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Hamara Bajaj ad made me choose advertising

Ashwin Parthiban is currently the executive creative director at Dentsu Communications.

Ashwin Parthiban

ECD, Dentsu Communications (South)

Ashwin Parthiban is currently the executive creative director at Dentsu Communications. He is based out of Dentsu?s Bangalore office and oversees the agency?s creative function across its offices in Bangalore and Chennai.

He has over 16 years of experience in advertising and communications and has worked with several agencies such as Rediffusion Y&R and Wunderman, Dzine Interactive, RK Swamy BBDO and Fountainhead Communications. He has also been Team Lead – Content, Design and Usability at Satyam Infoway and Brand Manager at Franklin Templeton. Before Dentsu, he was vice president and senior creative director – Global Team Ford, JWT, Delhi. In this role, he led the creative function across mainline, digital and direct for Ford India. Prior to this, he led the creative team at JWT?s Chennai office.

His portfolio includes brands like Ford, Airtel, Citibank, MRF, TI Cycles, GM Pens, TTK Healthcare, Parry?s, Indian Oil, sify.com, Royal Enfield, Color Plus, Moods, Mahindra Holidays, TTK Sara Lee, Hindustan Latex, Epson and Citizen Watches.

I wish I had made these

The two ads that Parthiban loves include ?Hamara Bajaj? and ?Sar Uthake Jiyo? campaign for HDFC Standard Life. He says, ?My all-time favorite is many, many years old but I still remember almost every expression, every nuance of that ad. It is the Hamara Bajaj film. At a time before the internet, mobile phones and so-called 360, it reached out in such a simple, endearing way, and yet carried such a strong message for the brand. A proud Indian brand, gently reminding India of its own Indianness, in the face of a slew of foreign products invading the Indian two-wheeler market at the time. I was a kid when the first Hamara Bajaj campaign ran. In fact, it?s the reason I decided to make a career in advertising.?

Talking about the ?Sar Uthake Jiyo? campaign, he says, ?Beautiful insight, powerful thought. And a jingle which, even though I?m ?non Hindi-speaking?, still inspires me every time I listen to it.?

He adds, ?I?d love to have created work like this ? ads that will ring true wherever and whenever they run, ads that stand the test of time.?

Thank god, it isn?t me

Talking about the ads that he is happy that he has not worked on, he says, ?I?m happy I had nothing to do with the Times Of India ?Nakka Mukka? film. Despite its worldwide acclaim, having been born and raised in Chennai, I feel that it was an unauthentic representation of ?A Day In The Life Of Chennai? ? which is what it claimed to be. Authenticity is what one expects from a newspaper brand.?

He adds, ?I am also happy I had nothing to do with the Volkswagen Beetle ?Curves are Back? film. What a great car, what an iconic brand, what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, what an absolutely disgusting film. Actually, I?m happy not have been part of most of the VW India work, which has so far been largely gimmicky and pointless. But then, I?m sure the agency and the client had their reasons.?

My first tv ad

Parthiban?s first film was for the launch of a fairness cream brand. ?Around 30 scripts were presented before the client finally approved one, and the idea that finally made it came to me on the bike, on the way to work. In all of a minute. Then, a month later, when I walked onto the elaborate set (an entire village scene had been built from scratch), I couldn?t help but be overwhelmed at how an idea that came in a minute had become this mega production involving hundreds of people, lakhs of rupees (those days) and so much time and talent. It never ceases to amaze me, even now. And it reminds me to think responsibly,? he says.

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First published on: 05-06-2012 at 03:14 IST
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