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Tag: JWT

  • From advertising ace to entrepreneurial ace: Ambalika Sen charts a bold new course

    From advertising ace to entrepreneurial ace: Ambalika Sen charts a bold new course

    MUMBAI: One of Indian advertising’s sharpest advertising minds is switching gears. After a 16-year career spanning heavyweights like JWT, Contract, Taproot Dentsu, and Tilt Brand Solutions, Ambalika Sen has hung up her agency boots to launch into the entrepreneurial fast lane.

    Now managing partner at Fundamental, the newly minted venture based in Mumbai, she is eyeing a future built on sharper strategic partnerships, brand management excellence, and a strong dose of independent thinking.
    At the same time, she’s staying firmly rooted in nurturing talent — moonlighting as a guest faculty at the prestigious Xavier’s Institute of Communication, where she teaches Business Management in Advertising to the next wave of ad mavens.

    Before stepping into the startup world, Ambalika’s career reads like a best-of list of Indian advertising. Across her career, the through-line has been clear: client-first thinking, relentless business-building, and a gift for weaving culture into commerce.

    While advertising has been the bedrock, Ambalika’s recent years have also seen her expand into cultural consulting — working as an independent business advisor with youth-driven brand Homegrown since 2020.
    With Fundamental, Ambalika is betting on a hybrid future — where brand-building meets cultural fluency, and strategic partnership is as important as creative spark.

  • Pawan Soni joins Fuel Content India as chief business officer

    Pawan Soni joins Fuel Content India as chief business officer

    Mumbai: FCB Group India’s content production arm, Fuel Content, has announced the appointment of Pawan Soni as chief business officer. He will lead FCB Group’s content production business and develop capabilities in India to offer full-funnel content solutions to their clients.

    With this new appointment, FCB Group India has taken a step to expand its client offerings in this dynamic and ever-evolving media landscape. Soni aims to leverage his wealth of knowledge and years of expertise to drive Fuel Content’s next phase of growth and solidify FCB’s role as a partner for the client’s business growth.

    Soni, who brings with him 18 years of management experience to the role, will be reporting to FCB India & Fuel Content CEO Debarpita Banerjee. He is a seasoned professional with a depth of experience across content and marketing as well, most recently at his own content agency, ThumbThamba Media, where he works with brand owners and agencies to create digital content while helping brands build their content strategies to solve business problems.

    He was previously head of content and marketing verticals for Disney’s Fox portfolio in India, where he managed brands like National Geographic and Fox Life. Before joining National Geographic, he was with JWT (now Wunderman Thompson) and worked on GSK’s consumer healthcare portfolio with brands like Horlicks & Iodex. The move underlines FCB Group India’s effort to offer their clients best-in-class content solutions across myriad production formats and platforms.

    Speaking on the appointment, Banerjee said, “I have known Soni for more than a decade and have worked with him closely in different roles across different organisations. I have always been a fan of his ability to unknot any situation and find a shining solution. As a force, he always moves forward, and as Fuel expands its offerings and expertise to our clients and moves into its next phase of operations, I am confident that Soni will be able to steer this unit to new and exciting heights.”

    On the appointment, Soni said, “This is an amazing opportunity, and I am excited to work alongside super talented folks at FCB Group India to produce even more creative stories and engaging content of the highest quality. I believe that great production is where creativity and curiosity go hand in hand with problem-solving, which allows us to create customised solutions every time for our clients’ storytelling needs. I’m looking forward to leading and growing Fuel Content into a modern production company that fuses agility, creativity, and technology to produce highly engaging yet effective work. Our ambition is to build a full-service production company that provides world-class production support, standout creative guidance, and a range of innovative solutions for our clients to produce insightful content that meaningfully connects with audiences in authentic and culturally relevant ways.”

    For the record, Fuel Content integrates key FCB tools like Brand Bedrock and aligns core brand strategy with content strategy to create “never-finished” content across platforms in India. It believes in a collaborative content creation approach; hence, it works closely with a network of individual content creators and different digital platforms to optimise content visibility and management for its clients.

  • Colvyn Harris to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2022

    Colvyn Harris to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2022

    Mumbai: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has announced that the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award for 2022 will be conferred on advertising veteran Colvyn Harris. This is the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for his/ her outstanding contribution to the advertising industry.

