KEEPING THE LEGEND ALIVE

TitleKEEPING THE LEGEND ALIVE
BrandSAREGAMA INDIA
Product / ServiceSAREGAMA MUSIC
CategoryA03. Flyers, Tickets, Invitations, Postcards, Calendars, Christmas and Other Greetings Cards
EntrantMcCANN WORLDGROUP INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company:McCANN WORLDGROUP INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Design/Advertising Agency:McCANN WORLDGROUP INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Prasoon Joshi McCann Worldgroup Chief Creative Officer
Denzil Machado McCann Worldgroup Creative Director
Abhinav Tripathi McCann Worldgroup Creative Director
Kunal Mhabadi McCann Worldgroup Art Director
Ketan Mhabadi McCann Worldgroup Art Director
Abhinav Tripathi McCann Worldgroup Copywriter
Satyajeet More McCann Worldgroup Illustrator
Anant Nanavre McCann Worldgroup Illustrator
Ketan Mhabadi McCann Worldgroup Illustrator
Chirag Doshi McCann Worldgroup Image Retouching
Sandeep Barge McCann Worldgroup Photographer
Loknath Panigrahi McCann Worldgroup Photographer
Kiran Patankar McCann Worldgroup Photographer
Robert Joseph McCann Worldgroup Production
Meraj Khan McCann Worldgroup Production
Jagdish Raj McCann Worldgroup Production
Bennita Jacob McCann Worldgroup Account Manager
Manav Rawat McCann Worldgroup Editor

Brief Explanation

In order to get a big audience, we needed big names on the list of performers at the festival. Using over 1100 metres of tape from cassettes of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, his portraits were weaved together. Each portrait culminated in a CD of Panditji’s biggest hits. They were then sent to 9 celebrated musicians as invites. The portraits brought to life the idea that SaReGaMa was doing everything possible to preserve classical music and that they needed the help of these musicians to take the initiative forward.

The Brief

SaReGaMa, India’s premier Music Company, wanted to remaster rare recordings of Indian Classical Music. The problem was that these recordings lay trapped on analog tapes in the cupboards of music lovers across the country. In order to find and preserve these gems, the ‘Keeping The Legend Alive’ initiative was founded. The strategy was to use Sawai Gandharva, India’s largest classical music festival, to locate these rare recordings. But since the demise of the festival’s founder and music legend, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, there was fear of a low turnout. The direct campaign thus had to ensure a healthy turnout of music lovers.

How the final design was conceived

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s demise was not only a loss for Sawai Gandharva but classical music as a whole. Every musician in the country held him and his achievements in the highest regard. Thus the portraits, other than being pieces of art, also struck an emotional cord and became a compelling enough reason to perform at the festival. And coming from SaReGaMa, India’s most respected music company, the initiative came with undeniable credibility.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

All classical musicians who were invited to the festival accepted the invitation and willingly came forward to perform at the festival. Seeing the lineup of performers, the festival saw a 46% increase in attendance. The initiative to digitally remaster tapes was well received by fans of Indian Classical music from around the country. Saregama now has 230 rare recordings of classical music and work is underway to make them eternal. Also owing to an overwhelming response from fans, other musicians are now being immortalized in tape including Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain.