MUMBAI: Joy Mohanty has been elevated as executive creative director at global brand and experience design company .Potntial. He was the creative director before this elevation.
The seasoned adman has a bulging portfolio spanning more than three decades, having cut his teeth at FCB Ulka in 1993 before climbing the greasy pole at agencies including Leo Burnett, Contract, Capital Advertising (later Publicis Capital) and Lowe Lintas.
Mohanty’s CV boasts some enviable coups, including spearheading efforts to snatch the coveted Thums Up account from a 25-year incumbent while at Lowe Lintas. He also launched Google Pay (Tez) in India and helped create work for Google Railwire that nabbed a Cannes finalist spot in 2019.
His creative fingerprints can be found on campaigns for automotive giants Maruti Suzuki, where he orchestrated “one of India’s most disruptive car launch programs” for Swift. One of his creations—the “Kitna Deti Hai” campaign—has been immortalised by Brand Equity/Economic Times as among “the iconic ads that shaped Indian advertising.”
With stints handling spirits (Pernod Ricard’s Absolut, Blenders Pride and Glenlivet), technology (Google and HP), tyres (Michelin and Apollo) and travel brands (Makemytrip and Spicejet), Mohanty has demonstrated versatility across categories.
No stranger to creative accolades, he has bagged prestigious gongs including The One Show 2002 for Dabur Back-Aid and D&AD 2002 for Dabur Capsico, which he describes as “an early example of using disruptive packaging as an advertising medium.”
His new home, .Potntial, positions itself at “the intersection of business, culture, design and tech,” targeting startups with global ambitions and legacy Indian firms seeking a pivot. The company aims to fill what it sees as “the gap between traditional branding methods and the evolving needs of new-age enterprises.”
For a man who once ventured into entrepreneurship with film production company Lumiere Films back in 1998, this new role might just offer the perfect canvas for his creative potential—or should we say, .Potntial.
