Tipped for the top post in SBI, he swam across to country cousin IDBI instead!

YOGESH AGARWAL... Chairman, IDBI
Tipped for the top post in SBI, he swam across to country cousin IDBI instead!
From a one time ailing financial institution to India’s foremost developmental institution, now poised to even foray into high growth areas like retail banking, Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has indeed come a long way. And so has Yogesh Agarwal, the newly appointed CMD, who took charge of this institution, in July this year. Former Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India, Yogesh Agarwal was tipped to succeed outgoing SBI chief A.K. Purwar, but he landed into the top slot at IDBI instead. A banking veteran, Agarwal’s contributions to India’s largest bank, during his 35 year stint at SBI (he started off as a probationary officer in 1972) were vast and varied. In fact, he was also the first to spot an opportunity in the gold banking business, was back in 1997. With IDBI, Agarwal’s focus is pretty clear: “work for the long-term vision of the company, that automatically takes care of the day-to-day affairs of the business.” Says Jitendra Balakrishnan, Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank, “Agarwal is very formal and elegant in his approach and his experience with SBI will come handy in IDBI’s long term vision of becoming an institution with a wide gamut of services.” Hear hear!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Dumb

My mom-in-law just couldn’t figure out what that lady in the ad was doing and frequently asked me to explain… I am delighted ban ho gaya. Advertising should have some moral limits.” Not everyone agrees with this take. Mitali Gupta, a journalist, believes too much is being made about “this silly ad! Hey, c’mon guys, its only a dumb TVC, okay? The ad guys took the titillation & naughty route to grab eyeballs and public attention, which I think was cool b’coz what the hell do you say about a jock, anyway? Chill, man!” Creators of the ad believe that the uproar is happening only because it is truly a clutter-busting ad, standing out and making waves (in a dramatic and meaningful way) in a category that is truly tough to penetrate… Ooops, was it a faux pas? Didn’t mean it. We are outta here, guys. Its getting too hot!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Public morality

Fumes ad practitioner Atul Malhotra, “the problem with these guys is that they consider themselves selfappointed guardians of public morality without even trying to understand the reference to the context angle. Don’t these people see FTV, MTV, Hollywood or Bollywood movies?” “Which planet do they inhabit, yaar? Is our tradition, culture and sabhyata so fragile that a couple of ads can threaten it? C’mon guys, wake up and taste the… lassi!” He says that you wanna ban stuff – ban gender bias & religious intolerance because they infl uence and poison the mind of people – not some corny undergarments ads, for chrissake! Preeti Paul, a media executive agrees with the basic premise of Malhotra’s argument but concedes that the Amul Macho ad did exceed the limit. “It’s defi nitely cheap & titillating and appears to have been created to shock & stimulate viewers.” Housewife Seema Suri agrees. “Which sicko pervert directed the actress and dreamed up the concept? I mean that suggestive look and body language, that glazed expression, it was so embarrassing!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

Shock or embarrassment

And accidentally his towel drops. Before he can register shock or embarrassment, the washerwoman’s eyes dart towards the undies, registering uncensored delight & approval in a flirtatious manner. The Moral Police, however, didn’t share in any way the washerwoman’s joy, were not remotely amused at this ‘slip-up’ and refused to dismiss the affair as ‘andar ki baat hai’. They termed these ads “vulgar, indecent & suggestive” and sent out strong messages to the ad fraternity & channels to be careful and exercise restraint in the stuff beamed out, or else… This isn’t the fi rst time. Over a decade and a half ago, the Marc Robinson-Pooja Bedi Kamasutra ad with the tagline ‘For the Pleasure of Making Love’ had the powers-that-were in a tizzy. Subsequently the Arbaaz- Malaika coffee ads as well as the Milind Soman-Madhu Sapre TUFF ads created a crazy furore – as did the recent XXX flavoured condom ads. Neo Sports ads (tongue-in-cheek turned foot-in-mouth?) covering the recent ODI series in Feb’07 also came under fire and was termed ‘racist’ by the high priests. Fact is obscenity, vulgarity, suggestiveness, insinuation, et al represent tricky areas for the simple reason that they are all relative, subjective and contextual.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)