Mahabali reimagined in Deconstruct’s Onam 2025 campaign titled “Kuda Mathram Mathiyavilla”  The festive beats continued as brands marked their presence at Ganesha Chaturthi pandals and Onam celebrations and started whipping up early Durga Pujo fervour. Meanwhile, purposeful messaging by some brands caught the eye. Mahabali’s sun protector Skincare

From skincare to infant formula, parents want the best  | Photo Credit: iStock Indian parents are willing to shell out big bucks when it comes to their babies, going out of their way to shop for products with no harmful substances – or “no nasties” as it is called. According to the latest data released […]

India’s recent ban on money-based online gaming has set off a storm in a teacup – a very large teacup worth ₹20,000 crore, as claimed. The government argues it is protecting the poor and gullible. The industry warns of lost jobs, capital flight, and a missed digital opportunity. Both claims carry weight, depending on which […]

Is Japan’s Dentsu group contemplating selling its international business? Media reports suggested a sale, describing how the group had signed up M&A partners to find potential buyers. But then a few days ago Hiroshi Igarashi, president and global CEO of the group issued a statement that no decisions have been made. However, he did say […

Kerala Tourism UK F-35B advertisement; memes on popular shows and films When a British F-35B stealth fighter jet made an emergency landing at Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and then found itself unable to take off, it instantly got internet’s humorists going. Meme after meme flowed. But the moment marketing honours belonged to Ke

This year’s campaign stressed: true freedom is only realised when no child goes to bed hungry.  This Independence Day, KRBL Limited, which owns the India Gate Basmati Rice, launched the latest edition of its annual Grains of Hope campaign, a movement dedicated to raising awareness and action against childhood hunger. This year’s campaign stressed:

Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra in a still from ‘Sholay’ Exactly fifty years ago, in 1975, I watched Sholay for the first time. I was a young school boy in Kollam in Kerala, where Hindi movies generally played second fiddle to Malayalam cinema. But the movie hall showing Sholay was packed to the brim for weeks together. At school, […]

The crisps are laced with natural ingredients like turmeric, ginger, black pepper and green tea antioxidants found in hangover-prevention supplements. Morning after mixes and drinks are common enough to combat hangovers. But now snacking brand Too Yumm! has just dropped something called – Party Harder Chips, which it claims is the world’s fir

Four packets of Maggi noodles were ordered every minute throughout the year. | Photo Credit: iStockphoto Flipkart Minutes which launched just a year ago and is now in 19 cities, has put out its annual report ‘Minutes that Move India’. The report decodes what, when and why India orders in the moment. Among the snapshots […]

Actor Kalyani Priyadarshan in the ad. When your eyes smile, the whole face smiles, declares actor Kalyani Priyadarshan, as she lines her eyes with Himalaya Wellness’s Kajal. A quick montage of shots of eyes – from a Kathakali artist’s eye movement to Kalyani’s own sparkling ones then shows how eyes become a canvas of emotions. The clever […]

South Indian Bank’s Onam film makes a heartfelt call to every Malayali, wherever they are, to come home for Onam. The joyous film, which shows a girl somehow making it to her family home in Kerala in the nick of time for the festival, in the wee hours of night, and then the fun preparations for […]

Sujata Appliances Onam campaign is also about homecoming. But it’s completely different – it’s about people in an old age home awaiting their loved ones, living abroad, to visit them on the festive day. The shelter is full of bustle, readying an Onam feast and collecting guest lists from its residents. One lady has no […]

Weaving in tradition

It’s 25 years of Škoda Auto in India and the auto brand’s new campaign pays homage to the affection and loyalty it has earned from its fans. At the heart of this integrated campaign is a film that celebrates the pure, irrational love a young fan has for her Škoda, which she pronounces as ‘Doda’. The campaign created […]

(from left) Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, DS Group, and Prasanth Kumar, CEO, WPP Media, South Asia FMCG conglomerate Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group) in collaboration with WPP Media, has launched DCODE – The Guide to Digital Marketing, a comprehensive playbook for new age marketers. The playbook blends academic frameworks with practical applicatio

Colloquially speaking

New report on snacking challenges assumptions driving marketing investments

A few months back, I wrote about AI adoption in Indian advertising, close on the heels of the WPP CEO stepping down — allegedly for not making WPP agencies AI-friendly. The s***’s hit the ceiling now. Brands have cottoned on to nifty GenAI tools that can write strategy, create media plans and content, including videos at […]

In an audacious move, Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey opened for ticket sales a full year before its scheduled release on July 17, 2026. And yet, there was mad fan hysteria reported in early bookings, from Sydney to Seattle. It’s not implausible that they may have a billion dollars in ticket sales even before the first […]

