Two-day advertising masterclass from 7 to 9 November in Mumbai

Following the opening reception hosted by the British consulate on 7 November, the MLAF 2011 will take place on 8 and 9 November, with two days of presentations from top Indian advertising agency people. The Advertising Producers Association (APA) based in London with 170 member companies, has developed the MLAF format for its forums in Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, focussing on the needs of the Indian advertising market.

Steve Davies, chairman, the APA, said, "We have great people coming out from London- producers, directors and top visual effects people. They are all keen to understand what clients and agencies in India need and how they can work with them more closely."

Davies added, "This will include people running renowned production companies, including RSA- Ridley Scott’s production company, the MD’s of top visual effects companies- such as MPC, Framestore and Rushes, as well as Prime Focus, who are a major post company in London now." Among the speakers is Andrew Ruhemann, managing director, Passion, a top animation company in commercials in the UK that won an Oscar this year, for its direction.

The MLAF is an opportunity for the attendees from the UK to learn about advertising in India and, in particular, how it would like to utilise the choice of director and approach UK production offers and the barriers to working with UK production companies. It will also be an opportunity for the Indian delegates to learn what UK production offers in terms of creativity, and how it adapts to the needs of agencies worldwide to meet their objectives.

Davies said, "London operates as a base for work around the world, drawing in people from different countries and valuing different perspectives and approaches, so learning about Indian creatives and their approach and directors too, is of interest."

The Indian component of the MLAF will include Roopak Saluja of Bang Bang Films, Subhash Kamath of BBH, Bobby Pawar of Mudra Group, Sridhar Kondiparthi of Leo Burnett, Sajan Raj Kurup of Creativeland Asia, Rajdeepak Das of BBDO India, Neeraj Nayar of Contagious, Pat Burns of BMB India, and Karan Singh of JWT among others.