Start Young, Lead Bold: Guthli Ad Fest’s Vision for Creativity

The Guthli Ad Fest 2024, led by Dr. Prateesh Nair, Founder and CEO of Miles SOBA & Agency M, offered an innovative mix of academic insight and practical creativity at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

Honoring Legends, Inspiring Futures

The festival, themed “Celebrating Pops and Pandey,” paid tribute to Padma Shri Piyush Pandey and KV Sridhar while promoting Miles SOBA’s cutting-edge Ed-Work Pedagogy, designed to bridge academia and industry for students.

Day 1: Empowering with Knowledge

The Miles Conclave brought over 100 universities together. Esteemed speakers, including Shirsha Guha Thakurta, Rajeev Lakshman, Bharat Dabholkar, and Shantesh Row, inspired with talks on education reform, women’s leadership, and creative storytelling. Dr. Prateesh Nair and Varun Jain spotlighted the transformative vision of Miles SOBA.

Day 2: Wisdom from Industry Icons

Day 2’s fireside chats captivated audiences. Piyush Pandey and Prasoon Pandey explored advertising’s evolution with Devaiah Bopanna, while KV Sridhar and Santosh Padhi delved into campaign strategies with Kainaz Karmakar. Josy Paul’s session, “Creativity in the Classroom,” encouraged fresh creative thinking.

Interactive masterclasses included Cyrus Broacha’s humorous storytelling, Tanya Nambiar’s voice branding, and Studio Blo’s AI-centric workshop by Dipankar Mukherjee, Rishabh Suri, and Joel James. A panel featuring Sneha Iype, Mandar Natekar, OR Radhakrishnan, Shantesh Row, Kashif Memon, and Partho Sengupta provided practical insights for future creatives.

Day 3: Celebrating Success and Creativity

The grand finale saw awards for categories like Times of India’s Print, Lahori Zeera’s Ad Film, Nargis Dutt Foundation’s Public Service Film, Toy Bank’s Logo Design, Rapido’s Radio, Audible’s Social Media category, and Fab India’s Best Use of AI. Over 2,000 attendees witnessed inspirational words from Piyush Pandey and KV Sridhar.

The Pops and Pandey Scholarship, awarded in collaboration with the Nargis Dutt Foundation, supported six promising students, exemplifying the festival’s mission to nurture talent. Street plays and rap battles brought cultural vibrancy to the day.

Miles SOBA: Crafting Industry-Ready Leaders

With programs in Branding & Advertising, Digital Business, and Entrepreneurship, Miles SOBA equips students with the tools to excel.

Dr. Prateesh Nair concluded, “The Guthli Ad Fest has ignited a wave of innovation, and we can’t wait to see how these young minds transform the industry.”