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Tag: The Script Room

  • The Script Room appoints K. Ramakrishnan as an independent director

    The Script Room appoints K. Ramakrishnan as an independent director

    MUMBAI: The Script Room, an independently owned, bespoke creative agency, founded by Ayyappan Raj & Rajesh Ramaswamy (Ramsam), onboards K. Ramakrishnan (Ramki), managing director – South Asia at Kantar Worldpanel, as an independent director on its board. With over three decades of experience in marketing, branding, and business strategy, he has held leadership roles at companies like Lenovo, Café Coffee Day and TVS Motor Company. In his new role, Ramakrishnan will participate in the strategic business decisions of The Script Room bringing his deep market knowledge, experience and thought leadership to the table.

    Known for its commitment to enjoyable scripts across formats, The Script Room has always championed storytelling that connects. With Ramki’s mentoring, the company takes a significant step forward in its journey of shaping their business with both soul and structure.

    Reflecting on the decision, The Script Room co-founder Ayyappan Raj shared, “Two years ago, when I first conceived the idea of establishing a Board of Directors and shared it with Ramsam, Ramki was the very first name on the list. I had the privilege of meeting Ramki in 2005 when he was a client at TVS Motor Company, and since then, he has played a significant role in both my professional and personal journey. It is with great pleasure that we announce his appointment as an Independent Director on our Board. Ramki is widely regarded as a trusted advisor and mentor – his innate capacity for leadership and guidance, coupled with his expanding sphere of influence, make him a valuable addition to our governance and strategic thinking.”

    K. Ramakrishnan shared, “It is a pleasure and honour to be able to serve as an independent director on the board of The Script Room. I am happy to work with bright and creative professionals such as Ramsam, Ayyappan and the others. I hope to provide professional counsel and promote a lot of dialectic thinking as The Script Room continues to scale up in its Creative Business journey”.

    Now in its sixth year of operations, The Script Room is excited about the future with Ramki joining as an Independent Director and will soon announce its full board of directors. With this guidance, the company is poised to continue delivering outstanding stories across all formats while building a cheerful and inspiring environment for its team and partners alike.

  • Scripted for success Alisha Sharma joins The Script Room as ECD

    Scripted for success Alisha Sharma joins The Script Room as ECD

    With a decade-long résumé that reads like a highlight reel of Indian advertising, Alisha has helped build brands like Spotify, Pepsico’s Lays and Doritos, Amazon, Asian Paints and MP Tourism. From crafting Spotify’s signature Indian tone of voice to rolling out mega-hits like “There’s a Playlist for That” and “Life Kate Mazze Se”, Alisha’s storytelling is anything but on shuffle. Her work has earned nods at the Cannes Lions, One Show, Spikes Asia, Clio Awards and Effies India and she’s judged at the Young Director Awards at Cannes, too.

    In her own words, “You know you’re in the right room when conversations spark ideas and story stays at the centre. I wasn’t just looking for a change, I was waiting for the right place. Now I’m here, excited to shape this room into a house full of stories.”

    That “room” was founded by Rajesh Ramaswamy and Ayyappan Raj, who’ve built a reputation for carving out space in the industry for unapologetically narrative-driven work. Speaking on the hire, Rajesh said, “We really love the way she thinks, it’s a joy to watch her work.” Ayyappan added, “She joins at the perfect time. We’re six years in, and with her, the next phase will be even more exciting. She’s brilliant and everyone already loves her.”

    As The Script Room continues to stake its claim as the go-to shop for fresh, compelling storytelling, Alisha’s arrival feels like the beginning of a new genre part drama, part blockbuster, and all heart. Keep your popcorn ready.

  • The Script Room swings for the fences with 32 IPL ad films for Groww, PhonePe, My11Circle and PaperBoat

    The Script Room swings for the fences with 32 IPL ad films for Groww, PhonePe, My11Circle and PaperBoat

    MUMBAI: In a thunderous IPL innings, Bengaluru-based creative powerhouse The Script Room knocked it out of the park with 32 ad films across four marquee brands—Groww, PhonePe, My11Circle and PaperBoat—cementing its status as a storytelling ace in India’s busiest ad season.

