MAM
Dentsu stories create HarperCollins books
MUMBAI: Harper Collins India celebrates 25 years in India through a film that celebrates books. The campaign consists of a film that shows the journey of a novel. The novel titled ‘Journeys Never End’ exchanges hands through the film.
The film starts with an old man holding the novel whilst traveling in a bus. As the bus stops at a church, he forgets the novel behind. A young man notices the book and picks it up to give it to him but the bus leaves. We see a young woman board the same bus and take the seat adjacent to the young man. She notices the book in the young man’s hands. Seeing her interested in the book, the young man hands it to her and leaves as his stop comes.
What she finds written on the first page of the novel gives the film an unexpected twist.
The film ends with supers,“Stories create books. Books create stories”and the HarperCollins India logo.
The campaign was launched at the Jaipur Literature Festival, 2017. The film launches on social media on January 20.
Says Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO HarperCollins India, “We made this short film to celebrate our lifelong passion for storytelling. Something that simply reaffirmed the power of stories and the fact that books open up a world of unimaginable possibilities. And in Taproot Dentsuwe found the perfect partner. Narayan’s love for the written word and Titus’ spontaneous creative impulse were the perfect combination. We all have a story and we love stories – and we thought that this was a great way to say it!”
“In the advertising business, we keep talking about how we are all story-tellers. Here was an intriguing brief that had us create a story about stories, without the story-teller intruding. When we asked Ananth ‘What do you want to happen as a result of this?’ he said, “The outcome I want is for the viewer to say ‘I want to pick up a book now!’ after seeing the film.” The insight was—in retrospect—very simple. Each of us is a story-creator, sometimes not knowing that’s what we are, mostly not knowing what triggers await us around the corner. That’s the basic reason books appeal to us: they tell the stories we believe we could have created. After all, our lives are a series of stories,” said Narayan Devanathan, group strategy officer, Dentsu India.
“HarperCollins is such an iconic brand with about 200 years of history. It was a great experience to work on this brand. Ananth’s brief took me back to my literature days. Books contain stories. But I thought there are stories that exist outside the books as well. That’s how the line came up. Books create stories. Several stories emerged from this line. We just decided to break the campaign with the Firoza one,”said Titus Upputuru, Creative Head, Taproot Dentsu Gurgaon.
MAM
Infectious Advertising promotes Siddhartha Singh to CEO and managing partner
Leadership reshuffle sees Nisha Singhania shift focus to strategy and growth
MUMBAI: Infectious Advertising has elevated Siddhartha Singh to chief executive officer and managing partner, marking a key leadership transition at the independent agency.
Singh, who previously served as chief operating officer, has been credited with strengthening the agency’s operational framework and deepening client relationships during a phase of sustained growth. His elevation signals a continued push towards integrating strategy and creativity while scaling the business.
As part of the reshuffle, Nisha Singhania, co-founder and managing partner, will step away from day-to-day executive responsibilities to focus on strategic initiatives and the agency’s next growth phase.
Infectious Advertising co-founders and managing partners Nisha Singhania and Ramanuj Shastry said, “Siddhartha understands both the ambition and the soul of this agency. This elevation reflects the trust he has earned over the years.”
Infectious Advertising chief executive officer Siddhartha Singh said, “Infectious has always been about creating work that people care about. I’m humbled by the trust and excited to lead the agency at a time when there is a significant opportunity to create real impact.”
In his new role, Singh will work closely with the founders to steer the agency’s next phase, with a focus on deeper strategic integration, long-term client partnerships, and continued investment in talent and culture.
The transition underscores the agency’s emphasis on internal leadership development as it looks to build a future-ready organisation anchored in its core values.
