By Our Staff
So we called him and sang the first lines of two popular Hindi film songs:
:: Yeh kya hua, kaise hua, kyun hua, and
:: Kidhar jaa rahe ho, kahaan jaa rahe ho, humme toh bataa do…
He just gave us trademark laugh. And said: “kidhar nahin”. As for the decision to quit, well, he said it’s two months’ old and his three-month notice expires next month. That’s September.
First, let’s look at the communique we received from Havas India this morning:
“Bobby Pawar, Chairman and CCO of Havas India has decided to step down from his role. He joined the network in November 2018. A much-revered advertising legend, Bobby has been a part of the advertising industry for over three decades. Following this, Bobby has decided to move away from advertising. He will, however, be a part of Havas India officially till September 2023 and will continue to consult on Havas’ clients and projects as and when necessary.
““There are some who will think there is some hanky-panky to my stepping away. I understand the
appeal of it. It certainly makes for more interesting gossip sessions. The truth is, sometimes life leads
you to a crossroad. Or, in my case, it is death. Over the last year, I lost way too many people I love,
way too early. All of them had their ‘one day I will do this or that’. This made me realise that I had to
find what I would love to do that ‘one day’ and do it right now. Yeah, it is hard to walk away from
what I have loved for thirty-one years. But I have always chosen to do the hard thing. Like, take on
the challenges of changing the course of the agencies I have helmed. Now it’s time to do that with
my own life. What is certain though, is that writing will be a huge part of whatever I dive into next. I
am nothing if not a storyteller, a craftsman who chisels prose with a pen,” said Bobby.
“Looking back at his time at Havas India, Bobby said, “The concept of Havas Village is what excited me
the most. Moreover, both Rana and I were entrusted with the freedom to build and run Havas India
from ground up, like entrepreneurs. Something I had not experienced before. It takes two to tango,
and with a friend like Rana, who really is more of family than a friend, it was easy. And today, I can
proudly say that we have built a brand-led, digital-first ecosystem, the results of which are here for
all to see. Havas India has undergone an unprecedented transformation and has seen exponential
growth over the last five years. We have made our place in the big league, and we are here to stay. I
am grateful to Yannick Bollore for his faith in us, to our teams across all the companies of Havas
India for giving their all to the mission, and Rana, you know how I feel about you.”
“Speaking on Bobby’s departure, Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas India, said, “Ours is truly a Yin and
Yang partnership. Especially when you know your creative half for nearly three decades, it becomes
a seamless, productive, and truly memorable journey. Bobby helped me rebuild Havas’ presence in
India, and with his creative prowess and reputation, he completely overhauled the Creative vertical
of the network. With his trademark humour and quirks, Bobby made Havas India more than just a
place to work. Some goodbyes are bittersweet because while I will not see him around at work, he
will continue to be an inextricable part of my life. I wish him all the very best for this new chapter of
his life.””
Before joining Havas, Pawar spent five-and-a-half years at Publicis, and earlier, he was Chief Creative Officer of JWT and CCO of the DDB Mudra group. Pawar was in the United States for seven years where he worked with Ogilvy, New York and BBDO, Chicago. One of his films ran on the Super Bowl, got featured in the MoMA and nominated for an Emmy.
So we asked some ad agency watchers what they think of the development. Well, over the last few months, Havas has ensured it has beefed up its top deck. So we shouldn’t expect old (and new) clients to run away. However, in Pawar’s exit, they believe that the network (or should we say ‘village’) has lost a star campaigner. Creative agencies are all about creative whizkids, and not necessarily about the suits. Hence, Barua will need to ensure that the agency doesn’t get a setback on that score.
And what about Pawar’s next move? Could he joining namesakes Sharad and Ajit and their respective political dispensations? Of course not. Is he, like some other agency captains, turn independent? Or is going to make films, write stuff for OTT or perhaps write a book. Well, the last of these is definitely on the cards. In fact, if all goes well, his first maiden work of fiction may be released next year.