MAM
dentsu intl consolidates creative business under Dentsu Creative; names Ajay Gahlaut group CCO
Mumbai: dentsu international global CEO Wendy Clark and global CCO Fred Levron have announced the launch of global creative network Dentsu Creative at Cannes Lions. Ajay Gahlaut has been named group chief creative officer and will be in charge of media and CXM besides Dentsu Creative in India.
Dentsu Creative will serve as the sole creative network for dentsu international working with clients around the globe. It will bring together the best of creative, media and CXM. dentsu international has united its creative agencies including DentsuMB, 360i and Isobar, and expanded its entertainment, earned attention and experience capabilities.
“The launch is part of a broader strategy aimed at simplifying client engagement and injecting creativity in everything dentsu international does, all backed by a depth and breadth of creative capabilities that are unparalleled in the market,” said the statement.
Led by Fred Levron, who joined dentsu international as chief creative officer in November 2021 and has demonstrated the transformative power of creativity throughout his acclaimed career; Dentsu Creative will be comprised of 9,000 creative experts in 46 markets connected to 37,000 media and CXM experts across dentsu international and collaborate closely with dentsu’s creative team in Japan. In the near future, further leadership announcements will be made as Dentsu Creative brings in the next generation of strategic, production, business and creative leaders.
“If you had the chance to build a brand new global creative network designed for the modern world, what would it look like? That is what we are answering with the launch of Dentsu Creative,” said dentsu international chief creative officer Fred Levron. “Clients, talent and the industry at large are craving for a change: in the way we build brands, in the way we collaborate and, in the role, we give to creativity. If the current players have set the rules of the previous century, we have the ambition to set the rules for the decades to come.”
“At dentsu, we’re building a modern agency network fuelled by horizontal creativity – a creativity designed to unify our people, their capabilities and our delivery for clients,” said dentsu international global CEO Wendy Clark. “We’re fortunate to draw from our Japanese heritage steeped in a relentless focus on craft, innovation and creativity. This legacy inspired our vision for modern creativity that was born in Japan and raised in a connected world. Dentsu Creative offers a simplified, modern creative proposition that answers clients’ needs for us to break down agency silos and inefficiencies and seamlessly connect our talent around the right client opportunities at the right time.”
“Dentsu has over the years, time and again demonstrated innovation through creativity. With Dentsu Creative, we will unite our creative talent under one brand; this will further simplify client engagements and strengthen our creative prowess,” said Dentsu Creative CEO India Amit Wadhwa. “Moving with times is important and now is the time to transform brands and businesses through the lens of Modern Creativity. Dentsu Creative ensures the best output for our clients and the best opportunities for our people, which is the most exciting part for me.”
“With Dentsu Creative, we will transform the creative face of dentsu as a network. As we add modern creativity to all the disciplines within the network and combine them, we will create a new-age powerhouse,” said Ajay Gahlaut. “Our aim is to bring profit and purpose together for our clients and our people. This is what the industry has been waiting for, and we are the forerunners of this breakthrough. Exciting times ahead!”
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.
