Russell Barrett, Chief Creative Officer of TBWA, Mandie van der Merwe, Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu based in Sydney, Australia, Pallavi Chakravarti, Founder and CCO of Fundamental, and Rajdeepak Das, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett, South Asia & Chairman, Creative Council, Publicis Groupe, South Asia join as Jury Chairs of Static Print, Direct, Diversity, Inclusion and Equality, and Film.

Russell Barrett, Chief Creative Officer of TBWA, has been appointed to chair the Static Print category on the Jury of the Abby One Show Awards 2023.

Russell joined TBWA after nearly 13 years as CCO and CEO of BBH. Russell began his advertising career in 1996, following a brief but illuminating stint as a journalist.

During his 27-year career, he has worked on some of the world’s most iconic brands, launching several of them in the Indian market. Russell’s work has been recognized by Google Chrome, UNIQLO, Red Bull, Uber, Tinder, Johnnie Walker, Vaseline, Mahindra Racing, TVS, JSW Paints, Philips, and Tic Tac.

Russell has received numerous Gold Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, D&Ad, Spikes, and almost every major international and Indian award, including two Grand Prix at the Abby One Show Goafest. He has been named one of the world’s top ten copywriters, has served on numerous juries, and has been invited to speak at universities in India and the Middle East.

Russell says “The Abby One Show, is a show that holds a special place in most of our hearts. It has been the definitive Indian award show for decades. I recall, if you won big at the Abby’s you were sure to win globally. It was also the only show that recognized ideas that were rooted in Indian culture and references. Today, Abby’s has transformed itself to match the changing advertising landscape ensuring that it stays relevant and includes creative tech, platform thinking, and digital creativity. I’m excited to be a part of the jury again.”

Sir John Hegarty, Piyush Pandey, Tom Robbins, John Irving, Gary Larson, and his two sons are among his influences.

Mandie van der Merwe joins Abby One Show Awards 2023 as Jury Chair of the Direct category

Mandie is the Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu based in Sydney, Australia. Over the last 18 years, she has worked on 3 continents and been recognized over 200 times at local and international award shows, including Clios, Cannes, D&AD, One Show, and more.

Prior to Dentsu, Mandie was the Executive Creative Director of M&C Saatchi Australia. After graduating from art school, Mandie, much to the chagrin of her purist art friends, sold her soul to advertising. But, over time, she’s bought it back. The payment has been made, painstakingly, with an idea that we can change business and social problems with great ideas and the care to execute them beautifully. It is this belief that has guided her work on Tourism Australia, Fox Sports, Nando’s, Tourism New Zealand, MINI, and Go Gentle Australia.

Mandie’s work on Go Gentle Australia was recently nominated as one of the Australian Campaigns of the Decade. Beyond the world of advertising, Mandie is an enthusiastic ceramicist and hopes, one day, to own a kiln and have the time to use it.

Pallavi Chakravarti, Founder and CCO of Fundamental has been appointed in the Jury of Abby One Show Awards to chair the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality category.

Pallavi ventured into the brave new world of the Indies in March 2023. In the business for nearly two decades now, across Saatchi, Grey, JWT, Taproot Dentsu, and DDB Mudra, her client roster over these years includes Meta, Facebook, Airtel, Instagram, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Uber, J&J, Unilever, P&G and local giants like Times of India, Marico, ITC and Star Sports.

Pallavi has been featured among the 200 most-awarded ECDs in 2021 in The Drum World Creative Rankings and closer home, in the 2022 edition of Wonder Women 100 by indiantelevesion.com, a list celebrating leaders in creative arts.

From shows like Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Adfest Asia Pacific, Spikes Asia, Kyoorius, and Abbys One Show to effectiveness awards like Effies and Appies, her work has been recognized everywhere. With hundreds of metals to her credit, Pallavi was also the recipient of the Best Ad Screenplay plaque at the prestigious 2015 Dadasaheb Phalke Film Festival. She has served on many juries over the years – at Cannes Lions, Dubai Lynx, New York Festival, Global Awards, Gerety Awards, Kyoorius Awards, and the Abbys, across categories like Film, Outdoor, Direct, Radio, and Integrated Advertising.

Pallavi says “I believe the Abby partnership with The One Show has added more credence to what was already one of the most coveted award shows in India.”

Rajdeepak Das, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett, South Asia & Chairman, Creative Council, Publicis Groupe, South Asia joins Abby One Show Awards 2023 as Jury Chair of Film (Below 1 min)

“Creativity has the power to change Human behavior” and that is the philosophy Raj lives by every day. He is redefining the industry by using creativity with design and technology to find human solutions for the biggest brands because what’s good for people is good for brands. His body of work reflects his vision for creativity.

Recently Leo Burnett was announced as the “APAC Creative Agency of the Year” at Spikes 2023. His work for P&G Whisper – Missing Chapter has won him multiple Grand Prix– a campaign which is very close to his heart as it makes a real impact on society by getting the chapter on periods in school books and helping 23 million girls stay in school.

From creating India’s first online micro-financing system for business giants TATA, to innovating “Roads that Honk” – world’s first anti-collusion road management system for a Petroleum giant, which made him win India’s first innovation LION. In 2015 the team with him saved India’s biggest national treasure – a warship, from getting redundant.

His work ‘Whisper, Touch the Pickle’ won the inaugural Cannes Glass Lions Grand Prix for breaking the age old menstruation taboo in India.

Raj is also the only creative in advertising featured in the Netflix Docuseries – Creative Indians Season 4 – a series which showcases the most talented Indians from every creative field.

Raj has also won multiple Grand Prix and metals at Cannes, One Show, D&AD, Spikes Asia, Abby’s One Show, Clio. But he believes his biggest creation till date is Apollo 11 a specialised division of Leo Burnett India, consisting of what he calls ‘the mutant creatives’. Team of young people in their 20’s with backgrounds like aerospace engineering, product designers, data analyst and environment scientists solving human and brand problems with him.

Raj says “The past few years as India is taking centre stage in global creativity it is important to set best in class benchmarks for ourselves. I am excited to have been a part of Abby One Show Awards both as a part of the awards and jury since last year. This year, I am looking forward to see impactful, brave and thoughtful work.”

The Abby Awards will be held on May 24-26 during Goafest 2023.