     Harris has had a long and successful career in the Indian advertising industry spanning over 40 years. His career was built in one company – JWT (now Wunderman Thompson), a WPP Group company, across varied roles, across India and JWT Sri Lanka where he was managing director.  He began his career at Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA), and went on to assume the role of CEO at Contract (now Contract Advertising), and then was designated JWT South Asia CEO.

    During his tenure he built the most formidable full-service agency, most admired for its creativity, scale and reputation. He has worked on India’s most admired brands, notably Hero, GSK- Horlicks, Boost, Citibank, Ford, Airtel, Nestlé.  He ended his career as executive director global growth & client development at JWT. He was also managing director marketing at L. Catterton Singapore, a global private equity company, part of LVMH, where his role was to help their investee companies working with the CEOs and chief marketing officers for achieving their growth and branding objectives globally.

    Harris took a lot of interest in Industry matters. He was a jury member at the Cannes Lions in 2015, in the Effectiveness Category. He was also president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) in 2010 and chairman of the Goafest in 2009 and 2010. During his chairmanship, Goafest grew much faster and was recognized as the largest festival in India for celebration of creativity.

    Harris has been a speaker at London Business School, at the Wharton India Economic Summit, Spikes Asia 2010 and chairman of numerous forums, including a speaker at the World Economic Forum India. He was a WPP nominee to the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Development Council for four years. Under his leadership, JWT won several Global Awards, numerous Cannes Lions, including India’s First Grand Prix while he was CEO.

    Making the announcement, AAAI president Anupriya Acharya said, “Harris is in every sense a true pioneer and visionary. Apart from singlehandedly making JWT a top agency, he has also contributed significantly to the industry in various capacities, including as president of AAAI. He’s been a key driver and pivotal force in establishing Goafest as the largest advertising festival in India.  I am pleased to say that the entire committee was unanimous in selecting Harris as this year’s AAAI’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner. He is truly deserving of this honour.”

     For the record, the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has been a practitioner of advertising for twenty-five years and had been in the top management position; has been or continues to be an active participant in industry bodies and or made significant contributions in shaping the industry priorities which enabled the advertising industry to grow, prosper and  become more professionalized;  individual  known for his integrity, ethical practice and leadership qualities; contributed to his company/companies growth by innovative thinking and taking them in newer directions; involved in projects of social consequence which is seen as a role model for the industry at large and had been an industry veteran.

     Some of the past winners of this award include Subhas Ghosal, Alyque Padamsee, Mike Khanna, R K Swamy, Piyush Pandey, Sam Balsara, Prem Mehta, Roda Mehta, Ram Sehgal, Madhukar Kamath, Arvind Sharma and others.

  • Rajat Mukherjee joins Garage Group as principle creative consultant

    Rajat Mukherjee joins Garage Group as principle creative consultant

    Mumbai: Garage Group, a full-service and creative agency founded in 2015, has strengthened its creative capabilities with the appointment of Rajat Mukherjee as principle creative consultant. In his new role, Mukherjee will oversee all markets and lead the organization’s creative division for its clients.

    With an impressive background, Mukherjee brings more than two decades of creative experience in the field of advertising and communication and is considered one of the prominent creative leaders in the industry, having worked with agencies such as HSAd, JWT, Leo Burnett, Hakuhodo Percept, Dentsu, Mudra, and R.K. Swamy BBDO, to name a few.

    He has worked on several leading business brands such as LG, Horlicks, Boost, Monte Carlo, Pepsi, Coke, Hero Cycle, Pizza Hut, Sony, ESPN, Star Sports, Hero Honda, Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki Bikes, Honda Motors, Toshiba, Central Park, PUBG, Numero Uno, and Hindware, among others.

    Before joining Garage Group, he served as national creative director for HSAd India, the primary partnering agency for the electronics giant LG, where he headed the firm’s entire creative communication division for more than ten years.

    Talking about his new role, Mukherjee said, “A real 360-degree communication is the key to the communication business today, and Garage Group excels with its diversified in-house offering for the same. Thus, it becomes an exciting move for me, as this allows me to expand my wings to soar to newer heights with Garage Group and its varied application format in the field of communication.” 