    From small-town dreams to nostalgic sips and meme-worthy jingles, the indie shop blended creativity with cultural cues to deliver high-impact campaigns that stood tall amid the IPL blitzkrieg.

    Groww’s six-film campaign saluted New India’s many shades of progress—whether it’s moving cities or moving mindsets. Rooted in personal triumphs and quiet ambitions, the ads painted a relatable canvas of growth, far removed from the stock market ticker clichés.

    PaperBoat Swing, meanwhile, served up a refreshing double with two warm, wistful films that stirred up childhood memories and the simple joy of coconut water. The nostalgic whiff came with the poetic touch of Gulzar saab, no less—produced by the same team that gave the brand its soul years ago.

    PhonePe brought back its fan-favourite ‘PhonePe Girl’ with a 10-ad blitz, proving tech doesn’t have to talk like tech. Instead, it danced through daily life—charming its way through everything from paying bills to booking cabs. The 20-seconders were zippy, cheeky, and bang on brand.

    Then came My11Circle, crashing in with a “baith ja” banger. With a cheeky twist on the classic Aaja Meri Gaadi Mein Baith Ja, the campaign’s jingle “Aaja Meri Circle Mein Aaja” became an earworm—and a meme sensation. With 14 snappy spots and a swag-loaded positioning, it called out to the game-chasers and glory-hunters alike.
    The numbers? Millions of views, strong TV presence, digital domination, and social media amplification. My11Circle doubled down with influencers and celebs to push the pedal on reach.

    The Script Room cofounder Ayyappan Raj said, “IPL has always been super prime time for us. While it’s a big sporting event, it’s also India’s biggest media event. And since we are focussed only on films many clients reach out to us for sharp thinking, simple-yet-insightful stories, in short formats. We had a very good run this year at IPL with superb work for PhonePe, My11Circle, Groww and PaperBoat. My11Circle audio-track is a massive hit and is already part of meme culture. Groww story of a man choosing to work from a small town is one of my favourite films. Thanks to our collaborators Vinil Mathew, Vasan Bala, Shakun Batra and Shirsha Guha Thakurta, and our writing partners Sainath, Shivani, Mihul for bringing alive all of these stories in the best possible form.”

    The Script Room cofounder Ramsam added:  “IPL is all about capturing attention in the shortest possible time and that’s where our strength lies – storytelling that’s sharp, engaging, and quick. In fact, our very first IPL campaign in 2019 was a series of 10 short films for Netflix, played episodically over consecutive adbreaks.”

    He added, “Also most IPL briefs are quite focused, after all, it’s the most premium advertising slot. Over time, with repeated collaborations across IPL seasons, we’ve found our rhythm with brands. We focus on life insights, simplicity, and always try to think like the consumer, not just as advertisers. That helps the stories land better.”

    With directors like Vinil Mathew, Vasan Bala, Shakun Batra, Shirsha Guha Thakurta, and writers Sainath, Shivani, Mihul behind the camera, The Script Room’s IPL 2025 showreel is a mic-drop moment for India’s indie ad scene.

    Watch the highlights:

    Groww
    Film 1 | Film 2 | Film 3

    PaperBoat
    Film

    My11Circle
    Film 1 | Film 2

    PhonePe
    Film

     

  • JioCinema & MS Dhoni pad-up for an encore with TATA IPL 2024

    JioCinema & MS Dhoni pad-up for an encore with TATA IPL 2024

    Mumbai: As the TATA IPL frenzy hits a fever pitch ahead of the 2024 season, JioCinema launched its campaign for what promises to be yet another exciting edition. The campaign features three ad films, the first of which stars MS Dhoni in a double role. All three ad films spotlight the collective excitement of watching the TATA IPL on digital. The campaign is built on the insight that an increasing number of Indians are now opting to consume live sport on digital, including the TATA IPL which saw a record reach of 449 million last season on JioCinema.

