Last year, Saurav Das joined the 20^th ADFEST festival to take part in its acclaimed Young Lotus program. Das is a Senior Copywriter and Ogilvy Mumbai, while his teammate was Rahil Shah, also from Ogilvy Mumbai.
 

Can you tell me about the city where you live?
 
Mumbai is a maximum city by which I mean everything is choc-a-block 24/7. For example, the traffic at 2am is the same as 2pm – static. It’s a city of 20 million people from multiple races, religions, strata and cultures. Yet it functions like a well-oiled machine all the time. The city absorbs you and makes you a ‘Mumbaikar’, and once you become one, you automatically function better, faster and more effectively. You learn to find creative routes in everything, even grocery shopping and daily commutes. Examples of ingenuity and creativity are all around us on different levels.
 

What was it like to take part in the Young Lotus competition last year?
 
It was an eye opening experience for someone who’s pretty new to the world of advertising. It was a chance to meet amazing new people, learn about cultures, meet industry heroes and absorb knowledge imparted by the best in the business.
 

What was the most memorable thing you learned?
 
I remember Wain Choi (Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer at Cheil Worldwide) saying something along the lines of: ‘Cracking the insight is the most critical part of our job, it’s the most useful yet the rarest thing to find’. Also I learned how technology and the power of advertising can be used to bring about change for good in the lives of people all around the world, it was pretty inspiring.
 

You only had 24 hours to respond to a brief during the Young Lotus competition. What was the toughest part?
 
Cracking an insight surely. But staying locked up in my room and making the presentation while there was so much to explore outside in wonderful Pattaya was tough too. Thai energy drinks and great food helped a lot. Also, my partner and I were really focussed on winning, we wanted to go back home heroes.
 

Has being a Young Lotus competitor opened any doors?
 
Absolutely, I was pretty fresh in the Advertising world when I participated in Young Lotus 2017. I absorbed lots from everyone I met, from competitors to legends of the industry. Both I and my partner managed to crack some great digital films after our return to India using knowledge we gained from the experience. The talks and workshops are brilliant, and I would recommend the experience to anyone who wants to make their mark in the industry.
 

Where do you work now?
 
I work for Ogilvy Mumbai as a senior copywriter.
 

Do you have any career goals for 2018?
 
#1. Do great work that can impress me first.
 
#2. Use the power of Advertising and technology to do good.
 

Do you have a hero or mentor who inspires you?
 
My boss is my hero: talks to me about everything, says ‘no’ to first drafts every time, throws me in the deep end and in turn helps me learn every day while pushing me to do better every time.
 


www.ogilvyindia.com