Subhabrata Ghosh talks at Chasing Big Ideas, an advertising workshop at Tata Centre. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Did you know that the Santa Claus’s popular red and white outfit was actually more commonly seen in green till Coca Cola popularised the red in the 60s? Or that more than 90 per cent of cola drinkers prefer their soft drinks in glass bottles and not cans or plastic bottles? Or that it takes a person an average of nine seconds to receive a call after his/her mobile phone starts ringing?

Ad trivia kept the audience enthralled at Chasing Big Ideas, a workshop in the Tata Centre Auditorium recently. “Big ideas are nothing but simple ideas that succeed,” said Subhabrata Ghosh, chief operating officer, Satchi and Satchi and president and CEO of Celsius 100, Satchi’s brand consulting company.

The workshop included lectures from advertising pros including Ghosh and S. Subramanyeswar, executive vice president (strategy), Rediffusion DYR. The 143 participants at the workshop were from academic institutions like NSHM, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, St Xavier’s College as well as advertising professionals. “The workshop was primarily for students and professionals from the entertainment and media industries to enhance their knowledge about brands and branding,” said Usha Menon, chief operating officer, Advertising Club Calcutta.

Advertisements for Hyundai Santro and Guinness, the Irish stout beer, were shown as examples of successful branding. “Articulating the dream of African football with the Guinness advertisement helped this brand register a massive rise in sales in Africa in contrast to the slump in UK and Ireland,” said Ghosh. The advertisement featured Ghana’s midfielder Michael Essien and other football stars, with a voiceover declaring that an African nation will win the World Cup one day.

The packed auditorium received the lectures well. “I didn’t know how important it was to engage all five senses of the target group,” said Rohini Bhushan, brand associate, Rediffusion DYR. Subramanyeswar’s session on five senses included examples of how Intel’s tune and Nokia’s ringtone are recognised by more than 40 per cent of its audience.