#BlastFromThePast: Iconic ads that Ogilvy India’s Abbas Mirza replays for inspiration

#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 Abbas Mirza, senior creative director, Ogilvy shares his take on his favourite ads and how they positively cast an impact on him.

M-Seal "Will" ad

It's a well-told story that has got the right amount of drama and twist along with the perfect product placement.

And for a kid like me, who was growing up in the 90's and had heard so many real/fictitious stories of distant relatives grabbing ancestral properties, it always brought a smile to my face.

Fevikwik "Fishing" ad

One of the most entertaining ads. It was like the on-screen translation of "He came, he saw, he conquered!"

I remember vividly when this ad had just started playing on the TV in the 90's. A fishmonger who used to go door to door to sell his fresh catch in my 'mohalla' used to get asked jokingly if he caught fish using Fevikwik.

Happydent "City Light" ad

Long before I formally got introduced to terms like special effects, production design etc., this was one ad that made me go 'wow' with its bigness. It was one crazy piece that made me smile and wonder in awe at the same time. And that qawwali "Tera dil roshan, tera mann roshan" went so well with the overall mood.