MUMBAI – Publicis India has strengthened its creative function with the appointment of Ramakrishnan Hariharan as the Head of Creative. Ram, as he is fondly known by his peers, will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Bobby Pawar, MD & CCO – South Asia, Publicis India.
As the creative head of Mumbai, Ram will manage and lend his creative know-how on some notable brands of the agency including Zee, Lakme, HDFC MF, Skoda, Citibank, etc. He will work closely with the teams and the leadership and assist in carving out a unique creative identity for the brands that he will manage.
Ram joins Publicis from Ogilvy India where he was the Senior Creative Director.
A creative veteran with an enviable experience spanning more than 18 years, Ram has been associated with some key brands across multiple agencies in India. His most notable works include launch of Savlon antiseptic range and JSW Cement, campaigns for Amazon devices including Kindle and FireTV Stick, Taj Mahal Tea, etc. Prior to Ogilvy, Ram has also been associated with Lowe Lintas, Everest Brand Solutions, Leo Burnett, Vyas Gianetti Creative etc.
Commenting on the appointment, Bobby Pawar, MD & Chief Creative Officer – South Asia, Publicis India said: “Creatively, the Mumbai office has been on a roll for a while, with great work on Ambuja Cement, Nerolac, HDFC Mutual Funds, Skoda, Zee and more. Ram comes to bat at the right time. He is not just a great creative guy who is adept at traditional and non-traditional ideas, he is also the kind of leader people rally behind. I am sure he will help us raise our game a few notches.”
Welcoming Ram on board, Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director, Publicis India said: “Ram has been the face behind some memorable campaigns in the recent past, and it will be great to see him bring that creative spark across most of our work at Publicis. We are certain that under his leadership, the teams will imbibe a great creative culture and churn out an enviable body of work that will end up winning multiple laurels. We welcome him to the agency and look forward to seeing some great work from him soon.”
Sharing his views on joining the agency, Ram said: “Publicis has done some outstanding work in the past and is truly geared for more success. Bobby is like a mentor to me, and I am fortunate to work closely with him in shaping up the creative culture here. We have clients who believe in us and a robust brand-planning and account-management team driving those businesses. What more can a creative person ask for.”
Ram is no stranger to awards and many of his works have gone on to win top honours across prominent award shows. He has been the recipient of many awards across festivals like Abby Awards, Clio Awards, Cannes Lions, Adfest, Goafest, Kyoorius Awards, Effie India, D&AD, One Show, Spikes Asia etc.
Apart from donning the creative hat, Ram is also an avid music producer and goes by the name – VUCA. He’s also had a successful stint as a punk rock band artist while in college and loves to explore nature trails when free.