    Speaking on the appointment, Garage Group founder and managing director Saurabh Gupta said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Mukherjee to the Garage Group family. With our expansion into creatives, digital, music, and technology, Mukherjee is a clear fit in the organisation. His diverse experience in industry and understanding of the brand ecosystem will further lift Garage Group’s service offering in the market.”

    Mukherjee is a graduate of the esteemed Delhi College of Art. He has received numerous significant national and international honours during his 23-year journey, which in turn adds another feather to his cap.

     

  • Network Advertising appoints Pooja Nair as VP – strategic planning

    Network Advertising appoints Pooja Nair as VP – strategic planning

    NEW DELHI: Network Advertising has strengthened its account planning division with the inclusion of Pooja Nair as VP – strategic planning. Nair comes with an experience of over 16 years and has worked in agencies like Ogilvy, JWT, Publicis, Saatchi (Colombo), Percept, and TBWA. She has considerable experience in handling cross-category brands like Huggies, Ponds, Bosch, Nutrela, Garnier, Godrej, Head & Shoulders, Oil of Olay, Electrolux, Allen Solly, Standard Chartered Bank, and many more.

    Network Advertising chief strategy officer Sunit Khot said, “We are glad to have Pooja on board the Network team. Her cross-category experience coupled with her natural curiosity will be invaluable to us in strengthening our integrated offering that is based on a strong strategic foundation.”

    Nair said, “What attracted me to Network is their philosophy of integrating Strategic Planning across all their functions, which essentially makes every Networker a thinker. I am looking forward to my role to enhance this already strong thinking culture within Network. The exciting cross-category roster of clients and the agency’s integrated offering makes it a dream for any strategic planner.”

    Network Advertising MD Vinod Nair said, “An integrated agency like Network needs to consistently over-deliver in the thinking area to bring alive our commitment to the brands we work on. Pooja is a welcome addition to the Network family and another brain to keep working on our mission of doing right by the clients we handle.”

  • Veteran media professional DK Bose passes away

    Veteran media professional DK Bose passes away

    MUMBAI: Veteran media professional DK Bose passed away on Friday. He was a pioneering advertising and media professional who laid the foundation for media planning function in the Indian industry. The industry mourned his loss.

    In a career spanning five decades, Bose was associated with several leading companies. Together with his team, he was crunching numbers and calculating the reach for brands at a time when no excel sheets were accessible. He trained many media professionals during his career.

    Bose was a media director at Hindustan Thompson Associates between 1984 and 1991. He later moved to JWT Delhi for a period of nearly four years in the capacity of a VP. After his stint at JWT, he joined RK Swammy BBDO as an executive director and then in a few years moved to Ogilvy Outreach as a president. He served in the latter role between 1998 and 2001.

    For the last 14 years, Bose had served as a consultant in the field of rural and social marketing. He recently got his biography Life Unstoppable published through Amazon.

  • GREY India appoints Amish Sabharwal as executive creative director

    GREY India appoints Amish Sabharwal as executive creative director

    MUMBAI: GREY India has appointed Amish Sabharwal as Executive Creative Director, based in Gurgaon. He will work closely with  GREY India  chief creative officer Sandipan Bhattacharyya.

    Welcoming Amish on board, Sandipan said, “We’re thrilled to have Amish on board and to have a younger creative leader in our core team. We live in a world that’s being propelled by the phenomenal business ideas of a younger generation, so it’s only apt that advertising embraces the creative power of a new breed of thinkers. Amish is enormously talented, creatively restless and mature beyond his years. This is going to be an amazing ride!”

    Prior to GREY, Amish has had noteworthy stints at JWT, McCann and Dentsu Impact, where he led the launch campaign of one of the world’s most iconic brands -IKEA in India.

    At JWT, as a senior creative director, he was involved in the revamp of Gatorade with campaigns like ‘Sweat for Gold’ and ‘Hate your Teacher’, making the Times of India print supplements relevant to the youth with the iconic ‘Flirt with your city’ campaign and the launch of Sting, an energy drink from Pepsi. Apart from this, some other brands he’s worked on include Hindustan Times, Mint, Subway, Nescafe, Aircel, Nokia, Kurkure, Chevy Cruze, Lays, Airtel DTH, Pizza Hut and Indian Badminton League.

