Mudra South ropes in Vipul Thakkar as ECD

Mudra South has appointed Vipul Thakkar as executive creative director. He steps into the shoes of Joono Simon, who quit recently to join Leo Burnett, Colombo as chief creative officer.

At Mudra, Thakkar will spearhead the creative function for Mudra's southern outfits in Kochi, Chennai and Bengaluru.

He moves in from Ogilvy Bengaluru, where he worked for more than two years as senior creative director.

Speaking to afaqs!, Thakkar says, "At Ogilvy, I enjoyed working on brands such as Bingo, Titan, Allen Solly, MTR Foods and Vodafone, amongst others," adding that at Mudra, his immediate mandate includes aggressively pitching for new businesses, improving the standard of existing accounts (such as Amrutanjan, Peter England, Cycle Agarbatti, Ashok Leyland, Base Terminal Batteries and Jockey) and actively sourcing new creative talent. "Today, everything has become pan-India and a lot of talent is available in the market; I'd like to tap into it," he says.

He expresses his appreciation particularly for the communication of brand Jockey, and says that he looks forward to mobilising a 360 degree communication effort for the same - perhaps a campaign that includes a lot of TV advertising.

Thakkar adds that the thing that impresses him most about Mudra is the consistency with which it has been creating innovative and effective advertising in the recent past. "Obviously, this has been possible because Mudra, unlike any other agency, creates truly integrated communication solutions for its brands," he says. He further adds that he is looking forward to some exceptional work in 2011.

Ranji Cherian, executive vice-president and head, Mudra South says in a press statement, "We are delighted that Thakkar is joining us. He brings with him strong creative leadership. His work speaks volumes about his gift. He is a wonderful human being - full of life. I am sure he will add great value for our clients."