Raj Kurup steps down from Goafest Jury and Awards Governing Council

"My decision is a stance against scams and not against the industry or the organisers of the Goafest" he says...

Sajan Raj Kurup, founder of Creativeland Asia has announced his decision to step down from the Goafest 2013 Jury and the Awards Governing Council, a 11-member strong joint body between the AAAI and The Advertising Club, that runs the Abby Awards. This development comes in the light of the ongoing Ford controversy and Bobby Pawar's subsequent exit from JWT India.

Kurup was on this year's Goafest jury as the chairperson of the digital category.

In an email note, Kurup says, "I have decided, with the support of my organisation, not to return to awards in this country till we take up the issues on scam seriously and take stringent steps against it. In the present circumstance, with all the controversies surrounding the awards and sacking of senior people, all the rumors going around about this year's awards and international media looking at India scornfully, is depressing. Personally, to me it just doesn't feel right deep inside my heart to be associated with awards in any way in our country. I have and I will in my little humble way be standing up against this scam culture in every way I can."

He insists that this decision is not a stance against the industry or the organisers of Goafest. Rather, it's a war on scam. "It's like an award-hunger strike," he says. He claims he will not enter any Indian award competitions till there is what he terms a "mindset change" towards scam and till scam stops being accepted as "part of the culture."

Further, Creativeland Asia has initiated the process to withdraw all the entries submitted for this year's Abby Awards. The agency had three film entries (for the brands Cinthol, Cafe Coffee Day and Hippo) in addition to 18 digital entries.

Recall that last year, among other metals, the agency won a Grand Prix in the Integrated category for Audi.