Call it luck, Call it anything, but ‘Vispy’ and ‘Debu’ were destined to meet and create wonder together
One is extremely funny. The other is no less in terms of wit too. We tag them as the most effervescent duo (not literally!) of the Indian ad industry. Meet Vistasp Hodiwala (Vispy), VP & Senior CD and Debu Purkayastha, VP & CD, JWT, who believe that finding the right creative partner is 90% your luck and 10% your partner’s. Here are the iconic Lead India campaign creators!
How did you two pair up as a team?
VH: It was in 2007, when I was looking for a change after a rigorous stint at McCann Erickson. At that time, JWT had just acquired Agnello Dias and was looking for fresh talent to supplement their talented core. Aggie called me and requested me to meet Debu. I didn’t think twice.
DP: Senthil and I were a team. After he left for Bangalore, I was looking for someone to partner me. I met a few, but nothing fructified until I met Vispy. There was an instant connection as he was quite honest and spoke from his heart. Plus, he was bawa and I love bawas!
You two had struggled with your first campaign as a team. How was your experience working on that?
VH: Our first piece of work did not see the light of the day. It was for The Times of India, and it got shelved. It was like hitting the ground running because with TOI you have to be on the ball as soon as the brief is delivered. And then, there’s Aggie’s breathlessly healthy competition to contend with. However, our first proper work together which broke in the media was the incredibly awarded Lead India campaign. Needless to say, it won us the first ever Grand Prix for Indian Advertising and the First Integrated Lion at Cannes.
How was your industry experience before you two paired up successfully?
DP: I started as a Jr. Visualiser in Triton in 1992. A year later, I moved to Bangalore HTA. But soon returned to Bombay and joined Saatchi & Saatchi. Some crazy bug bit me there and I teamed up with a friend to start Digital Nirvana, a digital multimedia design studio way ahead of its time, just to call it quits soon. Then, in short stints, I worked with RK Swamy BBDO, Channel V, STAR TV, Hongkong, till 9/11 happened and I decided to come back to India. I stayed undecided for a few days trying out art direction for TVCs, direct marketing, CRM and web designing. Finally, advertising beckoned again and I walked into JWT.
VH: Materials Management, the subject I specialised in, wasn’t exactly getting my life’s juices flowing smoothly. And one fine day, when yet another corrupt supplier’s charms got too much for me to resist, I wrote out in longhand an application (nah, a plea) to the head of an agency, which was growing at a breathtaking 236%, to hire me as a trainee writer. It was 1994 and I started my advertising carrier in Percept. Then I worked with many mavericks like Murzban Shroff and Mohandas KK. Later I worked with Prasoon Joshi and Agnello Dias; two immensely successful creative directors, who couldn’t be more dissimilar in their approaches.
One is extremely funny. The other is no less in terms of wit too. We tag them as the most effervescent duo (not literally!) of the Indian ad industry. Meet Vistasp Hodiwala (Vispy), VP & Senior CD and Debu Purkayastha, VP & CD, JWT, who believe that finding the right creative partner is 90% your luck and 10% your partner’s. Here are the iconic Lead India campaign creators!
How did you two pair up as a team?
VH: It was in 2007, when I was looking for a change after a rigorous stint at McCann Erickson. At that time, JWT had just acquired Agnello Dias and was looking for fresh talent to supplement their talented core. Aggie called me and requested me to meet Debu. I didn’t think twice.
DP: Senthil and I were a team. After he left for Bangalore, I was looking for someone to partner me. I met a few, but nothing fructified until I met Vispy. There was an instant connection as he was quite honest and spoke from his heart. Plus, he was bawa and I love bawas!
You two had struggled with your first campaign as a team. How was your experience working on that?
VH: Our first piece of work did not see the light of the day. It was for The Times of India, and it got shelved. It was like hitting the ground running because with TOI you have to be on the ball as soon as the brief is delivered. And then, there’s Aggie’s breathlessly healthy competition to contend with. However, our first proper work together which broke in the media was the incredibly awarded Lead India campaign. Needless to say, it won us the first ever Grand Prix for Indian Advertising and the First Integrated Lion at Cannes.
How was your industry experience before you two paired up successfully?
DP: I started as a Jr. Visualiser in Triton in 1992. A year later, I moved to Bangalore HTA. But soon returned to Bombay and joined Saatchi & Saatchi. Some crazy bug bit me there and I teamed up with a friend to start Digital Nirvana, a digital multimedia design studio way ahead of its time, just to call it quits soon. Then, in short stints, I worked with RK Swamy BBDO, Channel V, STAR TV, Hongkong, till 9/11 happened and I decided to come back to India. I stayed undecided for a few days trying out art direction for TVCs, direct marketing, CRM and web designing. Finally, advertising beckoned again and I walked into JWT.
VH: Materials Management, the subject I specialised in, wasn’t exactly getting my life’s juices flowing smoothly. And one fine day, when yet another corrupt supplier’s charms got too much for me to resist, I wrote out in longhand an application (nah, a plea) to the head of an agency, which was growing at a breathtaking 236%, to hire me as a trainee writer. It was 1994 and I started my advertising carrier in Percept. Then I worked with many mavericks like Murzban Shroff and Mohandas KK. Later I worked with Prasoon Joshi and Agnello Dias; two immensely successful creative directors, who couldn’t be more dissimilar in their approaches.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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