Scarecrow Communications wins creative duties for Margo soap

The agency has appointed Bhavik Gajjar as creative director.

Scarecrow Communications is on a winning spree. It has added Margo to its kitty as it continues with its series of new business wins in 2011. The toilet soap brand has awarded its creative mandate to the agency following a multi-agency pitch about three months ago. The incumbent agency on the business is DraftFCB Ulka.

The Margo brand team has confirmed the development.

Manish Bhatt, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, says, "Working for the fast moving consumer goods category is the biggest opportunity for Scarecrow. In the past, Raghu Bhat, (founder director, Scarecrow Communications) and I have worked on brands such as Lakme Elle 18, L'Oreal, Parachute, Dabur Vatika, Liril and Vaseline, among others. So, we know that the brands in the category follow strong category codes."

Manish and Arunava Sengupta, founder director, Scarecrow Communications believe that the category is competitive and it will be challenging to create interesting communication over time.

Says Raghu, "Margo is an iconic brand and for Scarecrow, it is nothing less than a historic opportunity. We have a fair amount of experience in the beauty and skincare category and hope to use that to create communication that wins hearts and builds market share."

With the business being based in Chennai, the servicing support for the account will be provided by Scarecrow's Chennai office, while the creative and strategy functions will be handled from the Mumbai office.

An age-old brand launched by Calcutta Chemicals in 1920, Margo is now a part of Henkel India's product portfolio. It has products in the laundry, home care, cosmetics, toiletries and hair care segments. Henkel India's other brands include Pril, Henko, Fa, Mr. White and Chek, among others.

Margo has been a rather popular brand, positioned as an anti-bacterial skin care soap, with neem oil as its main ingredient. Since 2009, the soap brand has undergone a revamp with new packaging and shape.

In an unrelated development, Scarecrow Communications has appointed Bhavik Gajjar as creative director.

Earlier, Gajjar was art director, JWT Toronto. In a career spanning close to a decade, he has had stints at various agencies in Canada, including Leo Burnett, Taxi and Cossette Communication, after starting out at OgilvyOne in Mumbai.

On his appointment, Manish says, "Scarecrow is always looking out for talent with a diverse background. It helps the range of brands that we handle. The aim is to create communication with a longer shelf life."

"The international advertising scenario is pretty evolved, particularly in new media - something that is still nascent in India. Bhavik's experience in Canada and expertise in films will prove to be a healthy mix for us," he adds.

With numerous awards in his kitty that includes Cannes Lions, One Show and Young Guns, Gajjar has worked on various brands such as McDonald's, Nestle, Kraft, Walmart, Yellow Pages, Telus Telecommunications and Salvation Army.

Says Gajjar, "Despite the success, home beckoned. As it turned out, so were two nice chaps named Manish and Raghu and their agency, Scarecrow. Everything about them as individuals and as ad people aligned with my core beliefs about our business. Realising this was an opportunity too good to pass, I decided to pack my bags again and come home to Mumbai."