#BlastFromThePast: DDB Tribal’s Iraj Fraz picks his all-time favourite ads

#BlastFromThePast is Storyboard18’s weekly column where we ask young creative professionals to pick old ads that they replay time and again, spots that give them writing inspiration, and commercials that never get old. This week Iraj Fraz, creative head, DDB Tribal picks ads of American Tourister, Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society and India v/s India. Here’s why these ads made a lasting impression on him.

Read on.

American Tourister – The Gorilla

An open letter to all the dear “clumsy bellboys, brutal cab drivers, careless doormen, ruthless porters, savage baggage masters and all butterfingered luggage handlers, all over the world.” This one is all for its writing, the simplicity, and its relevance even today. A hallmark of DDB’s classics.

Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society – Pass it on when you're done with it

At the peak of Goafest’s credibility and popularity, this Sri Lankan ad won a Gold, the first ever non-Indian winner at an Indian ad show. It played on the large screen at the beach under the night sky, as a couple of thousand attendees watched it in pin drop silence.

At the end of the two minutes, about twelve hundred of us were crying while giving it a standing ovation. Written and directed by Subhash Pinnapola, one of the most awarded creatives in Sri Lanka. Now go back and look at the shot at 1:16 and notice the platform numbers: nothing and 2.

The Times of India – India vs India

India v/s India

Written by Aggi, later narrated by Mr. Bachchan, translated by Gulzar sahab and recently reused without credit by Vir Das in his poem ‘Two Indias’.