Being the first one of the many BMM festivals to come, Polaris makes sure it has to kick-start the quintessential BMM spirit onto freshers and seniors alike. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Polaris decided to delve into faux-nostalgia by choosing the theme ‘Vintage’. The theme was appropriately brought to life with the inclusion of vintage cars like Bentley and Chrysler within campus. Also, the fact that trophies were real vintage vinyl records totally helped their cause. Not to mention, old-school telephone booths, model airplanes and the college’s own vintage look that accentuated the theme several folds.

Day one’s events kicked off with the film event – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. And no, students didn’t have to make westerns. But they had to incorporate three qualities in their characters (say, naive, delirious, optimistic). SIES, Nerul, being the auteurs among us, took the cake in this event. The Tug of War event had a lot of female takers and Jai Hind won this event by the landslide. Quite literally so. The final highlights of the day were ‘Showtime’, a dance-drama-Q&A mishmash and of course, ‘The Amazing Race’, an exhaustive treasure hunt held throughout South Bombay.

Day two saw a more relaxed atmosphere. The events seemed to resonate that as well. The sports events (Football and Dodgeball) were huge huge crowd gatherers. This was followed by ‘Sugar Coated Times’, the tongue-in-cheek journalism event and ‘All the World’s A Stage’, the drama event. The Mockumentary event was hands-down the crowd favourite featuring interesting takes on everything from History to Steve Jobs to Cake. This event was won by Jai Hind. The band event called thew ‘The Banned Event’ took an ironic turn when the event was cancelled, much to the dismay of the headbangers.

Day three started on a musical note with the band event strumming classics from Beatles to Bob Dylan to Aerosmith. The promotional event for the movie ‘Tere Bin Laden’ drew a lot of takers with Fake Bin Laden doing rounds of the Wilson College campus. Junkapella – the signature Wilson whimsical band event and crowd favourite, left a trailblazer of mass frolic. The film event of the day was ‘Lights, Camera, Stop’ involving movies made solely by stop-motion animation. The dance event saw some decent non-mainstream performances.

Following close on the heels of the FIFA World Cup, Polaris fared awesomely on the excitement quotient. The major events saw contingents chanting their code names, blowing their Vuvuzelas (no, this actually happened) and flashing neon signs among other hullabulloos. The fest started it all ended with the first three spots taken up by K.C, Jai Hind and Xaviers, respectively. And as mockumentary legend, Borat Sagdiyev would put it, the fest was a “Grrreat Success!”

Madison PR, the specialist image management agency of Madison has added two more clients in its kitty this month. The PR arm of Madison will handle PR campaigns for Little Italy and Mills & Boon India. Little Italy, synonymous with World Class Italian Cuisine and positioned as ‘Ristorante & Bar’ has its presence expanded through 27 chains across India and Dubai. Mills & Boon India, on the other hand with 50 million readers worldwide is set to mark its presence in India cashing on the Indian readers.

Madison PR has worked with brands like P&G, Café Coffee Day, Godrej and Britannia to name a few. Veena Gidwani, CEO, Madison Public Relations, spoke more about the accounts, “Both Little Italy and Mills & Boons are iconic brands, much loved by their niche consumers. We are really excited to work with these popular brands and are looking forward to creating innovative and impactful PR campaigns for them.”

Purandar Chaudhari, CEO, Little Italy, added, “I find Madison PR to be extremely competent and professional in their approach. They add significant value to the overall brand building process of the organization. We look forward to a long, mutually beneficial relationship with Madison.”

Mills & Boon India has plans to publish 14 new titles every month, focussing on four series: modern, romance, desire and special moments.

Considering the brand identity and brand following of both the brands, it would be interesting to see Madison PR’s upcoming campaigns.

Stay Tuned to BMMBox as we write about their upcoming campaigns as well 🙂

The essential idea behind activism is to get a person to do something about anything that is not going right. The general idea of an advertisement is to, as such sell something that people may want to buy. When the two meet, however, a wide gambit of mixed signals and confusion can ensue. Advertising for a cause and solely for that cause is not entirely unacceptable, but advertising for a product through activism or pertinent social issues is just plain offensive.

