MUMBAI: The Mudra Group, which has won the creative duties for the Johnson & Johnson’s skincare brands, has launched a new agency Canvas Communications to handle the same.

Canvas Communications will be Mudra Group’s regional agency brand for the West. The J&J skincare brands that Canvas Communications is looking after are Neutrogena and Clean & Clear. Internationally, these brands are with the DDB Network.

Geeta Rao has been appointed creative advisor and head J&J, while, Kiran Dhameja is the business head on the J&J brands.

Rao said, "Neutrogena and Johnson and Johnson represent a terrific creative opportunity. This is a category that has tremendous potential for award winning work. I have seen that earlier on Ponds, Dove and Lakme."

Rao has been regional creative director - Asia Pacific with Ogilvy in Thailand. She has handled all of Ogilvy's personal care brands for Unilever - Dove, Lakme, Pears, Naturals and Aviance. She has also been creative advisor Saatchi & Saatchi on their Proctor and Gamble business that includes Olay and Ariel.

Dhameja has been part of Mudra earlier and has worked on the McDonald’s business for nearly four years. She brings to the table over a decade of experience in advertising and marketing communication, also covering retail branding and design. In the past she has been with agencies like Vyas Giannetti Creative, SSC&B Lintas and Grey Worldwide.

Team J&J will work closely with, and is linked into the DDB network. Mudra MD and CEO Madhukar Kamath said, "We wanted the J&J business to be managed by a dedicated team, which was housed separately, and operated as an independent unit, within the Mudra Group. Canvas is a good opportunity to do that. With growth and our eagerness to offer our expertise to clients, it makes sense for us to cater to client needs through dedicated teams. We have a senior team with fantastic credentials, and some really good talent driving Canvas."