MAM
Adwise 2002 : Ashish Bhasin
Schooled in Bombay in Campion and Cathedral School. B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochem and Zoology from St. Xavier’s College, Bombay.
MMS (Marketing) from Sydenham Institute, Bombay. Joined Lintas 14 years ago. Early part of the career worked on Hindustan Lever business for 8 years, in 7 countries. Set up Lintas operations in Burma and Vietnam and created advertising and brand strategies for other countries like Cambodia, Mongolia and Laos.
Set up an association called Design Bridge at Lintas with Europe’s largest packaging design house. Continues to head that.
Headed the Madras office of Lintas for 2% years. The office almost doubled in size in that period, primarily driven by new business gains.
Moved back to Bombay to take over as the President of Initiative Media India, the media division of Lintas India. Besides handling all the mainline media for the Lintas Group, is also driving various ventures of Lintas in areas like Rural and the Internet. Has set up Linterland, a rural marketing company with a network of over 8500 people and Digital Initiative, Lintas’ net buying and planning division. Is the Managing Director of Aaren Initiative, Lintas’ Outdoor Company.
Was recently adjudged the “Media Marketer of the Year” at the Brief Media Awards.
Frequently addresses seminars, guest lecturer at institutes, regular contributor to Brand Equity and other publications.
Was India’s cultural Ambassador to Pennsylvania, USA in 1992 under a Rotary programme. Is a member of CII’s National Young Business Committee. Is a member of the CII Media Committee and is on the Board of Governors of Media Research Users Council.
Married with an 9 year old naughty son and a 1 year daughter. Loves reading, travelling on leisure (not business) and playing billiards.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