    The film, conceptualised by The Script Room and produced by Early Man Films, casts MS Dhoni in a unique double role of a grandfather and his grandson. It portrays the tongue-in-cheek story of a grandson glued to his phone screen as a riveting TATA IPL match unfolds, while the grandfather, also deeply engrossed in watching the same match on his phone, starts experiencing discomfort in his chest. On their way to the hospital in the ambulance, the medical attendant too now is seen watching the game on his phone while the grandfather and grandson humorously continue to watch the game on their respective phones at the back of the ambulance van. The plot takes a twist as the grandfather burps and they all realize the discomfort was due to a mere bout of gas. Just then a six goes off in the match, which cheers the three up, bringing the film to an end. The campaign will be breaking across TV, digital, social and print.

    “The campaign draws from one of the biggest consumption shifts we’ve seen among viewers in recent times, as they migrate to digital from linear avenues to catch their daily dose of live sports action,” said JioCinema’s creative marketing head Shagun Seda. The campaign idea ‘Sab Yahaan, Aur Kahaan!’ centre stages the ubiquity of watching the TATA IPL on digital, and JioCinema continuing to present the world’s biggest T20 tournament without any barriers to accessibility, affordability and language. Creatively, we attempted to present MS Dhoni in a manner that resonates with fans who cherish every minute of him in action.”

    “This is more than just a campaign for us, it’s what large agency heads call “a mandate”. And what a crazy mandate it was, from cracking the central idea of ‘Sab Yahaan, Aur Kahaan!’, to working closely with the JioCinema team and scripting out multiple films, to jamming with the production team and seeing it through, it has been a hectic and emotionally gratifying journey,” said The Script Room founder Ayyappan. “Thanks a lot to the JioCinema team for their trust and the camaraderie, couldn’t have asked for more. It also gives us great joy that they pushed us towards the best creative output. We are super happy with the work and hope everyone enjoys it.”

    TATA IPL 2024 will commence on JioCinema with the southern derby as MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings face off with Royal Challengers Bangalore on 22 March 2024. Viewers will be able to catch the latest season for free in 4K across 12 languages including Haryanvi for the first time, multi-cam options including the much-hyped Hero Cam, and many more fan-engagement features including Jeeto Dhan Dhana Dhan.

  • The Script Room completes three years; plans original web series

    The Script Room completes three years; plans original web series

    Mumbai: Ad agency The Script Room has completed three years and a hundred ad films. Founded by Rajesh Ramaswamy and Ayyappan Raj in 2019, the agency has been offering content strategies, script writing and production to support clients.

    The Script Room bagged its first project in April 2019 for Netflix India, a campaign around one of its originals “Selection Day.” Nine films were shot in one night. The campaign won the fledgling company the ‘Best Digital Creative Award’ at Star Re-Imagine awards. Their second campaign with a series of ten ads titled ‘So, what are you watching?’ for Netflix went on air during the World Cup and was an Effie Finalist. Post that The Script Room has worked with brands like OYO, Chumbak, Vedantu, Bumble, PhonePe, Great Learning, CoinSwitch, My11Circle, RummyCircle, PaperBoat and many more. Many of the films are popular and have won prestigious awards like Kyoorius and Abbys. 

    The young bespoke advertising outfit is modelled as a writers’ room and has worked with a diverse portfolio of clients. 

    “Over the three years, we’ve managed to run a smart, clean, cheerful set-up,” said The Script Room co-founder Ayyappan Raj. “Maintain a good work-life balance, avoid being factory-fied, encourage individuals to pursue whatever they want personally, good food, good drinks, bad jokes… simple joys and general happiness. Thanks to every single person who’s helped us do this.”