Why is it offensive?

Because it is similar to drinking a large amount of ‘deshi daaru’ in front of your parents and then saying ‘Paani hi toh tha, boss’ before dropping down in to a dead faint at their feet. Also akin to saying:

I’m only a pretty little lamb but when I say ‘baa’ you hear ‘howl’

By this I mean to say that the advertisement is only selling a product. They do not actually give a damn about the social issue in question, unless the company producing the product does anything. The chances of the company doing anything are quite extraordinary since they are already receiving brilliant PR through the advertisements.

Example:

Putting a Bollywood actor’s head on a tree and animating it only makes the tree look creepy. It does not solve any shortage of foliage or the illegal deforestation of areas. It also generates good publicity for the brand that is being advertised without raising the essential question of whether or not the brand in itself is practicing what it preaches.

Therefore,

BUY mobile, MAKE US RICH

While

is at least a much better, more viable option.

Another problem that often arises when advertising and activism mix is that the activity becomes identifiable with the brand. The problem of people not voting during elections or staying unaware of the politicians participating from their constituency is not limited to merely the urban and sub-urban centers. There is a very distinct sense of

in the Indian media. A website cannot help people who cannot access the internet or have extremely limited electric supply, nor can an ad campaign. But due to essentially effective advertising, not activism, there is a ‘buzz’ generated which makes people think they are doing something by registering online.

No tigers were saved in the making of this commercial

Thus the brand profits, regardless of any actual change in the general scheme of things. Therefore it becomes not only a question of ethics, but also of exploitation, unless a huge amount of change is actually brought in before the desired publicity.

What: Polaris – Wilson College BMM Festival
When: 16 – 18^th July, 2010 (Friday – Saturday – Sunday)
Where: Wilson College
Website: www.BMMBox.com/WilsonPolaris2010
X Factor: Celebrating its 10^th Anniversary with some creative events lined up in the three day fest

About Polaris 2010

Come June, and BMM students across the city begin preparing themselves for another grueling year in the course. Assignments and deadlines begin to pile up, days become longer and schedules busier. What better way, then, to bring in the madness of another year in BMM than with a festival?

Inaugurating an almanac full of exciting and challenging activities for media students, Polaris, Wilson College’s Mass Media festival, pulls everyone back on to their feet after a languid summer break and inspires students to don their thinking caps once again. Held in July every year on the spacious campus of the college, Polaris hosts contingents from colleges all across Mumbai, fostering healthy competition among them to win the much-coveted Polaris trophy.

John Keats best summed up what about Polaris, or the Pole star, we try to imbibe in us when he wrote, “Bright Star, would I were steadfast as thou art-”

Inspired by the guiding qualities of its celestial namesake, Wilson’s Polaris attempts not to perennially point North, but to head off in a different direction altogether each year, exploring novel ideas and opening up avenues that strive to expand the scope of the course beyond academic learning.

Polaris is a platform that attracts some of the best upcoming minds in the media industry to pit their wits against each other, with some of the most experienced and renowned maestros in the field judging these events and polishing skills. Polaris has had the honor of having judges or speakers highly acclaimed personalities from the media and entertainment industries including Prahlad Kakkar, Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik, Chetan Bhagat, Luke Kenny, Sajid Khan and Amit Ashar among others. The festival has had its share of connections with the corporate world as well, having associated with various noted brands like Essar, Reliance, HDIL and Apple.

What: Polaris – Wilson College BMM Festival
When: 16 – 18th July, 2010 (Friday – Saturday – Sunday)
Where: Wilson College
Website: www.BMMBox.com/WilsonPolaris2010
X Factor: Celebrating its 10th Anniversary with some creative events lined up in the three day fest

Read More about it here.

OR

Visit Official Website – Hosted by BMMBox

GLIPMSE 10’ – STEP INTO THE WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography takes an instant out of time, holding life still in that moment. It captures the feelings of the heart and the beauty of the nature in a single click by replicating the image seen in that flash of light.
The camera can photograph thought and you can let us know about all your thoughts through GLIMSE 10’ – Your Step into the World of Photography.
The Department of Mass Media in Birla College is organizing GLIPMSE 10’ – A photography competition and seminar on the 21st of August, 2010.

