Binaifer Dulani, Super Person

Founding Member of Talented

“It feels like the best time to be in advertising,” says Binaifer Dulani, founding member of creative agency, Talented and the Creative Director behind a host of award-winning campaigns – including The Unfiltered History Tour: a guerrilla guide to the British Museum’s collection of pilfered artefacts.

Binaifer’s approach to creativity is subversive. “When I look at any piece of work, I almost feel I have a hidden agenda,” she says. “And that hidden agenda is either representing underrepresented communities or narratives that need to be spoken about more in mainstream media but aren’t. If there’s a way I can use marketing dollars not just to fulfil a business target, but also to make them work for my hidden agenda, then I’m going to feel really great about the work we’re putting out. And maybe, a few years down the line, I won’t have an existential crisis looking back at all the work I’ve done.”

Binaifer, who was nominated by Ogilvy Chicago, Creative Director, Sakshi Choudhary, says creativity has always been a source of joy. At school she loved creative writing – “that was my biggest outlet and where I gained a lot of my confidence as an adolescent ‘’ – and at university she minored in psychology before pursuing a course in creative communication at MICA in Gujarat. She landed her first job at Dentsu Webchutney, in Bengaluru, where she stayed for five years. There she found mentors in Gautam Reghunath and PG Aditya, who were CEO and CCO at the agency at the time.

Their mentorship was critical, pushing her out of her comfort zone at every opportunity and fast-tracking her career. It was difficult at times, says Binaifer, who remembers experiencing feelings of self-doubt. “If you’re doing something that doesn’t come naturally to you, you will struggle through it, and it doesn’t feel good day-in day-out. But I feel that it’s ok, because eventually a big part of self-esteem, and great mental health, comes from going through things that made you feel extremely uncomfortable and a fair bit of anxiety. I feel a large part of the mental health conversation doesn’t touch upon this enough.”

Binaifer now works alongside her former mentors at Talented, which she describes as “a proud creative-first agency with a large heart”. The ambition is to embrace the kinds of “radical” ideas that aren’t often found in India’s creative scene, including equitable pay, profit sharing, and a fair conversation about credit, and working hours. At Talented, Binaifer has tackled stereotypical narratives, making work for jewellery brand Tanishq that questions tropes of women as self-sacrificing superheroes, and rebrands the maternity break as a “bootcamp in life”. She’s also been able to reflect on India’s cultural diversity, creating a campaign for Google’s International Mother Language Day that featured 22 different languages – many of which are rarely represented in the country’s advertising.

With such a solid body of work – and a long list of accolades including Creative Director of the year in the 2022 Cannes Lions Creativity Report – it’s no surprise Binaifer is optimistic about the future. “The narratives have changed, and the audience is so discerning,” she says. “I feel like at one point in time I was like, ‘how do I get someone to watch my ad?’ I feel that, today, if you have the right intentions and tell the right kind of story, there are people that actively want to talk about it.”

Interview by: Emma Tucker

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