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
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.
