MAM
Dentsu Webchutney appoints Pravin Sutar as executive creative director
MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Pravin Sutar as executive creative director.
He will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office. His last stint was with Leo Burnett, where he handled some of the biggest brands in the country including HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Amazon and Park Avenue.
With over 17 years of cross-category, cross-platform experience along with a diverse set of exposure spanning marketing, digital and creative, Sutar is all set to lead the charge for the agency.
Dentsu Webchutney EVP and branch head Nishi Kant says, “It is great to have someone of Pravin’s experience onboard in the digital environment. His enthusiasm for his craft, I’m hoping will spread infectiously through the agency.”
Commenting on his joining Sutar mentions, “We all say advertising is moving towards an integration between mainline and digital. I’ve always thought that the best way to create madness is to be a part of the method and that brings me to my switch from close to two decades in mainline to a future in digital.”
He further adds, “There’s no denying that mainline has its own charm and I feel grateful for having carried that understanding with me. For a while now, I’ve seen a similar charm in digital as well. The scope of being relevant through content, engaging through craft and clever with innovations, is exciting to say the least. I find Dentsu Webchutney to be the most cutting edge and innovative digital agency. I look forward to being able to contribute and learn as we move forward.”
Brands
MS Dhoni joins Cars24’s Crashfree India as Goodwill Ambassador
Cricketing legend lends his voice to the fight against road fatalities in India.
MUMBAI: MS Dhoni has traded his cricket whites for a new kind of captaincy, one that aims to save lives on India’s roads. The former India captain has been appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Crashfree India, Cars24’s national road safety initiative. The move brings one of the country’s most trusted and disciplined public figures to a cause that desperately needs both credibility and urgency.
India continues to record the highest number of traffic fatalities globally. In 2024 alone, 1,80,000 people lost their lives on Indian roads, one every three minutes. The country has roughly 1% of the world’s vehicles but accounts for 11 per cent of global road deaths. Shockingly, 66 per cent of those killed were between 18 and 34 years old, the most productive age group, and nearly 10,000 were school students. Seven in ten fatalities were linked to overspeeding.
Dhoni, known for his calm judgment under pressure, did not mince words when speaking about the issue. “A vehicle gives you freedom, but it also gives you responsibility,” he said. “On our roads, too many people still see safety as a rule to follow only when someone is watching. That mindset has cost us far too much.”
He added: “We already know what is going wrong. We know how many lives are being lost. What we need now is not more excuses. We need more responsibility, more discipline, and more respect for life.”
For Cars24, the association goes beyond a celebrity endorsement. Founder and CEO Vikram Chopra described Dhoni’s involvement as a game-changer: “His understanding of Indian roads is grounded in lived experience. He holds us to a higher standard and his involvement challenges us to push this mission further.”
Crashfree India aims to shift the national conversation on road safety from reaction to prevention, from accepting deaths as routine to treating them as the urgent failure they are. With Dhoni on board, the initiative gains a powerful, trusted voice that transcends statistics and connects directly with millions of Indians.
In a country where dangerous driving is too often mistaken for confidence, Dhoni’s message is refreshingly clear: true strength lies in control, discipline, and respect for life. When one of India’s most respected captains decides to lead this fight, the conversation suddenly becomes much harder to ignore.
The roads just got a new captain. And this time, the goal is not to win a trophy but to save lives.
