Creative Minds: Aarushi Chandel's brave new world

Name: Aarushi Chandel

Origin: Bangalore, India

Places lived/worked: Bangalore, India

Pronouns: She/her

CV:

Creative controller, Brave New World, Bangalore, India (2018 to present, formerly copwriter)

1. How did you end up being a creative?

A little serendipity. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I do believe this industry to be a sanctuary for the malcontented, closested creative/reject—in the nicest way possible, of course! Dabbled in writing all my life, followed by a series of ill-fitting jobs starting with a stint in journalism (not ideal for an idealist) and an editor for a publishing house (too much of reading what people write and not enough writing). Cut to a copy internship around six years ago and here we are. Besides the writing, I also found an outlet for my love of films and filmmaking. Win, win.

2. What's your favourite piece of work in your portfolio?

Furlenco invented a new species for their online furniture rental brand, and created a memorable campaign rooted in strong strategic insight. Simply put, when you have a home you absolutely love, you’ll almost never want to leave. The campaign was launched with a series of films that follow different kinds of 'home sapiens', all connected by one common thread—their Furlenco-furnished homes. The best part of this campaign however, lies in its boundless social media and on-ground possibilities, which the brand has only just begun to explore.

3. What's your favourite piece of work created by someone else?

Uff, a tough one. But if I had to I’d say Stabilo's ‘Highlight the remarkable’ campaign. Not a campaign that most people will cite, but it's one that I always go back to. Just one of those strokes- -of-genius kinds of campaigns that you wish had your name under it. 

4. What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

A life in advertising!

5. Who do you most admire?

Luckily I have this rehearsed. Here’s my list—Anthony Bourdain, Salman Rushdie, and Christopher Hitchens.

6.  What career did you think you'd have as a kid?

Thanks to my childhood obsession with Nat Geo, I wanted to be an Egyptologist.

7. Tell us about an artist (any medium) that we've probably never heard of.

Don Hertzfeldt. He’s not as obscure as he used to be considering the Academy Award nominations and has a Wikipedia page, but he deserves all the recognition. Here’s a lovely quote by him.

8. What makes you really angry?

Apathy. It’s criminal.

9. What makes you really happy?

Dogs. Need I say more?

10. Early riser or night owl?

A through and through night owl.

11. Extrovert or introvert?

Depends. I swing both ways on that spectrum.