Rediff gathers fresh talent for LG win

Rediffusion DY&R has brought in Mrinal Dasgupta and Varun Arora as executive creative directors on the LG business, which it won in January after the consumer electronics giant went through a global realignment.

Dasgupta joins the agency from Cheil Communications, where he was creative director, working primarily on the Samsung account. He has worked on the Samsung account for six years in all, both in India and in Seoul (South Korea) while at Cheil, and also while he was at Triton.

He started his career in 1995 at FCB-Ulka, where he began as a trainee in the creative function. After two years there, he moved out as art director to join O&M. In 1999, he joined Triton as senior art director, and stepped out after three years as creative group head. In 2002, Dasgupta shifted base to Seoul, as creative director at Cheil Communications. While there, he looked after the creative duties for Samsung, focusing on campaigns for various Samsung products in Southeast Asia. He moved back to India in 2006 in the same capacity and continued looking after the Samsung account. Dasgupta has also worked on Godfrey Phillips’ Four Square, Apollo Tyres and Outlook magazine. In Seoul, he also worked on Seoul Milk.

He says, “I like working with a lot of people, so I’m back – I was missing all of that. It was a great opportunity to learn and perform every function – research, planning and servicing, apart from creative. The personal hands-on experience needed a different kind of leadership, and my new role comprises a different kind of leadership. Things look good at LG. An integrated approach towards the brand and the realisation of the role of each player is what I bring to the table.”

Arora began his career in advertising in 1991 as a trainee with Contract in 1991. He was at the agency for five years, and stepped out as creative supervisor. In 1996, he went to the US for two years to study films. He took up a job with RR Partners in 1998, and worked there for two years in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles. In 2000, he joined Leo Burnett in San Francisco, where he served as creative group head for two years. Two years later, he joined Mad Dogs and Englishmen in San Francisco in the same capacity. In 2004, he returned to India and joined Bates Enterprise (then Enterprise Nexus) as executive creative director. In 2006, he moved to Innocean in the same role. Aqua Communications happened in 2007. He has worked on businesses such as NIIT, Hyatt, Las Vegas (tourism), Victoria’s Secret, Levi’s, Microsoft, Whirlpool, General Motors, Timesjobs.com, Straps, Spice and Times Business Solutions.

Sandeep Madan, executive vice-president and branch head, Rediff Delhi, says, “It’s fantastic to have the duo on board as creative leaders on Team LG at the agency. Bringing a plethora of industry and category experience, their energy and commitment will be vital for Rediff’s success as the brand’s communication partner.”