Ravi Deshpande joins Contract as Chief Creative Officer

Ravi Deshpande, who had quit Lemon recently, has joined Contract Advertising as the Chief Creative Officer.

Confirming Deshpande's appointment, Jagdip Bakshi, CEO, Contract Advertising, says, “Ravi has had a long and intimate relationship with Contract since 1987. He has been a part of crafting Contract's unique creative identity.”

Bakshi adds, “Contract has always attracted the best creative minds in the country and Ravi's return is a home-coming that all of us at the agency welcome.”

During Deshpande's earlier stint with Contract, the agency had won over 400 awards for creative excellence in prestigious national and international fora such as Cannes, British D&AD and the Art Directors' Club, New York.

Contract was the Agency of the Year thrice at the Advertising & Marketing national awards as well as Agency of the Year at the Abbys in 1999. In his years at Contract, Deshpande was involved with over 300 campaigns. Most fondly, he remembers Chicklet's - 'It works', Phillips Storm and Serenade and Bajaj Sunny Zip.

"Creative excellence is not just about winning awards," says Deshpande. "For advertising to be relevant, it must ensure that consumers connect with our clients' brands." On his return to Contract, he says, "The sincerity with which I was asked to return was irresistible. As is the desire to work with some of the best young talent in the country. I'm confident that we will add sparkle and make a a clear and perceptible difference to our clients' work immediately."

In the brief years that Deshpande was away, he helped set up Lemon in 2001. Some of his best work at Lemon include Standard Chartered Mutual Fund's 'Retire early' campaign, Cadbury Delite - 'Dudh se dosti kar lo', and the recent success of 'Zoom' Television. © 2005 agencyfaqs!