COMPETITION
GLIMPSE 10’ aims to encourage budding photographers to capture images in pieces of space and time and then put them on paper for others to judge the best. The three themes of the competition are –

INDIA THROUGH MY LENS –
As the country ushers into the 64th year of Independence GLIMPSE 10’ gives its participants a chance to capture their motherland through the camera lenses. Go ahead and click what you feel depicts India the best – India’s glorious heritage, the diverse people who reside here, their distinct culture and traditions.
CLICK – EDIT – PRINT –
To win in GLIIMPSE 10’ don’t enhance the same things but showcase them differently. Let your imagination and ideas run wild all the way through with your creativity. Exhibit your skills in editing software like Photoshop, Corel draw, Adobe Illustrator by changing the look of the photograph clicked by you using these softwares.

SNAPSHOT –

Beauty can be seen in all things around but composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. Snap that shot which will bring a smile on the face of who ever see it. Snap those happy moments of life right and you may be the lucky winner.

SEMINAR

The competition will be followed by a seminar on the topic Editorial Photography. The speaker of the seminar is Mr. K Madhavan Pillai , the Editor of Better Photography Magazine which has been in the forefront in India and South Asia since the last thirteen years. Everyone is welcome to attend the seminar and excel in the art of writing with light… photography.

RULES FOR GLIMPSE 10’ –
Entering the competition:
1) The competition is open to the college students in Mumbai University
2) Entrants are allowed to submit maximum of five photographs.

Submission guidelines:
1) Photo prints must be in A4 size.
2) Soft copy of the theme CLICK –EDIT-PRINT should be submitted.
3) The context and theme name should be clearly mentioned on the envelope.
4) Photographs should be strictly captured by the participants with their names written at the back of the photographs submitted.
5) One CL is required from each college contingent.
6) Registration for seminar is mandatory for participants. The entry fee for the seminar is Rs. 50 per participant.
7) Entries in the form of scan files should be JPEG files.
8) The digital files should have the minimum resolution of 1600 x 2400 pixels.
9) The file size should not exceed 2 MB.

Closing date:
1) All entries must be submitted latest by16th August 2010.
Judging and results:
2) The entrant must be the sole creator of his or her photograph.
3) Glimpse will appoint a judging panel to determine the winning images.
4) The decision of the judges will be final.
5) Entries will be judged on the basis of interpreting and expressing the theme along with the technical and aesthetic quality of the photographs.
6) No vulgarity or obscenity should be portrayed in photographs. This will lead to disqualification. The Selection Committee of Glimpse’ 10 will have complete authority to take any decision in this regard.

Hey There!

We are looking for dynamic individuals with skills in content writing and editing for the web.

WHAT

Project: Online Content Development And Management
Website: www.BMMBox.com – A specialized website for Bachelor Of Mass Media (BMM) Students, Mumbai.
Headcount Required: 10

DO WHAT

Responsibilities

• Create, develop and manage content for www.bmmbox.com
• Coordinate with Internal BMMBox Team and help leverage the online presence
• Copyedit and proofread content

NEED WHAT

Requirements

Pen. Paper. LOL. Sorry, laptop and MS Word!

– For the specs, as its very obvious, we need you to have a good command over writing with an understanding of what works on the Internet, especially for an audience of media and communication students.

– Passion, Integrity, and Energy!

– An effective writing style that is fresh, consistent and student-friendly. A knack for editing and proof reading with good research skills.

HOW DO I GET IN?

1. Follow instruction below and register on BMMBox.com here

http://bmmbox.com/cafe/register.php

– Year/Specialization = SIMC 2009/SIMC 2010 – Select according to your year of joining.

– College – SIMC – Symbiosis

– Residence and PIN – You may choose ‘Other,’ ‘Other,’ unless you’re from Mumbai

*Ensure that you’ve filled in mobile and email address correctly as this will be the primary contact source.

2. Send an email to connect@bmmbox.com with a 750-or more-word article on any topic of your choice related to

– media and communication

– student-interests

-media-education

-advertising/journalism

in an MS Word doc.

