Manoj was born in the quaint town of Alappuzha, Kerala. A mechanical engineer by qualification, Manoj Pillai started his career in advertising as a copywriter with McCann Erickson, Bangalore. Soon, his passion for storytelling urged him to pursue the art of filmmaking. Today, Manoj stands as one of the most reputed directors in Indian advertising, creating over 300 commercials for brands such as American Express (Global), Intel (Global), Google, Incredible India, Indian Super League, Nike, Puma, Levi’s, Nestle, IPL (BCCI), Bajaj, Axis Bank, Samsung, Amazon, TVS, Suzuki, Ford, Volkswagen etc.
His work has been recognised nationally and internationally with awards from D&AD, Clio, Campaign Age, Work, Abby’s, AAAI etc. However, he rates his most revered accomplishment as the Inspired Indian award, granted by the Honourable Governor of Karnataka, Shri H.R. Bharadwaj, for inspiring numerous first-time voters in India with his film ‘Google – The Long Walk’. His commercial for Air Deccan (The old man and the sky) was rated as one of the top three commercials in thirty years of Indian advertising by India Today.
