N. Shatrujeet
Advertising

Pushpinder Singh leaves O&M to join Ambience as national CD

Singh, who will be a part of Ambience’s Group Management Board, will report to Elsie Nanji, vice-chairman and chief creative officer, Ambience Publicis

In a development of considerable significance, Pushpinder Singh, senior creative director at O&M, Mumbai, has put in his papers at the agency, and is set to join Ambience Publicis as national creative director. Speaking to agencyfaqs! late last evening, Singh confirmed the news of his departure from O&M to Ambience.

Singh, who will be a part of the agency's Group Management Board, will report to Elsie Nanji, vice-chairman and chief creative officer, Ambience Publicis. "While Elsie is responsible for the overall health of the two Publicis brands in India (Ambience and Publicis India), my responsibility will be looking after Ambience's product," he says. He does not, however, reveal the precise timeframe within which he will be moving to assume the national responsibilities at Ambience. "I have to first meet the commitments I have made to my clients (at Ogilvy) for whom I have slogged so hard all this while," he laughs. "However, I shall move to Ambience shortly."

Singh's move out of O&M is not entirely unexpected, considering rumours of various agencies courting him kept filtering in from time to time. Far from denying this, Singh admits that he had been approached by different agencies. "Quite a few agencies wanted me to come on board and revamp their creative departments, but none of them offered me a clear mandate and clear responsibilities," he says. "In effect, what it meant was that I would have ended up fighting the culture of the place, which is a big task. All that made Ambience's offer all the more tempting."

Detailing his reasons for accepting the offer from Ambience, Singh says, "Ambience has always been an attractive destination for the simple reason that its growth has happened on the back of its work. The agency's true worth has always been undervalued by the industry, while the reality is that it is one of the most creative agencies in the country. The DNA was just right, and I saw that putting in a bit of aggression is all that is called for. It was a nice opportunity, and I took it."

The Ambience assignment marks the third significant stage in Singh career. While he counts his two-and-a-half-year stints at Trikaya Grey ("when it was white hot") and Leo Burnett India as his "formative years", it was during his five-year tenure at O&M that Singh gained prominence as creative director, winning 22 Abbys in four years. Having previously accounted for a bronze Clio for McDonald's, last year, he added a gold Lion (for the ‘Cancer cures smoking' ad for the Cancer Patients Aid Association) to his fast-increasing haul of awards. Singh's portfolio comprises brands that include Tata Safari, SBI Life, Amaron, Navbharat Times, Glycodin and, most recently, Close-up.

An immediate and direct outcome of Singh's departure from Ogilvy would be the break in his association with long-time partner Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar. Singh is not oblivious to the fact, of course. "I have been very lucky when it comes to art partners, whether it was Bhupal Ramnathkar and Paddy (Santosh Padhi) at Burnett, or Sagar at O&M," he says. "I hope my streak of good luck with art partners continues at Ambience." Specific to his partnership with Mahabaleshwarkar, he adds, "I truly believe I am the luckiest guy around to have found a partner of Sagar's nature and caliber. I do hope we will be able to work together as a team someday." © 2004 agencyfaqs!

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com