World travelers join Russell and Herder
It's nothing like they imagined.
When Shanky Das and Dalbir Singh were both hired by Russell and Herder Advertising/Public Relations Inc. this past November, as a copywriter and art director, respectively, people tried to prepare them for what to expect when they arrived in Minnesota a lot of snow and bitter cold.
Das and Singh have been paired as a creative team for the past five years working all over the world. This teamwork, however, almost never happened. They both started out in very different directions than where they have ended up.
The two, natives of India, faced an unexpected surprise when they got off the plane in Minneapolis. There was no snow and there was no cold. The two arrived during one of the warmest months of November on record.
"We were briefed that this was one of the coldest places in America, so we over prepared (for cold and snow)," Das said. "We landed and there was no snow. I was a little disappointed."
Das and Singh have been paired as a creative team for the past five years working all over the world. This teamwork, however, almost never happened. They both started out in very different directions than where they have ended up.
Das, a physician's son, thought he would also go into medicine like many in his family had done, but he took a different route and graduated from St. Xavier's College in Calcutta with a degree in advertising management.
Aside from his work in advertising, he has been the lead vocalist for an alternative rock band and he helped start a company called, Hints and Allegations, which coordinated and choreographed fashion shows.
Singh's path to advertising is even more unlikely. He graduated from Calcutta University with a degree in accounting and economics, though it was not his true passion. He said that as a child he used to like to draw his own comic books. To fill up the spare pages, he used to draw advertisements. Soon, he said, drawing the advertisements became more fun than drawing the comic.
The duo met at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency's Calcutta office. Though they weren't teamed from the start of their employment there, they both volunteered to take over a project no one else wanted. The project resulted in an award for the pair launching their career as a team.
Collectively, they have worked all over the world, from Hungary to India to Hong Kong.
They have worked on major international accounts such as Pepsi, Nike, Toyota and Pizza Hut. Singh said one of the reasons he and Das have been so successful is because of their diversity.
"He's not always the writer, I'm not always the designer, we're thinkers. We want to be concept creators," he said.
Das said the international exposure has also lent for diversity in their work, and it's that aspect he feels will be an asset to Russell and Herder. An asset from not only working with several international clients, but also in their experience in adapting their work for different cultures.
It is that outside view that Das and Singh used to develop their first ad campaign in Brainerd. They arrived in the area during the deer hunting season itself entirely new to them and were shocked to see news of hunters shooting themselves.
So they came up with a concept and campaign on deer hunting safety, and went out to look for someone to buy it, which is the reverse of the normal process of selling and creating advertising. Selling their new work didn't take long. Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby purchased the duo's campaign.
Coming to Brainerd, or even the U.S. for that matter, was about the last thing on Das and Singh's minds. The two learned about the Russell and Herder positions while they were working in the J. Walter Thompson-Hong Kong agency.
Das said that one night, at about 3 a.m., he and Singh were on the Internet and decided to look up jobs in advertising. They came across vacancies at Russell and Herder, and though "just goofing around," as Das put it, they sent in their biographies and portfolios to the Minnesota-based advertising agency.
The two were actually looking for jobs in Europe, but when Russell and Herder called back, they couldn't pass up the position. This is the first time either Das or Singh have been to the U.S.
Das, who lived in Great Britain for eight years, said because of his past in England the culture of Minnesota wasn't too much of a shock, but the pace of life has taken some time to adjust to.
"Growing up in cities, we're kind of used to different things," Das said. "The charm here is different." Added Singh: "We went to the Mall of America and saw the crowds. It was like we were home (in India)."
The charm may be different, but Das said that it's one of the redeeming characteristics about Minnesota. "It is the cold country with warm people," he likes to say, and Singh agrees.
"This place grows on you," Singh said. "When we have to go to Minneapolis for work, coming back here feels good. It feels like home."
Now the two are getting to enjoy a typical Minnesota winter and are adjusting to everything that comes with it. Das said getting up in the morning is still a little hard when the thermometer is below zero and driving for the first time on snow was a little scary. Singh said overall this winter hasn't been too trying.
"The first really cold day wasn't too bad," Singh said, but added that he did figure out what other Minnesotans least like about the cold. "I had to scrap the car windows, but I had no gloves and I had no scraper."
As for how long the two would like to stay in Brainerd, neither could say, but moving right now is the furthest thing their minds.
"It's exciting, we're having a good time," Das said. "There's no reason to change for the sake of changing only."