Anuja Chauhan

Based in Bangalore

Anuja Chauhan is a celebrated advertising mind and a bestselling author. She spent 17 years at JWT India, where she rose to become Vice President and Executive Creative Director, leading both executive and creative fronts. Best known for her work on PepsiCo, she is credited with catchphrases that have become part of Indian pop culture, including Nothing Official About It, Yeh Dil Maange More!, Oye Bubbly, Mera Number Kab Aayega, Darr ke Aage Jeet Hai, Tedha Hai Par Mera Hai, Be a Little Dillogical (Lay’s), and KitKat Break Banta Hai.

Over the years, Anuja helped launch and consolidate global brands such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, 7Up, Kurkure, Mirinda, Lay’s, KitKat, and Nokia in India. Her campaigns have won over a hundred national and international awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion, and multiple Effies, and Copywriter of the Year at the Bangalore Ad Club. In 2010, she was ranked among Asia-Pacific’s top 30 Executive Creative Directors.

In August 2010, Anuja left JWT to pursue writing full-time, though she has continued to consult for leading brands and even returned as a consultant for Pepsi in 2014. She was also the only Indian to serve on the One Show Jury in 2011.

As a novelist, she has authored six bestselling books — The Zoya Factor, Battle for Bittora, Those Pricey Thakur Girls, The House That BJ Built, Baaz, and Club You to Death — all of which have been optioned by major film studios. Her debut novel The Zoya Factor was adapted into a feature film starring Sonam Kapoor and Dulquer Salmaan.

Anuja’s writing — whether in ads, novels, or columns for publications like Hindustan Times, India Today, Vogue, Elle, and Cosmopolitan—is celebrated for being witty, insightful, and instinctively in tune with the popular pulse.

She has been honoured with the Advertising Person of the Year award by FICCI FLO, Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female Award, and India Today’s Woman as Storyteller award, and has been featured in lists of India’s Most Powerful Women by Verve and Elle.

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