1996-98: PSLMcCann Erickson, Guestline Hotels

The Guestline Hotel was located in Juhu, Mumbai. It had another property in Tirupathi. It was rated 4 star in 1996 when we were asked to handle the business.
Occupancy was an issue at the time and with limited budgets, it seemed daunting. The solution was to tackle the corporate segment which could book en-masse for their dealer meets, sales meets, functions etc. Not all managers were eligible for 5 star accommodation. However to raise awareness levels amongst this segment, we took the route of promoting the restaurants. These were positioned in the fine dining slot, moving the entire property upscale in terms of image and perception. Al Frescoe the Italian restaurant, Manhattan the 24 hour coffee shop were sub-brands that we built for the Hotel. These were released in tabloids that had leisure reading audience. The results were immediately visible. Cover rates in the restaurants went up and so did awareness and bookings for both functions and rooms. This continued with festivals being organised in these restaurants and the South Indian Festival was one such. The work done for the Health Club again won us acclaim and members for the hotel.



Creatives:



*Ganesha's love for food is well known and this was used during the time of Chaturthi as a topical one -off.




* The South Indian Festival was done by Paul and Meenu with Ganga providing Mallu insights and guiding Paul while Nalesh Patil and Meetu Mahabaleshwarkar provided vegetables used traditionally in the cuisine south of the Vindhyas with a appropriate South Indian clothing!! Vanmali as usual did a phenomenal job with the illustrations.
The copy written was to me as appetising as the food served up at the Guestline. A sampling is pasted below:

Headline:Eratchi Olathiyathu or Lamb Cooked in Pounded Coconut Masala. (This went with the visual of the coconut with the turban. )

Body copy:These are things that people down South do to a coconut. They scrape it, they squeeze it and if they feel particularly cruel, they pound it. Of course its all for a good cause. Succulent as the lamb may be, to capture its true essence, it needs the help of the lowly coconut.

Sign off: A variety of tongue twisting vegetarian and non- vegetarian delicacies await you at the festival. All lovingly created by the great gurus of gourmet, chefs especially flown in for the occasion. So drop in and savor a slice of the south.

Headline: Vazhakkai chops or Banana chops. (naturally, the banana in a dhoti visual)

Bodycopy: Raw banana caught in its adolescence, is chopped into delicate slices and served. Sweet and yet sour, it flirts cheekily with your palate as you munch into its creamy tenderness. For those with a sweeter tooth, the multi-faceted banana appears in a riper avatar as Nendrapazham Puzhingiyathu or Steamed Banana.

Sign off: is the same for the camapign.A variety.............. slice of the south.

Headline: Murungakkai Sambhar or Drumstick Sambhar.( guessed right.. the drumstick legs)

Body Copy:Full grown men have been known to giggle like little school girls. Such is the wondrous image of South Indian Sambhar. This fiery concoction of the choicest spices, liberally laced with slim, shapely, drumsticks is an essential requirement for every South Indian feast.

Signoff: A variety .............. the south.

Headline: Yennakai Barthide or Fried Brinjals in exotic gravy (Brahmin brinjal ?)

Body copy: The dark horse of the culinary kingdom, the passionate brinjal has the latent charm not apparent to the uninitiated. When roasted and mashed to a quivering pulp, this vegetable takes on hitherto unknown shades of flavour. Adding a touch of romance to the proceedings.

Sign off: A variety ...........of the south.

*The Valentines Day Promotion was done in 24 hours. Nalesh while toying with the salt n pepper crockery came up with the idea. We sold the Client the campaign and for a change the agency initiated the promotion!!

*Al Fresco:

This campaign was done by Meetu and Zubin , but was rejected. It was however revived with changes suggested by Ganga and Nalesh and sold to the Client. Having a strategic overview and the big picture helped me sell the AlFresco and the Manhattan campaigns.

Headline: Munch a Modigliani

Bodycopy: In celebration of its re-opening, Al Fresco pays a tribute to the great Italian master Modigliani. Like Modigliani’s paintings our desserts are a sensual treat. We recommend the xxxxxxxxxxx our signature dessert, a rich blend of xxxxx.and xxx.

Sign off: All under the aegis of the beautiful night sky in the heart of Juhu, in the spirit of Italy.

Headline: Tickle Michelangelo with a fork.

Bodycopy: In celebration of its reopening, Al Fresco pays tribute to the great Italian painter Michelangelo. Like the masterful creations of Michelangelo, our Italian cuisine is prepared from the finest raw materials and presented with the utmost finesse and care. We recommend xxxxx

Sign off:All under the aegis of the beautiful night sky in the heart of Juhu, in the spirit of Italy

Headline : Gobble up a Leonardo.

Body copy:Like Leonardo’s magnificent creations, our meals are prepared with similar genius and eye for detail.We recommend xxxxx

Sign off: All under the aegis of the beautiful night sky in the heart of Juhu, in the spirit of Italy

Tag: Al Fresco, the taste of Italy.

This won us a Clio Nomination in 1997

Manhattan

Headline: International Dishes. Round the Clock.

Body copy: Break fast menu , Lunch menu, Dinner menu. And a special Midnight to Morning menu. With a fare that extends from India to Indonesia to Greece to Hungary to Austria to Burma to the list is enough to make your taste buds blossom. Manhattan, for a variety of dishes under the sun. And of course the moon.

Here it was quite a task getting the Client to pay for a food stylist. In the end we managed and I consider an achievement in terms of selling. It won us another Clio nomination in 1997

Body Routine:

Here too the Client was not willing to invest in such an expensive production. I first did a dip stick to get client reactions. It was quite positive. "Tough enough for a beer?" and "Svelte enough for a strawberry cream"? definitely were insights. Most people exercised to "stay fit" and to ensure that indulgences never showed up on the wrong places. Sanju Hinge, the photographer, did the special effects shoot for almost nothing, when we were worried about huge system work colour corrections. Rajul Dhaimade did the art while Zubin wrote the copy. Dorothy Paul who handled the account brilliantly ensured that all was on par.

Guestline Tirupathi

The ad was for a property were people went on a pilgrimage. The ad too was in keeping with the ethos. Ganga at his best. Short and simple!! In fact the Client was planning to put classified ads and this one turned him into a believer in regular display ads!!!

Client Feedback