Ogilvy gets Mahesh Gharat & Azazul Haque as ECDs for Bangalore ops

Ogilvy Bangalore has got a creative shot in the arm with Mahesh Gharat and Azazul Haque, from the network’s Mumbai office. Gharat and Haque will head the Ogilvy Bangalore creative team in their new roles as Executive Creative Directors.

With 38 years of work experience between them, the two bring to the table a legacy of experience across major brands, to an already thriving Bangalore team.

Gharat has been with Ogilvy for nine years and has worked on brands such as Rajasthan Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Asian Paints, Bajaj, Star Plus (Satyamev Jayate), ICICI, Mattel, Spice Mobiles, WWF and Brooke Bond Red Label. For his work, he has been awarded more than 50 national and international awards that include Cannes Lions, Asia Pacific, New York Festival, AME and Effies.

Having worked on brands like Domino’s Pizza, Nestlé Maggi and Nescafe, Dabur, Maruti Suzuki, Havells and Nokia, Haque comes with unbridled enthusiasm and a fresh perspective. At Ogilvy, he has been responsible for creating some memorable work, including campaigns for Spice Mobile ‘Milaye Sapnon Se’, Satyamev Jayate, Asian Paints, Milton, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Automobiles and recently the Rajasthan Tourism campaign.

Poran Malani, President, Ogilvy South, commented, “Azaz and Mahesh, though highly experienced, are young at heart and their energy is highly infectious. It takes something special to excite an already charged up team, and Azaz and Mahesh have done exactly that.”

Rajiv Rao, National Creative Director, Ogilvy India, added here, “Mahesh and Azaz are one of the rare breed of copy-art teams that’s hard to find today. They have lots of things in common, including a crazy passion for clothes, shoes, and of course, advertising. They are fantastic team players and excellent captains. Ogilvy Bangalore, with some of the best brands in the country, is the perfect place for them to lead, inspire and make a huge impact.”

On their new roles, Azazul Haque and Mahesh Gharat, ECDs, Ogilvy Bangalore, said, “Ogilvy Bangalore has always been a great place to work. I am looking forward to the challenge and excitement of working on all of Ogilvy Bangalore’s brands, some of which are Titan, Lenovo, Amazon, ITC Bingo and Yippee Noodles, Fortune Oil, Allen Solly, IBM, MTR. So when Piyush called and said, ‘You need to make Ogilvy Bangalore rock!’, the magnitude of the opportunity resounded in my mind and continues to do so. Our attempt would be to help these brands become bigger by creating work that is effective and memorable.”

Commenting on the development, Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman & Creative Director, Ogilvy South Asia, said, “I am delighted that Azaz and Mahesh have taken the creative leadership role in Bangalore. Bangalore is a key office for Ogilvy & Mather India with leading existing clients and lots of potential ones. Both Azaz and Mahesh understand the traditional Indian consumer and the emerging one. I look forward to some exciting and effective work from our Bangalore office.”