Mumbai: In a move that has stirred the conscience of India’s advertising community, industry veteran Amer Jaleel, former Group CCO and Chairman at Lintas and now co-founder of the independent creative agency Curativity, took to LinkedIn to narrate a troubling yet all-too-familiar story — with his trademark wit and restraint intact.
Rather than directly accusing the client of plagiarising a creative idea pitched by his agency, Jaleel labeled the incident an ‘Ittefaaq’ — the Hindi word for coincidence — and shared a timeline supported by presentation slides, disclaimers, and the final campaign video by tea brand Wagh Bakri, now executed by another agency.
In a post that has since gone viral across industry circles, Jaleel recounted how Curativity had been invited to pitch for the Wagh Bakri account by an ex-client now associated with the brand. Among the standout recommendations were a tagline — “Aisi Chai Jo Zubaan Pe Reh Jaaye” — and a shift in visual strategy to feature tea masters instead of the conventional tea garden imagery.
Weeks later, Wagh Bakri unveiled a campaign echoing these very elements, albeit produced by another leading agency network. With gentle sarcasm, Jaleel walked readers through what he called “Fun Faaqts”, drawing attention to similarities while emphasizing his decision not to point fingers but to highlight the recurring challenges indie agencies face in protecting their intellectual property.
Industry Voices Rally in Support
Jaleel’s post has ignited an outpouring of support and calls for systemic reform. Ramesh Narayan, Founder of Canco Advertising and a stalwart of industry associations, recalled long-standing efforts to introduce pitch fees for participating agencies — a policy that never materialized due to lack of collective will among agencies. “Sometimes we are our worst enemies,” Narayan noted, adding that clients often involve large review panels during pitches as a safety net to deflect accountability later.
Saby Mishra, CEO of MLM Vietnam, was more direct in his criticism, calling it “blatant IP theft.” He suggested that Curativity is well within its rights to pursue legal action and advocated for fair compensation and acknowledgment of creative contributions.
Other senior professionals like Akhil Verma and Romee Jain shared similar experiences, indicating that this isn’t an isolated incident but rather a pattern that has become disturbingly normalized.
Sagar Kapoor, a seasoned Chief Creative Officer, expressed outrage at the ease with which established brands seemingly bypass creative ethics: “Amazing how a relatively big brand can do this and get away with it. Wonder what ASCI or AAAI can do about it. Shame!”
A Larger Pattern of Exploitation
This episode follows a growing list of similar occurrences. Santosh Padhi and his team at W+K Delhi previously faced a comparable situation involving a steel giant. Although the matter was settled out of court, the team did not receive credit, despite the campaign later winning at Cannes.
As independent creative agencies become more prominent in India’s advertising landscape, the asymmetry of power between clients and creators is becoming more glaring. Many in the industry believe that without formal safeguards — like pitch protection frameworks, legal contracts, and industry-wide guidelines — creative shops, especially emerging ones, remain susceptible to exploitation.
Amer Jaleel’s dignified yet piercing account has once again highlighted the urgent need for ethical reforms in how pitches are conducted and ideas protected. His invitation to others to share their own #Ittefaaq stories might just be the first step toward a broader movement for accountability and respect in the creative ecosystem.
As the lines between inspiration and imitation blur, one thing remains clear: silence is no longer an option.
