MAM
Publicis India appoints Amit Shankar as new national creative director in Delhi
MUMBAI: Publicis India has appointed Amit Shankar as a new national creative director in Delhi. He will replace the former head of creative Nitin Pradhan who quit the agency. Shankar will report to the Publicis India managing director and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar.
Pawar said, “Over the last few years, our Delhi office has created some of the most talked about work for our biggest brands. Amit comes in at the right time. His mandate is to keep raising the creative bar and partner me in leading the agency into the new age of creativity. Given his talent, passion and pedigree I’m sure he will do great here.”
Commenting on the appointment, Publicis India managing director Srija Chatterjee said “Amit joins us at an opportune time with our Delhi office witnessing some high-profile action with some key new business wins. His sharp creative reasoning and ability to throw ideas at you on a quick-fire basis is what makes him a talent to watch out for. We’re glad to have him into our fold and look forward to Delhi becoming a strong creative hotshop under his tutelage.”
Before joining Publicis India he worked with J Walter Thompson-Gurgaon where he was senior vice president & ECD. Shankar will work towards scaling up the creative offering from New Delhi and provide effective and transformational solutions to a host of brands across categories including Maggi, Nestle, Cera, SpiceJet, Ralco Tyres etc.
Commenting on his role, Shankar said, “I’m quite excited about joining Publicis India. Whatever I do here, I want to keep creativity at the heart of it. I believe that in today’s dynamic marketing landscape two things are important – a great supply of disruptive ideas and speed of execution. I want to bring these to the agency. I’m also a big believer in the power of momentum. If we start doing good work, better things follow.
In his 21-year-young advertising stint, he has worked with leading agencies like Grey (including Trikaya), Contract and J. Walter Thompson. Microsoft Windows XP, Domino’s Pizza, NIIT, Honda Cars, Honda Two Wheelers, Hyundai, General Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Jaypee Cement, Pedigree, GlaxoSmithKline, Proctor & Gamble, FujiFilm, National Geographic, HeroMoto Corp, Times of India, Nestle, ITC, India Today, Government of India, Whirlpool, SpiceJet, Hindustan Times and Revlon are some of the marquee brands he has contributed to. He is equally proud of nurturing challenger brands like Intex Mobiles, Creambell ice Cream, Kwality Dairy Best, Manforce, SetWet Deodorants, Franke Faber and Jubilant Organosys.
In his earlier leadership role as an ECD, Amit is widely credited with reigniting the creative department of Grey, Delhi virtually from the scratch and bagging the office’s first Cannes Lions and Ad fest metals. And, bringing in over 15 new brands into the agency’s fold.
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
