Spikes Asia announces launch of new prestigious award
28 Aug 2009
The organisers of the first Spikes Asia Advertising Festival have announced the launch of a new prestigious award, Advertiser of the Year, to be presented to advertisers who have distinguished themselves through inspiring, innovative marketing of their products, who embrace and encourage the creative work produced by their agencies or who lead the way with new communication initiatives.
The first Advertiser of the Year award will be presented to The Times of India Group in honour of its 'Lead India' campaign, an initiative to seek out the next generation of leaders for India.
Traditionally, the political system in India has been dominated by people who are either career politicians or born into various political 'dynasties'. The 'Lead India' programme endeavoured to bring a new breed of political leaders into the political arena by creating a highly visible platform where new candidates could showcase their vision, ideas and skills to lead the country into the future.
Further, it encouraged millions of ordinary Indians to offer their opinions to help choose India's next generation of leaders.
The 'Lead India' initiative, which evaluated applicants on their ability to lead India into the future while still being able to work within the constraints of the current political system, was launched on 14 August 2007. The first phase, spanning August and September 2007, consisted of inviting people to come forward and participate in the program. This was held across eight Indian cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Pune and Ahmedabad.
During the second phase, in October, the contestants were ranked to select a winner from each of the eight cities. The national finals held from December to February 2008 resulted in the selection of the national winner.
