Once the news was confirmed, all we could think and talk about in and out of office was “GoaFest” (Read Goa. The Fest part of it didn’t strike us until we reached the venue)!

Excellent arrangements for boarding, lodging and hogging (oh yes I piled on to almost everything that was laid on the beach). I wonder what it took to shape to this magnanimous event for a crazy pack of three thousand.

So, while my tummy made space to accommodate the greed of my taste buds, my mind tried to peep into the industry I am in from different (and much experienced) point of views.

Amongst them was one from Scott Goodson, who talked about the need for alternatives for the brands of today. He began talking about how and why he entered advertising and how he went on to establish Strawberry Frog. That was quite an inspiration.

There was another from the Chief Creative Officer of JWT, Craig Davis. He made me realise that it is high time the advertisers stop depending on ‘don’t-go-away-we’ll-be-right-back-after-a-short-break’ to get the TG to notice their ads. We need to create ad content that is entertaining in itself and worthy of the audience’s attention.

Of the three parties arranged during the one-and-a-half day of GoaFest, I could attend only one. Not because I was busy attending something more important, but because after attending the first one (the zoom one), and dancing non-stop for five hours in the sand, every tissue of my body was screaming for mercy.

Exactly 24 hours later was the BIG night: The ABBY Awards (a bit lost in the hype of the ‘GoaFest’, yet quite an experience)! Though I had reserved all my energies to cheer for Contract that won 18 Bronze, 10 Silvers and one Gold, my limbs rarely listened to my brains, springing up at every brilliant piece of work displayed (and they were quite a number)!

The Luxor campaign that won the Grand Prix simply got the restless writer in me kicking…

And after all the cheering, hooting, eating, dancing, jet skiing, parasailing, jumping, and bumping that left me dead tired and exhausted, I already look forward the next GoaFest.