    His work has been awarded at the New York Festivals, Abbys, Effies and Kyoorius Awards. He has also been tagged as a ‘Hot Young Creative’ of advertising by The Economic Times.

    On joining GREY, Amish said, “For the last couple of years, GREY India has been signalling a creative shift with big wins at Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Effies and Spikes. What’s truly motivating is the vision to create work that moves consumers, trends and juries alike. A place where creative culture and love for ideas supersedes hierarchies, silos and egos. And with Sandipan and the talented team, I hope to further that vision.”

  • D’Décor launches new campaign ‘Beautiful Homes tell Beautiful Stories’

    D’Décor launches new campaign ‘Beautiful Homes tell Beautiful Stories’

    MUMBAI: D’Decor India’s leading home furnishings brand unveiled its new campaign – ‘Beautiful Homes tell Beautiful Stories’ with a series of short films featuring Gauri and Shahrukh Khan. The campaign celebrates 10 years of marquee association of country’s power couple with D’Décor. Touted as the world's largest producer of upholstery and curtain fabrics besides being at the forefront of providing home design solutions, D’Décor enjoys a long standing partnership with Gauri and Shahrukh Khan in bringing to life visions that meld expertise with art.

    Over the years, there has been a significant change in the perception of designing homes. Everyone strives to raise the bar with a perfect home that not only represents an extension of their personality, but reflects passion, comfort  and lifestyle choices. Conceptualised by JWT, the season’s campaign captures cherished moments of the couple in their homes reveling in D’Décor.

    Produced by Dharma 2.0, the creative unit from Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, the TVC is directed by the very talented Punit Malhotra and integrates the new collections of fabric, bedding sets, rugs and blinds.

    The new film reveal; brings the viewers into the middle of Gauri and  Shahrukhs’ living room  where a celebration is in commencement to celebrate the couple’s 22nd wedding anniversary. Set against the backdrop of their beautiful living room the story goes on to highlight the appreciation that guests show towards their furnishings, praising Gauri in particular. Shahrukh who feels left out by not being included in the compliment of good taste is told by Gauri that marriage is teamwork,  there is no I or You, its “US”. The home is a refelction of togetherness and companionship of two people.

    D’Décor is a household name and continues to be a pioneer in the textile industry by bringing chenille upholstery and embroidered curtains to India. Being the largest manufacturer of soft furnishing fabrics, D’Decor has gained an enviable reputation in innovation and customisation. With a team of over 250 members who develop new colours, design trends, substrates, weaves and finishes giving customers over 20,000 products to choose from.

    Speaking about the new milestone, Sanjay Arora & Ajay Arora of D’Decor said, “D’Décor is proud to unveil its new campaign marking the longstanding association with Gauri and Shahrukh Khan. The brand journey with the Khans’ is over a decade old and we are aware of the magic they bring to the people across India. Dharma 2.0 has beautifully translated our vision and the celebration of this beautiful partnership. The couple together, are an ideal image of homemakers and imply 'family' for us. There is a seamless synergy between D’Décor and its values being narrated with Beautiful homes tell beautiful stories.”

    They also added, “We have always been ahead of the curve, keeping consumer experience at the helm of our ethos. D’Décor’s endeavour is to create a sense of pride and ownership of its product offerings. Our mills in Tarapur hold pride of place, using cutting-edge technology that has given India its first water-repellent and flame-retardant fabric. We deliver true value and are committed to giving our customers innovative beautiful designs.”

    Expressing his excitement about directing the campaign film Punit Malhotra said, “This collaboration between D’Décor, Dharma 2.0 and Gauri-Shahrukh is very special because it’s all about one family coming together. The ethos of the campaign to value our family every day by creating a beautiful home is simple yet so impactful. The campaign narrative is vibrant and everyone’s best intention to make the best film is very much evident in the film.”

    JWT VP & executive business director Dipika Narayan says, “With D’Decor when we started the journey, we pledged to make every city, street, home, door and window of the country beautiful. We continue to partner D’Décor in this successful jouney with the new campaign. When you a have a beautiful home, there is always a beautiful story to share; and the thought behind the new film is all about humanising the desire and bring in more relatability with this dream cast of Shahrukh & Gauri. Our focus has been on making the brand even more meaningful by highlighting the strenghts of the brand ethos, and values that Gauri & Shahrukh brings with their dedication and understanding. We are proud to be assoicated with D’Décor on this journey.”

