Cong, BJP, others line up Rs 2,000cr ad blitz

Cong will focus on development, food security, cash transfer; BJP to highlight Narendra Modi, Gujarat success. Mahua Venkatesh and Himani Chandna Gurtoo report.

Rs 2,000 crore. That’s what the Congress, the BJP and other national and regional political parties will spend on advertising in the run-up to assembly elections later this year and ahead of the general elections scheduled for 2014.

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The Congress and the BJP have reportedly lined up budgets of about Rs 500 crore each, while regional parties such as DMK, AIADMK, SP, BJP, JD(U), TDP and others are expected to spend another Rs 1,000 crore, sources in advertising agencies told HT.

Leading agencies such as Rediffusion Y&R, JWT, Crayon, Percept/H, Grey Group, Dentsu India and Madison World have pitched for the Congress and BJP contracts and have already made their first round of presentations. The parties are expected to award contracts to the selected agencies by September.

Agency sources added they would make their presentations to the regional parties, which had smaller budgets, only if they failed to win a mandate from either of the two biggest parties.

“The Congress wants to focus on rural India. Its campaign will highlight the direct benefit transfer scheme, food security and other measures for the rural masses. It will be a positive campaign highlighting its achievements rather than hitting out at the opposition,” said a senior agency source who has been dealing with the initial ad brief of the ruling party.

“The BJP will focus on the personality of Gujarat chief minister and likely prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. Party patriarch LK Advani and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will also feature in its ad campaign," a source said.

The Congress ad campaign will comprise TV spots, 18 short films, print ads and even the new media like web and radio. Its signature jingle will be developed into a caller tune with catchy party slogans.

The ads would be dubbed/translated into every regional language.

The Congress campaign will be bolstered by the UPA’s Bharat Nirman ad blitz. “The campaign focuses on the achievements of the ruling party and the idea is to highlight simple yet reinforcing stories of common people,” said Rajiv Agarwal, executive creative director, Percept/H, the agency that has made 13 films for UPA for this campaign.