To create advertisements that are engaging and inducing is an enigma, just as much as an art form is. It becomes far more challenging in a land of over a billion people where there exists a multitude of cultures with different ideologies. What is needed here is an immaculate approach that focuses on communicating the concept of the campaign to the audiences in all its essence. There are only a handful few in the advertising world who have the ingenuity of pulling this off with great finesse, and Manish Bardia is one of them.
Hailing originally from Sardar Shehar in Rajasthan, Bardia finished his commercial art course in 1990 from the C.N. Institute of Fine Arts in Ahmedabad. He moved to Mumbai shortly thereafter to work for ad agencies, but just after a year, Bardia decided to take the entrepreneurial path and launched his own company. He moved back to Ahmedabad and founded the Moving Pixels Company, a production house that started out of limited space.
During the first few years, the company worked on advertising campaigns for corporates and local cable networks. Amid the process of building an impressive clientele in the 2000s, Manish’s work was noticed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Soon, he was contacted by the ISRO to work on a project highlighting the PSLV launch. That recognition propelled the Moving Pixels Company to new heights in every sense of the word.
Bardia also worked with the Gujarat Government on various campaigns, highlighting the ethos, culture, and tourism in the state. It led to a fruitful partnership that has lasted for well over 10 years during which, Bardia made use of his filmmaking skills and creativity to produce some of the most remarkable ad campaigns.
The Ahmedabad-based company got the ball rolling by introducing the locals to the Jyotigram Yojana, in addition to the Vibrant Gujarat 2007 summit. Following the massive success there, Bardia soon moved on to work with Gujarat Tourism Development Corporation on a social media campaign ‘Come Back to Life, Come to Gujarat’, emphasizing the vibrancy of tourist destinations in Gujarat. The campaign led to a substantial increase in the growth of tourism in the state, thereby attaining widespread appreciation and attention. Besides this, Manish has also worked on other campaigns like ‘Chalo India’ and ‘Chalo Gujarat’ on an international scale.
It is fair to say that the height of his success knows no bounds. Back in 2015, when Mr. Narendra Modi visited the Wembley Stadium to meet David Cameron, the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the meeting was well-received by spectators across the globe. In addition to the Modi’s inspiring speech, the eye-striking multimedia spectacle with spirited, dynamic energies simply wooed the people. It was Bardia’s creativity and his team’s efforts that made the event a resounding success.
Over the course of his 25-year stint in the advertising industry, Bardia has worked with some of the corporate giants as well. His portfolio boasts of some big names like Reliance owned ‘Only Vimal’, Rasna, Hipolin, Forever Jewellery, among others. He has also worked on the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ alongside Shilpa Shetty.
Bardia’s ability to strike an emotional chord with the audiences led him to work on Government advertisements – most notably, Aadhaar Card, BHIM app, GST, and other similar schemes. Needless to mention, Bardia has truly mastered the art of communicating impactful ideas to the people. With an ever-growing portfolio of astonishing projects, it will be interesting to see what Manish Bardia achieves next.
