Ayshwarya Sharma, brand strategy partner, Leo Burnett India, likes to be known as a nerd, a creative, a strategist, an SDG champion, a musician, or a project lead. Sharma, leads a multi-disciplinary team called Apollo 11 at the agency that incubates ideas of the future.
One of her impactful works is ‘The Missing Chapter’ for P&G’s menstrual hygiene brand Whisper. While not directly a tech solution, it uses the power of the right platforms to start a movement, a call to arms asking for a chapter on menstruation to be included in curriculum, and stop the cycle of girls dropping out from school. The campaign won the Sustainable Development Goals Grand Prix at Cannes, following to win the Grand Prix at Epica, The Glass Award for Change at Spikes a Graphite D&AD.
Sharma was also one of the creative minds behind Lay’s ‘Smart Farm’ campaign which aimed at democratising technology and helping farmers fight climate change. This business transformation idea has shed light on India’s sustainability initiatives across PepsiCo Global, apart from raking in 6 metals at Cannes 2023.
Sharma truly believes, that one is only as good as their last piece of work. She and her team at Leo Burnett India have worked on, The Water Sustainability Score, a first of its kind dynamic report card that creates a transparency between brands and people, empowering them with the knowledge of how water positive our brands and organisations truly are. This initiative not only rates, but also helps brands with end-to-end solutions that help them offset their score and take stronger actions to becoming more water positive.
Much like Sharma, Durgesh Pragati Satish Amble, creative director, Leo Burnett India, has a rich portfolio. From representing India at the Asia Adfest Young Lotus to being honoured with ‘Art Director of the year’ by the International Advertising Association, from picking 50 plus metals at several domestic and international awards like Cannes Lion International festival of creativity, D&Ad, Spikes Asia, The One Club Awards, The Clio, Goafest, and IAA Awards to creating memorable campaigns including conceptualising and designing the India’s first jersey inspired by fans, Amble has multiple achievements in his kitty.
For Amble’s family, the proudest moment was the Indian cricket team wearing the jersey which he designed on TV. Amble is also the brains behind the most loved Oreo #bringback2011 campaign. He believed that Oreo’s launch in 2011 had something to do with India’s win in 2011. Which is why, his team and he launched Oreo again so that India wins the cup.
About YoungGuns
Storyboard18 is bullish on India’s creative industry and the talent putting it on the map. To kick off our campaign to fuel the industry further, we’ve launched YoungGuns, an initiative to celebrate new ideas, bright talent, fearless creativity and an exciting future. It’s critical to recognize, celebrate, encourage and support young, brave and bold brand makers if we want to propel the industry forward. YoungGuns is an annual recognition program that puts creativity and talent back in the spotlight.
Here’s how we did it
Storyboard18’s YoungGuns is a celebration of talent – future-ready young professionals in advertising and marketing who are driving businesses and brands forward and bringing glory to India globally. YoungGuns – Class of 2023 was put together by our editorial teams through a selection process based on work/campaigns that have won global, Indian and regional awards in the past two years, giving India even greater creative clout the world over and setting a benchmark for the industry.
Read More:Bullish on India’s creative industry: The YoungGuns are coming today