Personality of the fortnight

They danced, snickered, hollered and laughed all the way to the top prize in Indian advertising. Zoozoos, the egg-headed, pencil-limbed mascots of Vodafone Essar swept the creative awards at the Goafest, last fortnight.

Created by Ogilvy and Mather (O&M), the zoozoos, in reality, are petite women in white bodysuits with expressions glued on to their face masks. The zoozoos may not yet be iconic mascots like the Air India's Maharaja or the Amul Butter girl or Gattu, the impish Asian Paints' boy. But their popularity has soared since they made their first tube debut in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Over four lakh fans follow them on social networking site Facebook. Last Raksha Bandhan, shops in parts of the country sold zoozoo rakhees. Like all famous people, they've had their little brush with trouble, too. Last fortnight, the Advertising Standards Council of India banned an ad which showed a zoozoo trying to hang itself.

The first 30 zoozoo ads were shot in 10 days for a budget of Rs 3 crore. Compare that to the cost of signing on any celebrity endorser (not to mention the tantrums while managing them) and you know that the zoozoo is a winner, all the way.