Goafest 2014: "The layperson probably thinks of admen as wastrels": All India Bakchod

A quick, light-hearted chat with the funniest delegates at Goafest 2014.

Guess who is making a presentation at Goafest 2014? India's foremost comedy podcast creators, All India Bakchod (AIB). Team AIB, comprising Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi, Gursimran Khamba and Ashish Sakya, will be part of a session anchored by Rajiv Makhni of NDTV Prime.

After speaking to them, we got a whole new way of looking at the ad industry.

Edited excerpts:

Q. What's your take on the Indian advertising and media industry?

I'm pretty sure the lay person does not think highly of "the middia" (which is the all-encompassing name they give to any job that's even remotely connected to the creative world). They probably think of admen as wastrels who sit around getting high all day, so that they can come up with four words and call it a tagline. Of course, this is wrong, because advertising is hard work. I mean sometimes people have to put on pants.

Q. Who's your favourite person in the ad industry?

The guy who came up with the 'Baba Bangali Marriage Problem Love Problem Gupt Rog Ka Ilaaj' campaign you see in trains.

Q. Do you think the ad industry is drowning in political correctness?

Can't say if it's drowning but sure, it'd be fun to see ads saying the things that admen really want to say -- censorship be damned -- after which they'll be thrown in jail, and then the Amul guys will make a pun about the incident.

Q. What makes a podcast successful?

The idea is to make it as funny as possible while also sounding as natural as possible. If we can make each other laugh, then there's a good chance the audience will find it funny as well.

Q. What's your favourite joke on the advertising industry?

It's not a joke as much as it is a truth sold to us by admen themselves: "Logon ko paisa do, kuchch bhi bol daalte hain."

Q. What's the worst stereotype about the industry?

That clients are idiots. It's ridiculous. They're also rich.

Q. What, in your view, is the best kept secret of the Indian ad industry?

That Alyque Padamsee was one of the X-Men.

Catch more from AIB in our special Goafest Show Daily, a daily magazine being distributed at Ground Zero.

With inputs from Ashwini Gangal