5 Minutes with… Ravi Shanker
If you ask Ravi Shanker, one creative strategy doesn’t fit all – rather, creative strategies should be tailored to suit the nuances of each brand in your portfolio.
And he knows a thing or two about brand marketing, serving as the regional creative lead for Oreo in Southeast Asia, alongside his duties as Leo Burnett and Publicis Indonesia CCO.
Speaking to LBB, Ravi delves into his multifaceted roles and gives insight into successful undercover campaigns for McDonald's, and into leveraging cultural insights for the Asian market.
LBB> How do you adapt your creative approach to suit the unique needs and personalities of the different brands you work on?
Ravi> It’s quite a challenging role, and yet quite fun, as I have to wear different hats (and sometimes costumes, too).
One of the luckiest things is that my family and I are also consumers of the brands I work with: Oreo, McDonald’s, Heinz & ABC, Heineken, Nescafe, Ritz etc. It helps me understand these brands. Another not-so-secret up my sleeve is my talented creative team, who equally understand our brands and help me steer different wheels simultaneously.
The biggest reason for me adapting and changing creative approaches in a flash is my six-year-old. Dealing with her has made me creatively flexible enough to switch my personalities as per the situation. At one moment, I am someone from Paw Patrol, and in the next five minutes I become Anna from Frozen.
LBB> Your recent project with McDonald's in Indonesia, "The Untranslated Ad", turned an ad into the country's favourite pop song. How did you manage to keep it a secret until the big reveal?
Ravi> We loved seeing the love this campaign got from consumers and our industry. It’s a hard-selling product jingle with lyrics like, ‘Taste the yakiniku sauce, nori flavoured fries and a soft bao bun”, yet it became the #1 searched song on Shazam and was a chartbuster on Spotify and YouTube Music.
The probability of lyrics getting translated by Indonesia’s Japanese and Anime fan base was huge. To safeguard our secret, we intentionally ensured the music video looked and sounded like a typical (expected) video of the singer Ica Zahra and kept the visuals away from the brand. We managed to keep the Trojan horse safe in the J-pop universe until we brought the conversation home to McDonald’s channels.
LBB> What emerging trends or challenges do you see in the industry, and how are you preparing to address them?
Ravi> The day people stop buying televisions, TV advertising will stop. But it’s not going to happen soon.
In Southeast Asia, TV is a crucial medium for reach and a vital factor for persuasion. Having said that, I trust ideas, and storytelling is king – how we evolve storytelling is the trick and the challenge.
I embrace all trends, quickly adapt and make use of them. But these are tools, mediums or trends in my belief. The metaverse will come and go. Social giants will keep changing their tools and games, AI will create unimaginable stuff and so on. But the heart will always stay in ideas and the story of them. And that’s what influences my creative process most.
LBB> What is the most significant transformation you've witnessed throughout your career?
Ravi> On the business front, the rapid transformation happening in an agency and even client-side (due to the massive emergence of non-traditional media where everyone is trying to adapt fast and follow trends) means creatives have become more vital than ever. Creative tools and methods have transformed.
Every department and wing has become more creative. Creativity will remain the lighthouse in this ever-changing and always-evolving advertising landscape. Creativity has changed its form, but the DNA has not changed.
LBB> Could you share an example of a particularly challenging client issue you've helped resolve through creative solutions?
Ravi> I often play client, account person, production expert and sometimes a frustrated planner (everyone except procurement). A famous CD once said that a CD’s job is to make things happen. No one else will do it. And I embraced this mantra and added it to my list of passions (you can say poisons) to make things happen – even when everything is a hurdle. Sometimes, I fail. But most of the time, it works for me, and I work it out. And I always tell my creative team that a CD’s job is to make things happen. No one else will do it.
McDonald’s Heroes is one of my most memorable campaigns. This side of the world is not too famous for purpose-driven campaigns, and long ago, someone told me that it’s too tough to do meaningful, real work that is seen by consumers, paid for by clients, and effective in this market.
We created this opportunity for McDonald’s Indonesia on National Heroes Day. We found an alarming insight: kids in the country (and even some adults) don’t know the stories behind their national heroes and are more influenced by Western heroes. So, we turned McDonald’s toys into DIY toys with the stories of national heroes encoded. It was a huge success. Our brave client embraced it and has included it in their marketing calendar forever.
LBB> Your work with Oreo in Southeast Asia has seen remarkable growth. Can you share some key insights or strategies contributing to this success?
Ravi> Though SEA is one region, it’s a complex canvas with 6 different countries, each with different cultures and languages, and Oreo’s journey is at different stages in each market. Most countries are growing economically fast, and the pressure on families to catch up is evident. Playtime is declining, and the business of adulthood has become the main enemy. Oreo’s creative strategy – to encourage people to play more or give them the means to play provokingly – is very effective.
By making the brand locally and culturally relevant, Oreo has become the No #1 brand in Thailand and scored No #1 for brand power in Indonesia and Malaysia. Oreo has won ‘Brand of the Year’ in multiple regional and local award shows this year. While sailing with the brand for the last eight years, I noticed that my kid spoke ‘Oreo’ as the third word of her life after ‘mom’ and ‘dad’.
LBB> What advice would you give to young creatives looking to make a meaningful impact in the field?
Ravi> Every brand you work with has its unique voice. So, the first thing is to find your voice. Have a point of view. Find the right boss. Be a sponge. Read ‘Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This’. Read a lot. Work like a beaver and be busy like a bee. Be a brief snatcher. See all the ads in the world. Know the people behind all those ads. Be proactive. Try art directing and then copywriting, and later, try both together. Think lateral, not literal. Be irreverent as well as rational. Make mistakes. Make great stuff. Sell what you make. Learn to sell yourself. Know the rules and then break them. And most importantly have fun while doing all this. (This might sound like a lecture, but sometimes it’s needed, especially for the young ones I am talking to now).
