I wish I had made these

?There are two Indian ads that really stand out for me ? one for its brilliant craft, and the other for its brilliant insight on domestic violence,? says Ryan Menezes. Those two ads are Kerala Tourism ? ?Your moment is waiting? and the Bell Bajao campaign. Talking about the Kerala Tourism ad, he says, ?This masterpiece by Stark and Prakash Varma stopped me in my tracks from the first frame to the last. We often hear the excuse that Indian ads are not as good as international ones because we lack the craft skills. This ad effectively rubbishes such theories. Its sheer aesthetic brilliance, unhurried pace, soul-stirring music and goose bump producing moments stay with you long after it?s over.?

He adds, ?The other ad that really made an impact on me was the campaign against domestic violence, Bell Bajao, by Ogilvy India. This campaign is one of the few in the public service space that not only addresses the problem, but also empowers the viewer with a plausible, simple solution. Shot with gut-wrenching reality, and perfectly cast, these films are a great example of the right way to do a public service campaign.?

Thank god, it isn?t me

Two ads that Menezes cannot stand are the L’Oreal Total Repair ad and the latest Vodafone Facebook phone commercial. He says, ?I hate the preaching and the saccharine sweetness of all the L?Oreal Total Repair five ads. While the production values are good, the boring, done-to-death testimonials about five reasons to change my shampoo give me more than five reasons to change the channel.?

?Another campaign that drives me up the wall is the Vodafone ?Facebook? ad. Again, flawless production and direction, but it goes on forever, and reminds me of high school open day stage performances. You have to sit through it, and you?re happy when it?s over.?

My first ad

Menezes’ first ever TV commercial was a campaign for Gold Spot, while he was at Publicis Ambience. Talking about the campaign, he says, ?This was a series of really low budget 20-second ads, featuring different characters, who all had ?the Zing?. It was a scary but eventually exciting experience, as there was no director due to budget constraints, and I had to literally direct the ads. Fortunately, the DOP (director of photography) then was the now legendary Ashok Mehta, and everything turned out great!?

Menezes started his career as an art director at Ogilvy India. He has worked with various agencies such as Publicis Ambience, Vyas Giannetti Creative, McCann Erickson and SSC&B Lintas. While at SSC&B Lintas, he managed to get India’s first Gold Cannes Lion. After this, he had a brief stint at Lowe, East Africa. He then returned to India and worked at Saatchi & Saatchi, and then at Mudra India as its national creative director.

Menezes’ portfolio includes brands such as Jet Airways, Etisalat DB Telecom, Nirlep, Raymond Parx, Nirav Modi Jewellery, Indian Cricket League, Aditya Birla Group, The Park Group of Hotels, Reliance Mobile, Hyundai, Coca-Cola, Thums Up, Smirnoff, Birla Sun Life Insurance, Philips and BBC. At Percept/H, he recently won the Fedex account for the region.

Menezes has numerous national and international awards to his credit. This year, he was a member of the Cyber Jury at Cannes Lions.