamlesh Pandey.
Kirloskar opened the discussion by saying that in the late '90s,
the ad world was too preoccupied and self obsessed with whether
advertising should be made more business like minus the pony tails,
beards and "creative" looks?
Alagh on his behalf said that the question to address was whether
the fun had gone out of the ads or the process of advertising? "The
fact of the matter is that the fun has gone out of the advertising
process and that is because people have very low self esteem and
self confidence. People have stopped taking a risk and going ahead
and doing what they are convinced about," said Alagh.
Pandey opined, "The fun has not really gone out of advertising
but the priorities of the creative people have changed. They are
now just obsessed with changing visiting cards and designations."
Reflecting back to the time when he was in advertising, Pandey said,
"We were very lucky as we got the freedom and we were pampered
by our bosses and clients but at the same time they had a control
over us and never let us feel that there were boundaries."
Shantakumar said, "The question is not about whether the fun
has gone out of advertising; advertising itself has changed. It
is no longer a profession but has become a business." Shantakumar
reiterated the fact that there was a great need to reinvent this
profession and the day one becomes bored of his consumer, it will
be the end of the profession.
"No one is putting their foot where the mouth is because of
the risk of losing the client. So no risks are being taken at the
fear of losing the account and the billings of the company,"
said Kirloskar.
Pandey also emphasised on the fact that no one is reading these
days and the kind of work that is being produced today is because
of the lack of being prepared. "The consumer has just become
a number in some research for the ad people these days. That attitude
needs to change."
It's all about getting connected to the consumer and there is a
need to change from the written word to the spoken word. Goyal had
the last word when he said, "I had great fun in writing the
book and I have written about the real people and the real situations
that I have faced in life."
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