Manas Paradkar is an Associate Creative Director/Copywriter at an independent creative agency called The BAM Connection in New York. He’s originally from Mumbai, where he got a foot in the door in advertising and built his nascent copywriting chops. He has a master’s in English from Mumbai University and another in Advertising from Boston University.

He has always seen himself as a translator. He grew up in a multilingual household, where translating and switching between languages for different family members was the norm. Growing up, he pursued French and Spanish, and went on to officially study translation in Paris. Currently as a copywriter on his third continent, he still works in translation. Only now, he translates brands into emotions.

He’s passionate about women’s equity and social justice issues and tries to work on projects that help advance the conversation. In his free time, he loves to travel, cook, and write about world politics.

Why are you into Advertising?

I’ve loved telling stories for as long as I can remember. I always got a kick from entertaining people, connecting with them through a compelling message. In college I first learned about advertising as a legit job. So, I started working towards it. Luckily, I was hired as a copywriter right out of post-grad. Within two weeks of working at that agency, I knew this is what I wanted to do. Advertising helps me be creative on a timer. It gives me a great outlet to tell brand stories. But it also keeps me on my toes, jumping between different projects. I love the pace and the instant creative gratification. There are great days and there are bad days. But in advertising, there’s never a dull day.

Did you attend school for fine art or design or Communications?

I studied English Literature at St. Xavier’s College and then Mumbai University. Then I got another master’s in advertising from Boston University.

Tell us about your many Awards? How has that impacted your career? Do clients listen to you more?

I’ve been lucky to get my work recognized along the way. But most clients don’t care about trophies. Awards help make great case studies, but for a lot of people, they’re just the cherry on the cake. Clients listen because over the years, I’ve learned to mine for insights, say the things that will solve their marketing challenge, collaborate with them as a team to grow their business, not because I have awards. 

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
MP: Unfortunately not. In India, we tend to celebrate the sciences so much more. I was always in awe of that family member who became a successful doctor. Or the engineer nobody could stop raving about. But there wasn’t anyone doing the kind of work that interested me.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Advertising?

It has to be my mom. I call her Amma. She was an Economics professor who later became a business development executive in marketing. Although she doesn’t work in advertising, she encouraged me to embrace my flair for writing and storytelling. She pushed me to go into liberal arts and pursue advertising as a profession.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

From looking at great work. Every time I find myself being stared down by a blank page, I go to advertising award sites and ad magazines. Nothing gets my creative juices flowing like a pang of envy. Great work makes me insecure. And insecurity, I’ve come to realize, is a powerful motivator.

What do you think of the state of Print advertising right now. At least here in India, the released work is most often too sad?

Yeah, it’s unfortunate. As a student, I always studied print ads. They encapsulate the true meaning of advertising. Pithy copy with a compelling visual trying to incite you to buy something. I believe print advertising is a lost/dying art. I hope it makes a comeback of some sort.

If there is one thing you could change in your place of work, what would that be?

If I could, I’d inculcate more ambition in people. A raw hunger to do amazing work. Don’t get me wrong, everyone wants to do great work. But not everyone is willing to go the few extra miles in search of that great work. And I see that especially with Gen Z who are all about balance, mental health, boundaries. All of that is great, but sometimes, great work needs a little sacrifice, a little extra perseverance, a couple of extra hours of overtime. People tend to settle for good enough. If I could instill in people, I would make them see that good enough is never great.

Do you think brands whose advertising wins awards, do well in the market?

I don’t think this can be seen through a black and white lens. There have been a lot of people who win awards for their spec work, work that never really ran. But recently, there have also been a lot of brands consistently delivering work that’s effective as well as award-winning. So, I don’t think it has to be this dichotomy. For us in advertising, the real test is bolstering sales. If that doesn’t happen, you can’t hide behind the glimmer of awards.

Tell us about your favourite digital campaign that you worked on?

I think I love our recent work for an eyedrop. They were launching a new drop that protects eyes from all kinds of light. We realized there is an uptick in love for the horror genre among millennials and Gen Z. So, we dabbled in horror through our campaign “Be Afraid of the… Light.” Because conventionally everyone fears the dark, but for our eyes the scariest thing is exposure to light. We shot a commercial in our in-house studio, launched on Meta, YouTube, and TikTok. And because I love horror, I had extra fun doing all of it!

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? 
Firstly, keep looking at great work. Scour the net. Find creatives whose work you find intriguing—be it artists, writers, ad peeps, influencers. Follow them. You can’t just keep waiting for the muse to appear out of thin air. You have to search for her. 
Secondly, talk to different people. Listen to them. Collaborate with them. Exposing yourself to as many voices as possible will add countless colors to your palette of creativity.

Any Desi Creatives that inspire you?

Recently I’ve been fanboy-ing over Adyasha Roy Tomar at McCann. Her LinkedIn posts give me life. They are insightful and genuine. She hits a nerve every time she writes about our lives as creatives in advertising. Another person I’ve been a huge fan of is Shantesh Row who’s the Chief Creative Officer of Slant Advertising in Dubai.

Who would you like to take out for dinner?

Hillary Rodham Clinton. I’m a fan.

What’s on your iPod? Spotify?

Lots of Sufjan Stevens, Dua Lipa, Alec Benjamin, and Troye Sivan.

Mac or PC?

Mac all the way!

What’s your Twitter Handle? Instagram?

Instagram is @manasparadkar23 
 Twitter is @manasparadkar