MAM
BBH India names George Sebastian as executive creative director
Mumbai: BBH India, a Publicis Groupe agency, has announced the appointment of George Sebastian as executive creative director. He will report to BBH India’s chief creative officer & CEO Russell Barrett and lead a team of copy, art and design professionals.
Sebastian brings with him 14 years of experience. In the past, he has been associated with Enormous Brands, Grey Group and most recently he was senior creative director at DDB Mudra. Sebastian has worked on brands like Gillette, Tanishq, Glance, Dell, McDowell’s No 1, Britannia, TTK Prestige, 3M and TicTac, helping them unlock their purpose and ambition.
Sebastian was also part of the team that pitched, won and conceptualised an integrated campaign – India’s most exciting workplace for the Indian Army that led to a major shift in the way the youth perceive the armed forces, according to the agency.
Welcoming Sebastian on board, BBH India CCO & CEO Russell Barrett said, “George is an exceptionally talented creative individual who is also incredibly versatile. He’s as comfortable working on a 30-second commercial as he is on an AR idea. He’s as gifted at his craft when he’s writing in Hindi and English. He’s a mature creative leader who is as driven as the hungriest first-jobber. We’ve got the ‘all-inclusive-package’ with George and I’m certain he’s going to produce extremely famous, relevant and modern work for BBH India.”
George Sebastian added, “There are a few things at the core of this celebrated agency, and network at large, that strongly resonate with me. Whether it is an unabashed love for ideas, a robust culture of expression and debate, or the wonderful team of Good and Nice folks one gets to learn from. BBH is bubbling with opportunity, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Russell and all-black sheep to explode its massive potential.”
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.
