Rahul Kapoor - Televisionpoint.com | Jaipur
The recently concluded assembly polls in the five states were nothing short of brand war between cola majors. Professional advertising companies took centrestage managing the election affairs, something that traditionally belonged to a few good party men and the able party workers.

The handwritten banners and leaflets were replaced by hoardings carrying professionally crafted messages; each slogan was met with counter slogan, moves of the leaders were marked and were depicted in the next day's advertisement.

Satyendra Singh Raghav, media convenor for Congress in the Rajasthan state, makes a point when he says, "As people don't have much time at their disposal and leaders barring a few fail to pull crowds, new mediums like mobile phone, internet hoardings, radio and television advertisements are more effective means of communication."

When the message is to be spread far and wide, creating an impact who better to do the job than the top brass advertising agencies that manage the portfolios of global brands. After zeroing in on almost nine agencies, the congress party zeroed on Crayons Advertising for the poll campaign, the BJP went ahead with The Hive, the services of which it has been using since 1998 to put its message across.

Thus began the battle of words, for every "Ab Nahi Rukega Rajasthan" that BJP came out with the Congress had a "Ab Nahi Jhukega Rajasthan" ready to hit the hoarding the very next day. The fierce advertising battle lasted almost for three months with the Congress unleashing its campaign in the beginning of September and the BJP following it in the end of the same month.

However, backstage the preparations were going on for a long time. As Ajay Chopra, promoter, Crayons, puts it, "Before embarking on the project, we worked for three years preparing ground for it. Three of the 24 people who have been working on this project started doing the primary field work for the 2008 elections in 2005, keeping in mind both the parties."

While his counterpart Sushil Pandit, director, The Hive, who almost had equal team strength didn't get much time to prepare. "It was a close call for us; we didn't even have the luxury of looking at what the Congress was up to. We got the go ahead in the first week of September and rolled out the first campaign within 30 days," says Pandit who wished he had got at least a couple of months to 'get the pulse of the events.'

Both the parties, however, gave their agencies a free hand in deciding and developing their briefs, something that they aren't much used to in the corporate scenario. While both the parties are up front in speaking about their campaigns, they are tightlipped when asked about the money involved in putting up this show.

Prathap P Suthan, national creative director, Cheil India, who spearheaded Rs 80 crore the India Shining campaign gives an estimate. "This exercise will cost any party roughly between Rs 40-50 crore. Political parties acknowledge that branding makes brands and sustains them by running campaigns that adhere to a mission of success." Suthan says.