Adland Rockstars: Anajana Gopal

Campaign India Team, 20 July, 2009

Mumbai

This week's Adland Rockstar is Anajana Gopal, a copywriter with Percept/H.
 
1. Why did you get into advertising?
Are you sure you want to ask me this particularly delectable question? Do you have that many pages to fill, ‘cause if I answer it, like seriously answer it with everything I’ve to say, you’ll run out of pages. Ok, so you’re going to bribe me with almond coffee…make it two! There… deal! I’ll answer it as briefly as possible.
I never got into advertising; advertising always did run in my blood. What a clichéd reply! Well I could go on and on ranting about the whys and hows, but the stark reality is that I think it’s one field that allows me to be me. What’s more, the more I am me the better it is for me.

2. What is it that you like best about your job?
It's not that an asylum is my favourite place, but yes, I adore madness. Often I’ve eagerly watched many creative ideas sprout to life from chaos. That’s what I like the best about it. The noise; the ‘oh-so-impatient’ client servicing; the demanding clients; the crazy guys on the creative side…they all play such priceless roles in keeping my love for advertising alive.

3. If you were stuck in a desert island, what is the one thing that you would like to have with you?
Firstly, why do people feel getting stuck in a desert island is a bad thing? I’d think about mummies, scarabs and lost Egyptian treasure like the Pharaoh’s pajamas or something. There, see? A bit of optimism can help you find an oasis in the desert.
Now then, isn’t it obvious? What I’d love to have on a desert island, is a stark white sheet of paper and a black ball pen. So that I can write a mantra and invoke my very own super genie who’d grant my every wish.

4. Which is the one book that you can re-read any number of times?
My chequebook…just kidding! My personal favorite would be ‘ The deathly hallows’ by J.K Rowling. Simply loved the magical realm the author so painstakingly erected through the entire Harry Potter series. Every page was and still is, an inspiration. More than the story the engaging yet simple style of writing proved to be a real page-turner. 

5. Who is the one person in advertising that you would like to have dinner with?
The ZooZoos...who else! I would really give my notepad (almost like giving my right hand) for a night out with the ad world’s latest sensation.

6. Who is the one person outside of advertising that you would like to have dinner with?
The one person I’d seriously, fervently and desperately want to meet would be someone even the birds and bees know about. Can’t you guess? I’m talking about God. Well, apart from the other million questions, one of them would be… has David Ogilvy been reborn as a woman?

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