Thinkpot Productions announces 2nd edition of 'Roar Your Way to Cannes' contest

Thinkpot Productions, in association with Swiss International Airlines and afaqs!, has announced the second edition of the Roar Your Way to Cannes (RYWTC) contest. The contest is open from March 12 to April 5.

Thinkpot Productions, in association with Swiss International Airlines and afaqs!, has announced the second edition of the Roar Your Way to Cannes (RYWTC) contest.

Aspiring participants are required to send in an original script, written sometime within the past year. The script can be for any existing brand or product. An important criterion is that it has to be one that was rejected by the sender's boss or client!

The scripts received will be judged by a panel of reputed national creative directors and creative heads, including Agnello Dias, co-founder and chief creative officer, Taproot India; Amit Akali, national creative director, Grey Worldwide; Arun Iyer, national creative director, Lowe Lintas and Partners; Josy Paul, chairperson and chief creative officer, BBDO India; K V Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett; Malvika Mehra, national creative director, Grey Worldwide; Rajiv Rao, national creative director, Ogilvy India; Senthil Kumar, national creative director, JWT India; Soumitra Karnik, national creative director, Dentsu India; Swati Bhattacharya, national creative director, JWT; and Thomas Xavier, chairman and national creative director, Orchard Advertising.

Murali Govindan, producer, Thinkpot Productions explains that scripts get shelved for a number of reasons and this is an opportunity to celebrate an original idea in a light hearted manner, without the aggressiveness of a rigid competition. "Rejection is never the end of the road, and this competition is a testament to this fact," Govindan says, adding, "We are excited to partner with afaqs! and Swiss International Airlines to take this forward and look forward to having two winners this year."

Rajiv Agrawal, the winner of the previous edition of Roar Your Way to Cannes, recounts his experience. He says, "I am probably the only guy in the world, and a proud one at that, who landed in Cannes on the basis of a rejected script!"

Agrawal was at JWT at the time and had submitted a script that he had written for the brand Monster.com. "I had forgotten all about my script as an entry to the contest till I got a call asking me if I had a passport. A ruckus broke out in the office," he fondly recalls.

This was especially exciting as Agrawal had shifted to the creative department only a couple of years earlier. "What followed was an eight-day trip that will be etched forever in my memory," he enthuses.

The winner will get an opportunity to travel to Nice via Zurich on Swiss International Airlines; departure will be from Mumbai or Delhi. Delegate fees will be covered; this will include entry to all official Cannes activities and award ceremonies. The runner-up will get to travel to Nice via Zurich, with the option of stopping over in Switzerland.

Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) serves 72 destinations in 38 countries via Zurich and Swiss International airports of Geneva and Basel, carrying around 15 million passengers a year, with its 89-aircraft fleet. SWISS offers daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Zurich and beyond, with a transit time of 40 minutes in Zurich.

The contest is open from March 12 to April 5. To take part in the contest or gather more information, aspirants may visit www.thinkpot.in.