In the first half of the interview, which we carried yesterday, Hital Pandya talked about his dream campaigns.

Now, in the second half of the interview, JWT Advertising's 27-year-old creative director discusses the scope the advertising industry offers today's youngsters.

Hital has just two words for youngsters looking to make it in the advertising industry -- 'simplicity' and 'commitment'.

In terms of an educational background in advertising, he says, "If you're looking to get into the arts aspect of advertising, you need to have some sense of art and design. You can opt for a course in applied, commercial or fine arts. Copywriters, on the other hand, need to have good language skills and an ability to come up with original ideas that will sit well with the common man -- you know, they have to have a local flavour, so to speak."

Opting for the former, Hital's work was first noticed even before he embarked upon a full-time career. "While studying at Xavier's (St Xavier's College, Mumbai), I teamed up with a friend to shoot a short public service film on the railways. We conceptualised it, directed it and shot it all ourselves, and it was nominated for the Public Service Awards in the year 2001. It didn't win, though!"

Hital then moved on to his first job as a junior advertising executive at one of India's most recognised agencies -- Everest Advertising. Under creative director Uday Parkar and his successor Milind Dahimade, he began to learn about basic design, and to work on standard assignments.

Image: A 'Slim vs Slim' print ad Hital worked on for Levi's. Inset: Hital Pandya
Text: Sanaya Dalal
Photographs/ videos: Courtesy JWT