Just Push Play

Desai, who heads Strategic Planning at McCann, is a man who Joshi refers to as his 8216;8216;partner in crime8217;8217;. Enthuses Joshi,...

Prasoon Joshi
Adman

The only way he8217;d agree to work at a desk is with his feet up on it. Prasoon Joshi, national creative director, McCann-Erickson India, is sailing on yet another Coca-Cola cruise, having just wound up the Aamir-Ashutosh Punjabi thanda matlab Coca-Cola campaign. 8216;8216;Advertising should not be taken too seriously. It8217;s a profession that demands fun,8217;8217; says Joshi, who shifted to McCann-Erickson seven months ago.

It8217;s tough to catch Joshi at work, since he8217;s either flying to some part of the country every week or is out of country once in every two months. But the travel is just a slice of the excitement, which comes with handling a few of India8217;s biggest brands 8212; Coca-Cola, Perfetti and Durex, to name just three. Back from a trip to Delhi, Joshi is all excited about a campaign on AIDS for a project undertaken by BBC and Prasar Bharti. 8216;8216;It8217;s an ongoing project, and Rajeev Menon has shot two of the campaigns,8217;8217; he adds.

Yet another Piyush Pandey prodigy, Joshi is all praises for the Ogilvy 038; Mather whiz. 8216;8216;All that I8217;ve learnt in advertising is from Piyush and Neil French,8217;8217; he says. Comparison between O038;M and McCann is inevitable. 8216;8216;O038;M has a history of 70 years in India, while the Indian branch of McCann is merely six years old,8217;8217; justifies Joshi whose move to the younger agency was propelled by Santosh Desai.

Desai, who heads Strategic Planning at McCann, is a man who Joshi refers to as his 8216;8216;partner in crime8217;8217;. Enthuses Joshi, 8216;8216;Santosh is the guy who has added some method to this madness with his pioneering work in strategic planning.8217;8217;

But there8217;s no method that can explain the chaos when deadlines loom large. 8216;8216;Even if you know your deadline date 10 days prior to the presentation, you8217;ll always end up working the night before,8217;8217; explains Joshi adding, 8216;8216;But I don8217;t like stressing my guys out.8217;8217; Joshi8217;s determination to renovate his office is a part of this de-stress process, since he hates cubicles, which seem to choke creativity. 8216;8216;I will use a lot of glass, so that people are not be cooped up in some corner of a cubicle, but observe the world around them,8217;8217; he explains.

The creative head also has strong views about the culture of an ad agency. 8216;8216;This whole business is about people and relationships, so its culture is its working force,8217;8217; he emphasises. But play doesn8217;t stop here. Amidst some cut-throat competition and clients who go for the jugular during presentations, Joshi juggles poetry.

8216;8216;My passion and profession feed on each other 8212; there8217;s no harm if there8217;s a poetic touch to advertising and poetry could do with a bit of commercialisation,8217;8217; says the man who penned the lyrics for Silk Route8217;s debut album Boond. Shubha Mudgal8217;s Abke Sawan and Man Ke Manjeere, followed and Joshi set the Bollywood ball rolling by writing the lyrics for Gaurang Doshi8217;s Aankhen. He8217;s just completed the lyrics for Kalpana Lajmi8217;s Kyon and an I-Dreams Production called Samay. 8216;8216;I have less time now,8217;8217; replies Joshi who is into maximising his spare time, whether it8217;s in the car or while he8217;s waiting at some office. 8216;8216;If you love something you just find the time,8217;8217; he reasons. Play on Joshi.