You can be serious, simple, fun, creative, wild, and even outrageous. We are open to all! So get going now!

DEADLINE: 48 Hours from this being sent out to all of you.

Ciao!

The BMMBox Team | connect@bmmbox.com

We have put down some festivals under the college list but we are sure you’ll want to have your festival/event listed on this page! Or probably, if you wish to market and popularize your festival via BMMBox, email us at connect@bmmbox.com

—

1. Rayat Shikshan Sanstha’s Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College,
   Sector 15,
   Turbhe,
   Mumbai
   Phone: 022 – 27661210
2. D.E. Society’s Kirti M. Doongursee College of Ars, Science and Commerce, Kashinath Dhuru Road,
   Off. Veer Savarkar Marg,
   Dadar (West),
   Mumbai – 400 028
   phone: 022 – 24302372
3. Dhyan Sadhana College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
   Service Road,
   Thane -. 400604
4. Guru Nanak Khalsa College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
   King’s Circle,
   Matunga,
   Mumbai – 400 019
   Phone: 022 – 24096234
   
   
5. I.C.L.’s Motilal Jhunjhunwala Arts, Science and Commerce College,
   Plot No.53, Sector-9-A,
   Amlendu Roye Marg, Vashi,
   Navi Mumbai – 400 703
   Phone: 022 – 27661928
   BMM Festival – Bhumika Film Festival
6. Jai Hind College,
   23-24 Backbay Reclamation,
   ‘A’ Road, Churchgate,
   Mumbai – 400 020.
   Phone: 022 – 22040256
   BMM Festival – Detour
   
7. Kelkar Education Trust’s Vinayak Ganesh Vise College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
   Mithagar Road,
   Mulund (East),
   Mumbai – 400 081
   Phone: 022 – 21631421, 21631423
8. Kishinchand Chellaram College,
   Dinshaw Wachha Road,
   Churchgate,
   Mumbai – 400 020
   Phone: 022 – 22855726
9. K.J. Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce,
   Vidyanagar Campus,
   Vidyavihar,
   Mumbai-400 077.
   Phone: 022 – 222 2511 8650 / 2511 5915
10. Mahatma Gandhi Mission’s College of B.M.M.,
    Kamothe,
    Navi Mumbai.
11. M. D. College of Arts, Science and Commerce
    Kamgar Manzil, 25,
    Dr.S.S.Rao Road,
    S.S. Rao Road
    Parel
    Mumbai – 400012
    Phone: 022-24171640
12. M.M.K. College Of Commerce and Economics
    32, Bandra West
    Mumbai – 400050
    Phone: 022-26495230
    Festival – Kshitij
    
13. Nagindas Khandwala College of Commerce
    Swami Vivekanand Road
    Malad West
    Mumbai – 400064
    Phone: 022-28086427
14. People’s Education Society’s Siddharth College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
    Anand Bhavan,
    Dr. D. N. Road,
    Fort,
    Mumbai – 400 023
    Phone: 022-22044692
15. Ramnarain Ruia College
    L.N. Road
    Matunga
    Mumbai – 400019
    Phone: 022-24143098
    College Festival – Utsav
    
16. R.D. National College
    V. Patel Road
    Bandra West
    Mumbai – 400050
    Phone: 022-26000829, 26041777, 26483544
17. Ritambhara College,
    J.V.P.D. Scheme
    Juhu
    Mumbai – 400049
    Phone: 022-26241751
18. Rizvi Education Society’s Rizvi College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
    Rizvi Complex,
    Off. Carter Road, Sherly Road,
    Bandra (West),
    Mumbai – 400 050.
    Phone: 022 – 26480348
    College Festival – Jashn-e-Rizvi
19. Sadhana Education Society’s L.S.Raheja College of Arts and Commerce,
    Juhu Road,
    Santacruz (West),
    Mumbai – 400 054.
    Phone: 022 – 26609320
20. Shurparaka Educational and Medical Trust’s Arts, Commerce,
    Nalasopara Taluka
    Vasai, Dist, Thane
    Mumbai – 401 203
21. S.K.Somaiya Vidyavihar’s College of Arts Science and Commerce,
    Vidyavihar,
    Mumbai – 400 077.
    Phone: 022 -25105113
    College Festival – Utkarsh, BMM Festival – Estro
    
