Bobby Pawar Appointed Mudra DDB's National Creative Director

MUMBAI, India, June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Mudra DDB has announced the appointment of Bobby Pawar effective immediately. Bobby recently moved back to India following a seven-year stint in the United States. He will be responsible for overseeing Mudra Advertising's creative product across the country.

Madhukar Kamath, CEO and Managing Director, Mudra DDB, is thrilled with the addition of Bobby to his team, "I couldn't have thought of a better person to lead our creative team in these interesting times. Bobby is a fine advertising mind, but more importantly, he is a creative business solutions thinker. That is critical. We have in the Mudra Group the unique advantage of an excellent marketing services network. I can't wait for Bobby to join us and help unleash our and our client's potential! Bobby comes with glowing recommendations from some of the legends in the advertising business -- our team will learn so much from him."

"Bobby has extensive experience working on both global and local brands and working at both the local and global levels. This understanding of both, coupled with his passion for creativity, makes him an outstanding addition to Mudra," said DDB Worldwide Chairman and Chief Creative Officer Bob Scarpelli. "Bobby is a really, really smart guy who thinks, as does DDB, in terms of creative business solutions, not just ads."

On his new assignment as the creative head of one of India's leading agency networks Bobby Pawar had this to say, "I have the greatest regard for what Mudra has achieved in this market so far, that coupled with my admiration for DDB made me want to lead Mudra. The combination of working with great talent and big brands in what is arguably the toughest market in the world has given me a unique perspective on work. In the States, more so than any part of the world, advertising as it is traditionally practiced is slowly failing. Most consumers have become apathetic to marketing communication and have begun to actively avoid it. This forced us to re-look at how to engage the consumer instead of merely intruding on his time. I hope to bring all that learning to bear in my new role. The challenge is exciting; this is a major opportunity."

Bobby cut his teeth at Ogilvy and Mather India. He rose quickly from senior copywriter to Creative Director and worked on award winning campaigns for Tata Safari, Tata Sierra, Kelvinator, British Airways, etc.

He is a two-time copywriter of the year (1998, 2000).

In 2000, joined Ogilvy & Mather, New York as a Creative Director. There he worked on brands like Jaguar, American Express and Kodak. He helped pitch for AT&T Wireless and was asked to run this $600 million account. He re-launched AT&T Wireless with the much talked about 'mlife' campaign. The launch spot ran on the 2002 Superbowl and it ranked in the top three in the USA Today poll. It was also picked to be in the Museum of Modern Art. Moreover, one of the follow-up spots was spoofed by Jay Leno on his show. Bobby moved to BBDO, Chicago in 2004 as Group Creative Director. He worked with Marty Orzio, the CCO, to turn around an agency that wasn't known for great work. He helped change the culture and the product. Now the shop is considered one of the hottest in the region.

He has worked directly with and learnt from some of the legends in the business - creative gurus like Neil French, Rick Boyko, Steve Hayden and Marty Orzio; planning stalwarts like Tony Wright, Chip Walker; and top notch directors like, Bryan Buckley, Tony Scott, Javier Blanco, Noam Murro, Martin Granger.

He is credited with having created some untraditional and iconic work for brands such as Wrigley's Winterfresh, Wrigley's Doublemint, LaSalle Bank, Mortgage.com, United Way and Lifesavers.

DDB Asia Pacific

DDB Asia Pacific is comprised of 22 offices in 14 countries across the Asia Pacific region. It offers a full range of marketing communications services including advertising, direct marketing, interactive, design, and sales promotion. DDB Asia Pacific is part of the DDB Worldwide communications network, with more than 206 offices in 96 countries. DDB Worldwide is a member of Omnicom Group Inc.

DDB Worldwide

DDB Worldwide (http://www.ddb.com/), twice named The Gunn Report's Most Awarded Agency Network, named the World's Top Network in Europe by The Gunn Report in 2006 which also named DDB London the Most Awarded Agency in the World. Three- time winner Adweek and Advertising Age Global Network of the Year. Number one in Creativity magazine's 2006 ranking of agencies. Four-time winner, Clio Agency Network of the Year. Winner of more awards than any other network in the history of the Cannes International Advertising Festival. Tribal DDB, named Adweek's Interactive Agency of the Year in 2006. Tribal DDB awarded Digital Campaign of the Year by Ad Age in October 2006.

Omnicom Group Inc

Omnicom Group Inc (http://www.omnicomgroup.com/) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

Mudra

The largest Indian marketing communications network, the Mudra Group boasts of a deep understanding of local consumer markets, channels and media. Its entrepreneurial zeal has resulted in accelerated growth for the brands it manages.

The Mudra Group currently comprises - Mudra Advertising, Mudra Marketing Services and Mudra Media & Content.

Mudra Advertising is the Mudra Group's brand communications offering - specializing in strategy, integrated media and creative solutions for brands. Mudra Advertising's clients include the Godrej Group, LIC, Big Bazaar, SBI, Philips, Air India, HPCL, Johnson & Johnson, Reliance ADAG, Paras, Zydus Cadila, Dabur, NDDB, Electrotherm, Times Group, HBO, Ozone Ayurvedics, United Spirits, TTK, RMKV, Madura Garments, Henkel, Jyothi Labs, Malayalam Manorama, Indian Rayon.

The Group is also one of the few agency networks in the country that offers a comprehensive suite of specialist communications services, under the Mudra Marketing Services umbrella. The specialized units include Primesite (Out of home solutions), Tribal DDB India (Interactive Marketing), Mudra Health & Lifestyle (Health & Lifestyle Marketing), Rapp Collins India (Relationship Marketing) and the leading promo marketing agency Kidstuff Promos & Events. Mudra Marketing Service's client roster includes Zee, Delhi Metro, Maruti, TVS, Hindustan Times, Pepsi, HLL, Intel, Disney, ITC, Motorola, LIC, Citibank, IIM A, Honda, Times Group, Pantaloon Group, Air France, HLFPPT, Wyeth, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson.

The Mudra Group has also built a specialist practice in media planning, negotiations and buying under the OMS (Optimum Media Solutions) brand name, which along with the content creation specialist (Tantr) and content sourcing and marketing specialist (Videotec), form the Mudra Group's Brand Integration practice. Mudra Media & Content's clients include Reliance ADAG, Paras, Olympus, Epson, ICI paints, LIC, Dabur, Air India, Spice, Grasim, Amway, Ravissant and Nickelodeon.

These are supported by the widest national network amongst all agencies, with a footprint covering 600 over towns and localized operations across 14 base offices.

Mudra with its team of specialist marketing services is uniquely positioned to offer its clients Total Branding Solutions- media rich, brand- aligned communication programmes - that are differentiated, innovative and sustainable.

With a portfolio of some of India's biggest brands, Mudra has won several awards, national and international, for its creativity and contribution to the advertising world.

Apart from being its founder, Mudra is also the driving force behind MICA, India's premier Post Graduate Institution for Integrated Marketing Communications Management.