AME's esteemed Grand Jury members understand what it takes to deliver creative and strategic campaigns that move the needle for brands.These globally respected, award-winning executives bring innovation, industry expertise, and a 360-degree global perspective to the judging panel. Their industry experience and strategic expertise provide them with an understanding of the partnership between creativity and effectiveness. Their global reputations as both industry leaders and award-winning marketers guarantee that all entries submitted into the AME Awards are evaluated with the utmost of care and consideration.

2025 Grand Jury member, John Thangaraj is Havas Creative Network India's Chief Strategy Officer where he is responsible for driving the strategic mandate of the creative network for agencies including Havas Creative India, Havas CX India, Conran Design Mumbai, Ekino, and Havas People India.

John comes armed to the AME Grand Jury with 23 years of experience as a multi-functional marketing communications strategist across consumer research, marketing, advertising and media. With a postgraduate degree in Marketing, Advertising, and Communication, he began his career in PR in 2002.

In the interview below John shares his perspective on storytelling, the evolution of purpose driven advertising, the challenges in maintaining effectiveness across global markets and much more.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards essential for measuring impact and industry growth?

John Thangaraj: Sometimes, I feel we genuinely forget what our purpose as an industry truly is. It isn’t to win awards, or to humble brag on LinkedIn or so do work that “makes us happy”. As an industry, we exist to help brands succeed and grow. When brands grow, so do we. And at a time when our industry is under more pressure than ever before, it is absolutely critical for us to never lose sight of that. The more effective the work, the stronger our industry becomes. And in today’s attention economy, effectiveness is directly linked to creativity. This is where awards like the AME fit in- they acknowledge and reward the reason we all have jobs in the first place. As a strategist, there are very few awards that I hold in higher esteem.

AME Awards: How do you see purpose-driven advertising evolving in terms of effectiveness? What are some strategies brands are using to resonate with consumers?

John Thangaraj: The world we live in is more fractured and polarized than ever before. One person’s purpose is another’s pointless. Consumers are seeing through greenwashing, rainbow washing and every other sort of washing. Today, brands need to be meaningful more than purposeful. Societal purpose needs to give way to individual meaning. Building relevance and resonance at a more personal, intimate level is likely to do far more for brand preference and loyalty than saving the whales half a world away (I love whales, I hasten to add). Purpose has traditionally operated at a lofty, 30,000-feet level. We need to bring it down to 3 feet. Begin ground up, stay close to your consumer and infuse everything you do with deep, personal meaning.

AME Awards: In your experience, what role does storytelling play in the effectiveness of a campaign? Are there elements of narrative or structure that make campaigns especially memorable or impactful?

John Thangaraj: I’ve often heard the phrase ‘storytelling is dead’ in the context of advertising. But if that were true, people wouldn’t be binge-watching Netflix and flocking to cinemas to watch movies on the big screen. Storytelling is as old as humanity and will never go away. As humans, we are all fundamentally emotional- even when we think we’re not (thank you, Daniel Kahneman). Storytelling taps into emotion and as such, is the most powerful way of gaining attention, generating interest, driving preference and ensuring long term loyalty. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, “People may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel”. When we tell stories, we make people feel. And when they feel, they act.

AME Awards: What challenges do brands face in maintaining effectiveness across diverse global markets, and how do you approach creating strategies that resonate across different cultures?

John Thangaraj: I’ve always been a big believer in culture-first strategy, which makes this question all the more relevant in today’s digitally-connected world. Where does global culture end and local culture begin? Can there be an overlap between the two? I believe the answer lies in being able to clearly discern between human insight and cultural context. Human insights- at least powerful ones- are usually universal and powerfully resonant across the world. The delivery and communication of work built around this insight is what requires a strong cultural context. For example, “Dirt is Good” around the world, but here in India- where poor sanitation and hygiene lead to the deaths of thousands of children every year- dirt is very much the enemy. So, in India, “Stains are Good”. A subtle yet crucial difference, which again highlights the golden rule of global advertising- own a universal human insight but wrap it in a localized cultural context before presenting it to your consumers.