22. South Indian Education Society’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
    Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathy Vidyapuram,
    Plot No.1-C, Sector-V,
    Nerul,
    Navi Mumbai – 400 706.
    Phone: 022-27708371
    College Festival – Siesons, BMM Festival – Frames Film Festival
    
23. South Indian Education Society’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
    Sion (West),
    Mumbai – 400 022
    Phone: 022-24081204, 24026130
    College Festival – Visions
24. St. Andrew’s College of Arts, Science and B.M.S.,
    Commerce St.Domnic Road,
    Bandra (West),
    Mumbai – 400 050.
    Phone: 022 – 26401657
    College Festival – Andreams BMM Festival – XYZ
    
25. St. Xavier’s College,
    Mahapalika Marg,
    Mumbai – 400 001.
    Phone: 022 – 22621189
    College Festival – Malhar BMM festival- Zietgiest
    
26. Tilak Education Society’s College of Arts and Commerce,
    Plot No 131,
    Sector 28, Vashi,
    Navi Mumbai: 400 705.
    Phone:
    College Festival – Anubhav, BMM Festival – Reels BMS Festival – Prodigies
    
27. Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce,
    Sindhi society,
    Chembur,
    Mumbai – 400 071
    Phone: 022 – 25226423
    BMM Festival – Impressions
    
28. Wilson College,
    Chowpatty,
    Mumbai – 400 007
    Phone: 022 – 23633028
    College Festival – Ole, BMM Festival – Polaris
29. Sophia College for Women,
    Bhulabhai Desai Road,
    Mumbai – 400 026.
    Phone: 022 – 23512642
    College Festival – Kaleidoscope
30. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s M.M.College of Arts,
    N.M.Institute of Science and Haji Rashid Jaffer College of Commerce,
    (Bhavan’s College),
    Munshi Nagar
    Andheri (West),
    Mumbai – 400 058
    phone: 56970066 Ext. 245/56964933
    BMM Festival – volcano
    
31. PD Hinduja College of Economics and Commerce
    315, New Charni Road,
    Mumbai 400004
    Phone: 022 – 23889408
    BMS Festival – Aiyana, BMM Festival – Cineaste
    
32. Smt Chandibai Himathmal Mansukhani College,
    Opp Ulhasnagar Railway Station
    Ulhasnagar
    Mumbai – 421 003
    Phone – 0251-2734940
33. Patkar Varde College , S.V Road
    Goregaon (West)
    Mumbai – 400 062
    BMM Fest – MEDIATAINMENT
34. Lala Lajpat Rai College of Commerce and Economics
    
    Lala Lajpat Rai Marg,
    Mahalaxmi,
    Mumbai – 400034
    Phone: 91-22-24928240
35. Lords Universal College
    
    Opp Railway Station,
    Malad East,
    Mumbai 400097
    Phone: +91 22 28808552
36. Guru Nanak College of Arts, Science & Commerce
    
    G.T.B Nagar,
    Mumbai – 400 037
    Contact No: 2407 1098
37. CHM College
    
    Opp. Ulhasnagar Railway Station,
    Ulhasnagar,
    Mumbai 421003
    Phone: 0251-2731869/0251-2734940
38. Usha Pravin Gandhi College
    
    Gulmohar Rd,
    Vile Parle West,
    Mumbai
    Phone: 022 65726466
39. Ghanshyamdas Saraf College
    
    Near Bajaj Hall,
    S V Road,
    Malad W
    Mumbai – 400064
40. Burhani College of Commerce & Arts
    
    Mazgaon
    Mumbai
41. S.M. Shetty College of Science Commerce and Management Studies
    
    Powai,
    Mumbai – 400 076
    Tel. : 2570 6687 , 2570 0264

Don’t find your college in this list? Your college is known by some other name in common usage? New college/BMM fest? Contact information has changed? Please post a comment below with the updated information or send us an email at connect@bmmbox.com and we will add to the list.