I wish I had made these

Juhi Chaturvedi’s two favourite ads include Silent National Anthem, created by Mudra and Ogilvy?s Cadbury Dairy Milk?s ?Shubh Aarambh? series. She says, ?From the work done in the recent past, it?s the Silent National Anthem that made me say that I wish I had thought of it. It?s an extraordinary idea. It sent out the message loud and clear that everyone has the right to celebrate patriotism. It?s a feeling and it doesn?t depend on any language, region, caste, religion, or even disability. The way the kids with hearing and speech disabilities have acted in it, or should I say, have sung the national anthem, it really moved me and I know it had an impact on a lot of other Indians too. It gave me goosebumps. It left me silent, and my eyes, moist. I really wish I had thought of it.?

Talking about the ‘Shubh Aarambh’ series, she says, ?They are such charming stories told in 30 seconds. Each ad brings a smile on your face and you go like ?awwwwwww?? Specially the ?Jeans? ad. The hesitation of a 45-year-old woman when she wears a pair of jeans for the first time, the way she is hiding behind the door and the way her husband offers her a Dairy Milk, it was just too sweet. The idea is very fresh. Very sweet. Wish I had thought of it.?

Thank god, it isn?t me

Talking about the two ads she does not like, Chaturvedi says, ?The Nissan CAAAAAAAAR ad is definitely one of the ads I am HAAAAAPPPPPPYYYYYY that I have not done. I mean why? Like WHYYYYYY??? I do understand the pressure of thinking something different all the time and I go through this too but?. Another one is the Zatak deo ad. The ad with the dentist. All I can say is that I am thankful that I have not done this or any of the other Zatak ads.?

My first ad

Chaturvedi’s first ad was for Sprite ?Do jhaadi ke peeche?. ?It was when I was with Ogilvy. It was a spoof on Mountain Dew. I was an art director then. The brief was given to every body in the team. I had this idea and shared it with my boss, Abhijit Awasthi (now national creative director at Ogilvy. He found it quite witty. He helped me make it better as I didn?t have much experience then. We presented to the client along with other ideas but this one was ‘the’ one for them. So yes, before I knew it, we were on location, shooting it. I was thrilled. It still is one of my best ones in my reel,? she says.

Juhi Chaturvedi is currently working for Bates Asia as its executive creative director. Her most recent claim to fame is being the writer of the new movie Vicky Donor directed by Shoojit Sircar.

She has been in advertising for about 14 years. She joined Ogilvy Delhi in 1997 and in 1999 moved to its Bombay office. She worked with Ogilvy till 2008 and in between spent about two years in Ogilvy Bangalore. After this, she joined McCann Erickson as creative director in Bombay. She has also had a short stint at Lowe.

Her portfolio includes brands such as Sprite, Fanta, Stayfree, Huggies, Cadbury, Titan, HUL, Tata AIG, Tang, MTR Foods, KFC, Colgate and Asian Paints.