MUMBAI: Siddharth Kumar has returned to the ad world—this time with a few reels under his belt and a mission to shake up creative norms. Infectious Advertising has appointed him as its new creative director, adding a splash of film-school flair to its creative stable.

The Mumbai-based agency announced the appointment on 23 April 2025. Kumar, who briefly swapped ad scripts for screenplays, wrote, directed, and produced four short films that continue to play the global festival circuit.

But his roots run deep in the agency world. With over 15 years of experience across marquee firms like Ogilvy, McCann, Leo Burnett, VML, and Publicis, Kumar has helped craft campaigns for household names such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Vodafone, SBI, Airtel, Nestlé, and Mastercard.

"My goal is to help build a culture where storytelling thrives. I believe my role is to push the envelope, stir things up, and encourage new kinds of madness," said Kumar.

Infectious creative chairman & co-founder Ramanuj Shastry had high praise, "Sid has impressed me in the short time that I have known him. He is a solid writer and great human being. I wish him a great innings at Infectious."

CCO Akshay Kapnadak echoed the sentiment, "Siddharth is passionate about storytelling, curious about people, enthusiastic about the business and has a great work ethic. I'm looking forward to see what we all can build together."

With this move, Infectious seems keen to turn up the creative voltage, bringing together script sensibilities, ad world grit, and a fresh approach to narrative-led campaigns.