On Friday, October 25, 2025, the advertising industry woke up to devastating news—Piyush Pandey, the Godfather of Indian Advertising, had passed away. The man who gave Indian advertising its own voice, who believed that “no campaign is worth its salt unless the people on the street love it,” was gone. This episode is dedicated to his memory.

The Indian AdGeek episode 11 features Gopa Menon. Longtime digital leader and cofounder of Theblurr, Gopa Menon walks us through two decades of transformation—from JWT and GroupM to a 12-year run at Isobar and leadership at Mindshare—before explaining why he launched an AI-native agency. We talk people-first leadership, HumAIne (Theblurr’s human+AI framework), outcome-linked business models, hiring for an AI-native future, and the evolving role of agencies as growth partners.

In This Episode, We Explore:

The Journey: From JWT to GroupM to Isobar to Mindshare—which chapters taught Gopa the most about modern marketing’s real needs?

The Golden Years: What made Isobar’s run so special? Beyond the awards and the “Digital Network of the Year APAC” titles, what was the secret sauce?

The Recognition: Four consecutive Account Person of the Year awards (2016-2019)—what philosophy on client relationships led to such consistent recognition?

The Leap: After successful stints across network giants, what gap in the market convinced Gopa to dive into entrepreneurship? What weren’t traditional agencies filling?

The Model: Theblurr isn’t just media, it’s creative. It’s not just AI-powered, it’s AI-native. How does HumAIne—their proprietary blend of human intelligence and artificial intelligence—actually work in practice?

The Philosophy: Where do humans reign supreme when working with AI? Is it insighting? Is it taste? Can AI truly develop creative judgment?

The Evolution: How must agencies of the future change their thinking to be strategic partners to brands while staying true to consumer understanding?

The Performance Play: What’s the future of performance marketing in an AI-driven world? How do outcome-linked compensation models work when you’re literally putting your money where your mouth is?

The Team Building: What’s different about hiring for an AI-native agency versus traditional shops? How do you build teams that blend “passionate people with AI intelligence”?

The Independent Edge: Where do independent agencies win? Where do they struggle against network behemoths that still control 60-70% of media spends? Do you believe the next creative renaissance will come from Indies?

The Reality Check: What’s the biggest myth about AI in marketing that needs busting? And what’s the biggest mistake agencies make when implementing it?

The Career Advice: What should someone entering advertising today focus on to remain relevant? Are we looking for the new “AI native” the way we once sought “digital natives”?

Gopa Menon - @gopa

Vishal Mehra - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@vis⁠hal1mehra⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In memory of Piyush Pandey (1955-2025)—who taught us that advertising isn’t about selling products, it’s about connecting hearts.