Is Ogilvy & Mather working on BJP's 2014 poll campaign?

MUMBAI: It's unusual for an agency to shy away from talking about a campaign that it has worked on. But that seems to be what's happening with a minute-long radio ad released by the Gujarat government.

The ad - which describes the massive statue of Vallabhbhai Patel on the Narmada Dam, an initiative of chief minister Narendra Modi - is the brainchild of Ogilvy & Mather. But nobody from the agency wants to talk about it.

A source in the agency tells ET that Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, has worked on this ad himself, with a few juniors from O&M India helping him out. Emails sent to Pandey, as well as Abhijit Awasthi, national creative director, O&M India, remained unanswered.

So is this the beginning of an election campaign? An advertising executive familiar with BJP's plans told ET on condition of anonymity that Modi wants to kick-start the election campaign with the Sardar Sarovar Nigam ad, a film slated for release after the radio spot goes off air. Multiple sources within the agency say that it's likely to be handling the party's general election campaign.

The bonhomie between Gujarat government and Piyush Pandey is not hidden, considering O&M's longstanding association with Gujarat Tourism ad campaigns. A senior ad professional, who didn't wish to be named, says, "Initially Narendra Modi approached Pandey to handle the 2014 election campaign. But Pandey turned down the request."

The next agency to be approached was Taproot India - the party team liked the agency's work for The Times of India's "Lead India" campaign, and wanted an election ad campaign along similar lines, the source explained. But since Taproot has been signed up by the Congress, work is likely to go to O&M.

In 2009, BJP's election campaign was handled by McCann Worldgroup's TAG and media agency Lodestar.