    “This year and the coming years we are going after two things, first is something that’s long overdue, developing our own The Script Room Original – a new web-series that’s in the final stages of writing. Second is creating a working model of writers room for advertising, where we engage with writers outside of TSR. This we piloted a few months back and it’s coming about quite well,” he added.

    “Like what one expects from a good movie script, we wouldn’t want The Script Room journey, our plot line, to lag or meander. Anything and everything that we’re doing is to progress the story further, while adding depth and colour,” he further said.

    “These three years has been quite a ride. Honestly, we hadn’t planned it out. In fact, we just decided to go with the flow,” said The Script Room co-founder Rajesh Ramaswamy. “We’ve met a lot of interesting people along the way. Enjoyed a lot of goodwill, faith and trust. A lot of friends cheered us along. A lot of clients embraced this model. Though we didn’t have a retainer model, they’ve been good enough to return. That’s encouraging. They’ve also been kind enough to spread a good word about us.”

    Ramaswamy added, “We’ve been clear that we want to collaborate with as many interesting people as possible. So, we’ve worked with a lot of established directors, and also a lot of new young talent. We keep engaging and meeting all kinds of writers from all fields with different sensibilities. People have given us books to read that they are working on. Some just come and jam with us on a story idea. Some come and sing us songs or recite shayari. All just for love. With no great agenda. We love this process and would always want to keep that alive. That’s our only trip.”

  • PaperBoat rolls out its summer campaign with fresh new flavours

    PaperBoat rolls out its summer campaign with fresh new flavours

    Mumbai:- Packaged beverage brand PaperBoat has rolled out its first campaign for the summer. The campaign conceptualised by The Script Room, showcases the various flavours of PaperBoat Swing. The agency was named as the beverage brand’s creative partner recently following an account win.

    The ad film, set in a heart-warming setting, sees a couple of children working up a cosplay of a lemonade stand, where they are serving the refreshing flavours of the drink to their mother. 

    The campaign will be seen on television and digitally as well. 

    “This is a new variant of Paper Boat. And we felt that it would be best to now just introduce ourselves and our offering to the world. The task was to continue to keep the innocence and simplicity that the brand is known for. And still infuse it with some newness. We’re delighted with the outcome. It’s always been a great pleasure to work on Paper Boat,” The Script Room co-founder and the director of the film Ramsam (Rajesh Ramaswamy) said, speaking about the campaign.

    Adding to Ramsam, Ayyappan Raj, co-founder, The Script Room said, “Once in a while in life, and business, you need some sort of an affirmation. For me, Neeraj choosing to work with us was exactly that. Paper Boat ad from The Script Room means a lot to us. The new Swing film is a lovely starting point and first of many good things to come”. 

  • Saurav Ganguly & VVS Laxman team up for My11Circle’s T20 World Cup campaign

    Saurav Ganguly & VVS Laxman team up for My11Circle’s T20 World Cup campaign

    Mumbai: Multi-game platform Games24x7 that owns fantasy sports platform My11Circle has launched a mass media campaign for its T20 World Cup fans.

    The new campaign launched on Sunday is called ‘Game Ke Deewane’ and celebrates the fervour of cricket fans. And in order to laud their winning spirit, whenever Team India wins a match, the player gets to win double the prize in the fantasy game.

    Games24X7 director-brand and marketing strategy Avik Das Kanungo said, “We set out to give a tribute to the game of cricket, celebrating the passion of Indian cricket lovers, and the campaign captures the sentiment extremely evocatively. We’re delighted with the initial response from all quarters, and are glad that cricket fans are enjoying yet another unique offering from My11Circle.”

    Speaking about the campaign, The Script Room co-founder Rajesh Ramaswamy (Ramsam) said, “It’s a very simple and fundamental thought. All of us know that India has a crazy following for cricket. And this love and passion often get expressed through what is called ‘fan-giri’. The films are trying to capture this through multiple stories – deewangi for our favourite stars, and deewangi for our favourite game. We are really lucky and super delighted that Abhinay Deo came on board. Only he could’ve captured this madness in the scale and spirit that it finally came out.”

