Ad Land’s Young Guns: Gazal Jain, FCB Ulka

Her love for innovation and spontaneity has never let Gazal Jain, Copy Supervisor, FCB Ulka, be satisfied with a conventional job. Everything about the creative world fascinates Jain, letting her take the liberty to take anything and everything in thoughts, experiences, and relationships and converting that into something meaningful. 

Jain started her career as a copy intern with Ogilvy 6 years back, post which she has been learning and exploring the world of advertising and has never looked back. 

She loves working in a team, making conversations with people, ideating with them and successfully bringing jobs to completion. 

What does it takes to climb up the ladder in advertising? Here’s Gazal Jain in her own words... 

How did you get into the role you are serving?
I have always been creatively inclined. Everything about the creative world fascinates me, taking liberty to take anything and everything in thoughts, experiences, and relationships and convert them in to something meaningful. 

So here I am, doing what I think I do best, because I don’t see myself doing anything else. 

What particular skill sets do you think you bring to the table?
Deriving communication from everyday conversation that in turn leads to an idea is what I believe in. And that is truly my strongest skill set. 

One campaign that you have worked on that you are particularly proud of? Please take us through the making of the campaign.
I am personally very proud of the work we did for Cadbury’s Bournvita Quiz Contest, called ‘India Plays BQC’. This campaign celebrated the 40 glorious years of BQC and its return to television on Colors from August 4, 2013. This digital campaign was in sync with Cadbury Bournvita’s mainline campaign – ‘Tayari Jeet Ki’. 

I remember as a child being glued to my television set to catch up with Derek O’Brien, who hosted the Bournvita Quiz Contest. So, when I was asked to be part of this project, I was super excited and it’s one of the reasons why this campaign is very special to me! 

We created a microsite showcasing BQC’s best questions over the years and a mobile app which enabled users to prepare for the show and then participate in real time with their Facebook or Twitter logins. Viewers had to answer as soon as quizmaster Derek O’Brien asked his questions to the children during the quiz show. 

Along with this, we also ran a Twitter contest – #IndiaPlaysBQC – every week, which trended for 9 weeks straight till the end of the show. Here, we encouraged people to play the practice sessions on the app by running contests and promoting the ‘Tayyari Jeet Ki’ angle as well. 

Also Read: Ad land’s Young Guns: Sanjeeda Khan, iCubesWire

Icons in advertising you look up to and how they have influenced you and your work?
Over the years that I have been in this industry, I can safely say that it’s not just one person who is responsible for the outcome of a project. It’s a collective effort of the team. Having said that, for me, I think everybody has a unique way of expressing creativity and I am influenced by them every single day. 

What are the five most productive things that you do in your everyday routine?

• Making “Me time”
• Watching shows – because with the variety of shows that have come out, we are bound to get some creative ideas from there
• Music
• Taking a longer route while travelling back and forth from work – gives me time to think before the madness at work begins and helps me relax before reaching home
• Sketching – well I love scribbling and making my own art, which I call “Shit I Do’, it really relaxes me

Do you think a career in digital advertising is a viable one in the long term?
I know it is for the next few years, at least till the time I plan to work. God knows, with newer technology coming every now and then, digital might get overshadowed. 

What does it take to succeed in a career like advertising?
Success for everyone is very different. For me, as long as I enjoy what I’m doing (obviously with the occasional rantings and late nights in office), I’m happy. Having said that, for anyone to succeed, I think it’s just about being responsible towards something, because when you’re responsible, you automatically treat that project like your life and will do anything to do the best you can. 

What would be your advice to youngsters planning to enter this industry?
Have fun. Make mistakes. That’s the only way to learn. Find the right set of people to work with, observe, learn and get inspired. 

Also Read: Ad land’s Young Guns: Nishant Malsisaria, Dentsu Webchutney

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
I have no idea. I cannot predict the future. But for now, I’m happy being where I am. 

Is there any agency/ organisation that you would like to work with in the future?
Like I said earlier, I’m happy being where I am for now. I want to enjoy this and then see where I go from here.

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