Gururaj Rao is a Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter based in Mumbai. He has spent around twenty years in advertising, sixteen of which were with agencies like Ogilvy, Publicis, DDB, Havas Worldwide and JWT. Rubbing shoulders with some phenomenally talented people over those years not only gave him a sore shoulder but also taught him the power of ideas.

In his two-decade career, Guru has worked on brands across multiple categories. Some of them are Pidilite, Cadbury 5 Star, Netflix, Nerolac Paints, Zepto, Skoda, Japan Airlines, Sony Sports, Volkswagen and Lionsgate Play, among others.

His work has won several major awards, including at the Clios, Abby Awards, Effies, Mirchi Kaan and the YoungGuns. He also won a nationwide ad script writing competition in 2012, judged by the top advertising minds in the country, the result of which was a free trip to the Cannes International Advertising Festival. That win made him realise that an idea can literally take you places 😉

Apart from advertising, Guru enjoys watching movies and test cricket, reading, travelling and hiking in the Himalayas. He also has a weakness for Pav Bhaji.