• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, May 31, 2013

Bobby Pawar, the former chief creative officer at JWT India who was forced to resign amid a scandal involving controversial ads for Ford, has landed at a rival agency.

Publicis Groupe flagship agency Publicis Worldwide has hired Pawar as director and chief creative officer, Publicis South Asia. The hire is one in a series of several recent moves including other appointments and acquisitions that Publicis Groupe has taken to bolster its offerings in the region.

Pawar is part of a group of new senior hires at Publicis South Asia designed to strengthen the agency’s leadership team and foster growth.

Jean-Yves Naouri, chief operating officer, Publicis Groupe and executive chairman Publicis Worldwide, stated: “India is central to the future success of our key clients and indeed to our own success. We are committed to making the required investments in this critical market….these hires confirm our ambitions to invest in top talent.”

In addition to tapping key talent, Publicis Groupe has recently made a number of acquisitions to strengthen its position in India. In March it acquired Mumbai, India-based digital marketing firm Convonix, the fifth agency that the holding company had acquired in the country over the previous year.

Other Indian shops acquired by the firm recently include Indigo Consulting, Resultrix, iStrat and MarketGate.

Pawar left JWT India in late March after a series of controversial Ford ads were entered in a competition without authorization. The ads for the Ford Figo were designed to promote the car’s large trunk room and did so by featuring bound and gagged women in the trunk. The ads, which left both Ford and JWT embarrassed and apologizing for the contretemps, were created as India was reeling from several gang-rape cases.

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