  • Goodknight launches new TVC for Fabric Roll-On

    Goodknight launches new TVC for Fabric Roll-On

    MUMBAI: Goodknight has launched a new TVC for its Fabric Roll-On, highlighting the concern of family members when children go out to play in the evening and are vulnerable to mosquitoes and diseases such as dengue and malaria.

    Goodknight Fabric Roll-On is a personal mosquito repellent. It is made using 100 per cent natural and plant-based ingredients such as citronella and eucalyptus oils and is applied on clothes, not skin. By just applying four coin-sized dots on your clothes, you can stay protected for up to 8 hours outdoors. 

    Godrej consumer products CEO India and SAARC Sunil Katatria said, “While there is an alarming rise of vector-borne diseases like Malaria and Dengue in the country, there is also a lack of awareness that the mosquitoes that spread these diseases usually bite during the daytime when children are usually out of the protected zones of their homes. Our core focus is to let children have a happy childhood outdoors which makes them “champions” in their lives by protecting them from mosquitoes while they play.” 

    The TVC describes an Indian family stopping their daughter from playing cricket. The grand-mother, grand-father and father express their concern of her getting bitten by mosquitoes and contracting malaria or dengue if she goes to play. The mother, in this case, supports her daughter’s decision of outdoor play being assured that Goodknight Fabric Roll-On will protect her. The TVC highlights how the Goodknight Fabric Roll-On is effective in repelling mosquitoes and enabling kids to go out and play and become “champions”.

    JWT Mumbai vice presidents and executive creative directors Priya Pardiwalla and Steve Mathias said, "Every mom knows the importance of playing outside every evening. Of rather not being trapped by the videogame or television. However sometimes she has to say NO and stop her kids from stepping out especially during times of high mosquito infestation such as a dengue epidemic. But now Goodknight Fabric Roll-On, a truly non-intrusive innovation empowers moms to do one of the most difficult things ever – saying YES and allowing their kids to play outside, to learn and explore without worrying about mosquitoes. The commercial is centred around a mother who encourages her kid to go out and knock it out of the park, while the rest of the family is concerned, stressed and worried about mosquitoes outside."

    The creative ends with a great message for kids that if they want to become champions and win, they have to venture out of their homes without the fear of mosquitoes.

  • Max Fashion launches campaign for Durga Puja

    Max Fashion launches campaign for Durga Puja

    MUMBAI: Durga Puja is one of the most auspicious festivals celebrated in India. With the aim to connect with its audiences and strengthen bonds, Max Fashion launched a beautiful TV campaign ‘Pujor Shuru Max E’. The film is shot with popular stars in West Bengal – Jisshu Sengupta and Nusrat Jahan.

    The campaign revolves around the feeling of “Pujo toh eshei gyalo!” (Pujo is almost here!). With Durga Puja here, the excitement of Pujo begins a couple of months prior. The festive is all about shopping for new clothes, food, family and pandal hopping. Witnessing the city and its people gearing up for the festival is as exciting as the festival itself! In fact, most people begin their shopping too early as there’s so much to buy for themselves, family and friends. And once you’re done with shopping, the agonising wait begins which is even more beautiful.

    MAX Fashion vice president of marketing Jiten Mahendra says, “Durga Puja season gives a great opportunity to connect with our primary TG which is family at an emotional level. Through this campaign, we have gone one step closer to our audience by taking an emotional high ground. We have contemporised Pujo celebration through this film at the same time kept the cultural nuances intact. We have shot the film in the local streets of Kolkata and the song is in Bengali.”

    “We have made Nusrat Jahan and Jisshu Sengupta, the two famous celebrities in the industry as the face of the campaign which will for sure create an emotional connect with the customer,” he adds.

    J Walter Thompson NCD Priya Shivakumar mentions, “The spirit of pujo is in the air months before the actual festival, with everyone counting down to the day with bated breath; and clothes are at the heart of all this excitement. The film captures these beautiful moments of anticipation juxtaposed with a treatment of cutaways. The parallel narrative of the city wearing its finery in the build up towards Pujo adds local flavour and character to the colourful festive mix of celebration and excitement, with a lilting track holding it all together.”