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Ad Club Bombay set to be rechristened 'The Advertising Club'

The change of name, at the AGM scheduled to be held tomorrow, is in keeping with the Management Committee's efforts to bring Delhi into its ambit as the capital is seen as the new hub of advertising activity and top clients

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Ad Club Bombay set to be rechristened 'The Advertising Club'

The change of name, at the AGM scheduled to be held tomorrow, is in keeping with the Management Committee's efforts to bring Delhi into its ambit as the capital is seen as the new hub of advertising activity and top clients

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | September 25, 2012

publive-imageIt is not the oldest ad club in the country, but definitely the most prestigious. As the epicenter of Indian advertising shifted to Mumbai over time, the Ad Club Mumbai gained prominence and became the most active ad club in Indian advertising. But things are about to change this week. The Ad Club Bombay is set to change its name to The Advertising Club after the Annual General Meeting (AGM), to be held tomorrow, September 26, 2012, ratifies the resolution.

Explaining the reason for the change of name, Shashi Sinha, President, Ad Club Bombay, told BestMediaInfo.com, “Over the last few years, there have been dramatic changes in the geographical spread of advertising with Delhi-NCR gaining tremendous strength and scale. Given the pre-eminence of Ad Club Bombay, we wanted it to have a more national character and reach, and not be seen as a Mumbai-centric club.”

publive-image Shashi Sinha

Sinha informed that in July this year, an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Ad Club Mumbai was held specifically for this purpose, and the EGM accepted the resolution and agreed to the 'The Advertising Club' title, keeping in mind that a couple of ad clubs in other cities already had nomenclature like'India' in their names. He added that the name will become official once the AGM ratifies it tomorrow.

Other steps have already been put in action. For one, Sanjeev Bhargava, JWT Delhi Head, and N Rajaram, Marketing Head, Airtel, have already been elected unopposed to the Ad Club Bombay Management Committee (Mancom).

Sinha said, “After the AGM ratifies the resolution, we have the option of co-opting another three to four members from Delhi to the Mancom.”

So what does this mean on the ground? Most importantly, as Sinha said, “The Ad Club Bombay has three main properties – Emvies, Effies, and Goafest. For starters, we intend to hold the Effies judging this year in Delhi. We can also consider holding the Emvies sometime in near future in Delhi.”

History of Ad Club         

Like so many things in India, the inspiration for the formation of the Ad Club in Bombay came from the East, the Ad Club of Calcutta, to be precise. In the pre-Independence days and for some years thereafter, it was not Bombay but Calcutta that enjoyed the enviable position of being the country's business centre, and thus, also the advertising capital of India. The foundations of the Ad Club in Bombay were laid in 1954, when Soli Talyerkhan of Voltas got in touch with Bobby Sista, after arriving in Bombay from Calcutta. Having formed a small group of like-minded individuals, Adi Patel, Bal Mundkar, Rudi Von Leyden, Bobby Sista, Hardcastle and Khurshid Dhondy met at what was to be the Ad Club's first meeting. The settings may have been informal, but the focus was clear: it was established to bring agencies and advertisers together.

The 'Solus' magazine became the voice of the Ad Club Bombay those days and with the arrival of Wally Ovins as President, the Ad Club revved up on the excitement. The Ad Club Ball, an annual extravaganza, came to be one of the most talked about events and during the rest of the year, skits performed by eminent ad cum theatre personalities kept the social clock ticking.

Over time all that changed. The media agencies came into the fold of the Ad Club. Annual balls became a thing of the past. It became all about competition and winning awards – the Emvies and Effies – and of course, seminars.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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