MUMBAI: Havas Creative India CCO & JMD Anupama Ramaswamy took the Goafest 2025 day three stage with a fiery address that tore through apathy and spotlighted the ideas that truly set the jury room ablaze. Speaking at the session titled ‘What Ignited the Jury Room?’ under the theme ‘Ignite Your Mind’, Ramaswamy walked the audience through a curated list of campaigns that, in her words, “didn’t just tick boxes but flipped the narrative”.
The Jury leaned into creativity not as an embellishment but as a battering ram against social inertia. Among the campaigns highlighted was the Lays x UNA collaboration – ‘Farm Equal’, which reframed the lens on gender equality by spotlighting female farmers. The storytelling was more than empathetic; it was revolutionary in the way it reclaimed space for women in India’s agricultural narrative.
Reliance’s ‘Pink Star Rating’ received a nod as the world’s first global safety app dedicated to women travellers, turning safety from a concern into a creative proposition. The app served both function and form, giving users the tools to stay informed while providing marketers with an inspiring brief: build tech that protects.
Football found a new pitch in Mahindra’s ‘Nanhi Kali’ campaign, which shattered traditional ideas about girlhood by encouraging girls to embrace ambition through sport. The ad steered away from stereotypical portrayals and celebrated freedom, focus, and the fierce footwork of aspiration.
In the same breath, Navneet’s Colour Blindness Book tackled the overlooked needs of children with colour vision deficiency. The campaign aimed to help one crore Indian students, merging design thinking with inclusive education policy.
Sabhyata’s Diwali ad, made in collaboration with Motherhood Hospitals, shifted the spotlight to working mothers, balancing duty and desire with poise. Meanwhile, Vaseline’s initiative for the transgender community offered skincare designed specifically for their needs—a product-led campaign built on the foundation of visibility and respect.
Beyond India, a Japanese campaign supporting surname reform for women questioned why marriage should erase identity. By giving voice to choice, the work opened a broader conversation on equality through culture.
Wrapping up, Ramaswamy reminded the room that it wasn’t causes but creativity that clinched the win. “Big ideas lead—causes follow”, she asserted, adding, “Creativity is the catalyst, not the charity”.
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