During her recent India visit, Debbi Vandeven, global chief creative officer, VML, reflected on the agency's evolving creative vision in the wake of its merger with Wunderman Thompson. Vandeven, who has been with VML for 25 years, is no stranger to agency integration, having previously led successful mergers with Y&R in 2018 and Geometry in 2020.

In a conversation with Manifest, she described the latest consolidation as 'the largest' that she has been a part of, acknowledging its challenges and rewards. 

"When I started at VML, there were about 100 people," she recalled. After the merger with Wunderman Thompson, the team size now stands at more than 26,000 people across 64 markets. "The result has been stronger, more integrated creative capabilities. When one brings together a team with all these skills, anything one dreams of can be achieved," she said.

Vandeven also expressed enthusiasm about India's growing clout in the global creative landscape. "We have seen a huge push from India in the past couple of  years, especially with the kind of work winning at Cannes. For me, even more than the creativity, it’s the growth we are seeing in the market in India," she said.

Reaffirming the market's strategic importance, underscored by the agency's Group CCO, Kalpesh Patankar, reporting directly to her, she stated, "Across APAC, there are three or four markets that are extremely important for us and these creative leaders report directly to me - India is one of those markets." 

Vandeven also highlighted standout campaigns from VML India for KitKat and Coca-Cola.

On a lighter note, Vandeven was struck by India's celebrity-driven advertising culture. "One thing I learned is the sheer number of celebrities used in Indian campaigns! I'm still trying to figure out how many celebrities there are in about 20 different brands," she quipped. "We use them in the US and other markets too, but not to the extent I have seen here. So, that’s been pretty incredible to see how that plays out into the work produced here," she noted.

To read the full conversation with Vandeven, click here to buy the May issue!