  • CoinSwitch’s latest campaign is a take on disclaimers in finance ads

    CoinSwitch’s latest campaign is a take on disclaimers in finance ads

    Mumbai: Cryptocurrency investment platform CoinSwitch Kuber has launched a two-film campaign during the IPL cricket season. Conceptualised by The Script Room, the campaign aims to create a positive awareness around Bitcoin, while positioning the crypto platform as a premier crypto trading platform and a thought leader in the category.

    The creative is hinged on the disclaimers in financial services advertisements while giving it a creative twist. The films have been crafted in the form of shorter duration ads targeted at the cricket-viewing audience. 

    “Financial services advertising is most often done with a lot of gravitas, seriousness and generally in the emotional territory. The entire Cryptocoin being a relatively new category we thought we should try something that’s really cool and fresh,” said The Script Room co-founder Ramsam. “The creative is basically a take on the usual disclaimers that come along with finance ads and we have given it an interesting twist.”

    “Combined with ambitious goals and a high-energy team, it’s no surprise that we were able to co-create some really exciting and bold work,” said co-founder Ayyappan Raj. “It’s a pleasure working with Swati & her team at CoinSwitch, they really regard and celebrate good ideas. We hope to continue this association through many more films.”

    CoinSwitch Kuber and The Script Room announced their association to support the demand for cryptocurrencies and enhance its growth through the TV and digital footprint. 

    “The partnership with The Script Room brings in innovative ways for us to look at our goal of making India more aware about crypto,” said Coinswitch head of growth Swati Pincha. “Our user base has good representation from all across India & making sure that these new and young investors are well informed is our greatest priority.”

  • Virat Kohli turns mentor to freshers in Great Learning’s new campaign

    Virat Kohli turns mentor to freshers in Great Learning’s new campaign

    Mumbai: Byju’s Group-backed edtech company for higher education Great Learning has rolled out its new campaign featuring brand ambassador Virat Kohli. The campaign titled ‘Great Learning for Great Careers’ is targeted at freshers and young professionals and throws the spotlight on the degree and certificate programs offered by the online platform via two sad films.

    Conceptualised by The Script Room and produced by Dreampunk films, the ad spots use the cricket pitch as a metaphor for the corporate ‘career game’ and highlight the need for upskilling to play brilliant innings on that field. Kohli donning the brand’s cricket jersey portrays the expert mentor on the field as he steers a troubled corporate employee and a fresher away from potential blunders in their respective career games.

    “This is a new emerging category, with lots of news and advertising happening around. Usually in this category people seem to take a more serious approach. It was important for us to crack a tone of voice that can help break the clutter,” said The Script Room founder Rajesh Ramaswamy. “With all the complications of COVID and Virat in a bio-bubble, we did manage to pull off this idea along with the director Shekhar Kamble and team.”

    The campaign integrates Kohli into the film from the place he rules – the cricket field. The highly relatable narrative in both ads emphasises the importance of quality learning amongst freshers and young professionals and its critical role in empowering them to build great careers.

    “We had to find common ground between the brand spokesperson Virat and the fact that Great Learning can help you get the right skills to land a great job,” shared The Script Room writer Ujjwal Kabra. “Since most of us are always thinking about running away from our job and Virat being a great runner between the wickets, the connect was not too hard to find. The marketing team also related to the sentiment and the idea of two worlds, corporate and cricket, meeting at the centre of an esoteric pitch, to have a life-altering conversation, was sold.”

    “Great Learning offers degrees and certificate programs from the world’s leading educational institutions, that enable aspirants to learn industry-relevant skills. This campaign is sure to hit the sweet spot with our target audience as it revolves around very common situations which many of us have experienced at some point in our careers,” stated Great Learning CMO Aparna Mahesh.

    The campaign will run through TV, digital media, and the company’s social media assets for a period of five weeks starting 10 September.