'Aatli Baatli Futli' mantra for newborn design house ROCKING.COMPANY

'Aatli Baatli Futli', a popular Marathi phrase, synonymous with a game of hide-and-seek is the core anthem of this newly launched design agency — ROCKING.COMPANY. In the game, when the seeker fails to find the ones who are hiding, the others shout, “aatli baatli futli” and come out of hiding.

Founded by design geeks Monish Ganesan and Riddhi Parikh, ROCKING.COMPANY began operations at its Mumbai office in March 2019. Parikh has worked with Clay Strategy & Design, a Mumbai based design agency, while Ganesan has worked with JWT Design, Umbrella Design and headed the design cell of Famous Innovations – Garage, in the past. Both met in college and have collaborated on multiple projects over the last seven years before starting their own studio.

The agency recently launched its anthem video ATL BTL FTL (Aatli Baatli Futli). "Baatli ka shape chhod baahar tu aaja… Apni fluidity sabko dikhaaja," go the lyrics and is accompanied by CG visuals of a person floating out of a bottle marked 'ATL'. ATL (Above The Line) and BTL (Below The Line) are two different styles of traditional marketing.

“The chant, inspired from the games of hide-and-seek, reminds us of times when we’ve felt pure and free. This ties in with the essence of the song which is to break barriers, challenge the status quo and go back to a fresh, unfiltered approach,” Ganesan says.

While the lyrics seems to be urging industry folk to step out of traditional formats and mediums of brand communication, Ganesan says, “This song is not targetted just at clients, but to people in general. We believe that everyone can connect with this emotion and as a studio, we want to be able to create our own audience, rather than connecting just with clients. This song is our way of introducing ROCKING.COMPANY to the world.”

The agency, for now, is a tight-knit team of six with varied skills including CGI and motion graphics along with traditional design skills.

Speaking on how the new venture would stand apart from their previous stints at structured agency setups Ganesan says, “The work we're currently doing now is different from what we've done in the past and that makes all the difference.”

ROCKING.COMPANY is currently working on branding projects across categories to be released over the next few months. Clients include an animal welfare brand, a jewellery brand and a restaurant in Mumbai. “Along with this, we're also working on a short film,” shares Ganesan.