Friendship Day gets a fresh twist this year with Bingo!’s new campaign, ‘From BFF to FF — Forgotten Friend’, conceptualised and executed by Tonic Worldwide. What happens when your best friend starts seeing someone — you get badly sidelined. Through a series of digital films, social media activations and influencer collabs, the campaign hilariously

F1 is a 2025 American sports drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and stars Brad Pitt as Formula One racing driver Sonny Hayes | Photo Credit: Ritaja Roy _12104@Delhi Marketing investments into “F1”, the hollywood movie starring Brad Pitt, has provided strong brand visibility to Tommy Hilfiger, a designer lifestyle brand under Arvind Fashions Ltd

If there is one thing in the kitchen that Indians are very particular about, it’s the spices they use. And the choice of spice brand is most often dictated by regional preferences, with each State having its entrenched local leader. There are only a handful of national brands, and it has taken decades for an […]

DOS AND DON’TS: Sahil Chopra, Chairman, Indian Influencer Governing Council For many brands, influencers have become a core pillar of marketing. For consumers, an influencer’s endorsement now carries more weight than traditional advertising. The creators themselves are facing challenges — what with the AI wave, on one hand, and a rising call for au

Former Viacom18 COO launches House of IPs

Vinsmera Jewels’ sparkling ad campaign, which is breaking the internet, opens on a film set where the crew is arranging props for a jewellery shoot, even as Malayalam superstar Mohanlal hangs around. He looks covetously at the jewellery and then quietly vanishes. The scene changes. Everyone is frantically searching for the jewellery. Meanwhile, Moh

GREAT UNIFIER: Commuters of all hues ride the metro | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN When I visit Mumbai, I often take the local train from Churchgate station to Borivali. The main objective is to observe the people on the train. In my home-town of Bengaluru, as well, I have begun travelling by metro quite often, […]

Processed foods typically mention saturated and transfat per serving. But how will you know whether, say, 20 gram of saturated fat per 100 gram serving is too much? You could face a similar situation with investment products. In this article, we discuss whether asset management companies (AMCs) can disclose risk associated with their mutual funds [

A likely drop to a record low in July is prompting calls for at least one more rate cut this year | Photo Credit: John Kevin Indian government bond yields may rise in early deals on Wednesday, tracking a spike in U.S. Treasury yields as elevated inflation suggests that the Federal Reserve will remain cautious […]

Luggage brand Safari and wearable tech company boAt have come together to help you keep your bags safe. With the campaign ‘Your Safari Got Safer’, launched on Amazon during Prime Day, Safari and boAt unveil a trackable luggage solution that starts at ₹4,499. The campaign introduces Safari Trackr, a Bluetooth-enabled luggage collection that can be [

FURRY RELATIVE: India’s pet population is set to touch 40 million | Photo Credit: Dimple Bhati Think ‘family’ and what comes to mind? A small cosy unit with a husband, wife and two kids? Or a larger unit made up of grandparents, parents and children? Think again. Families are no longer forged by blood ties […]

Fifteen years ago, the Great Indian Influencer was a perfectly coiffured, English-medium-type blogger (WordPress, usually) from south Delhi, coyly promoting a fashion or skincare product on Twitter or Facebook, in low-res lighting. The word ‘influencer’ was relatively unknown, of course. Fast-forward to 2025, and India has become one of the largest

For the last few months, Swiggy, India’s hyperlocal food delivery platform, had been involved in the beta testing of Google’s advertising-focused AI solutions to boost its reach to audiences. One of these solutions was an improved version of Performance Max, which allows e-commerce users to re-engage with existing customers who are inactive. “We’ve

SHOT AT FAME: Apple’s award-winning ‘shot on iPhone’ campaign has driven brand affinity for nearly a decade Many a powerful marketing trend came to the fore at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2025. The topic of artificial intelligence and how best it can be used by marketers cropped up virtually everywhere. The rise of […]

PUNJABI PATTY: Burger Singh is high on desi flavours Yashveer Yadav is enjoying his new role as a retail entrepreneur. A few years ago, Yadav, who is in his 40s, quit his banking job to become a franchisee of fast food chain Burger Singh. He started with a food court model at Ambience Mall in […]

Casual footwear company Crocs served us a playful K-drama-Bollywood crossover that totally stole our heart. Tapping into pop culture from both countries and sprinkling loads of monsoon magic into it, the Croc ad features South Korean and Indian heartthrobs Chae Soobin and Siddhant Chaturvedi, with a cute ‘enemies to lovers’ storyline that fuses ele

Adieu, Cannes! India returned from the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with 32 medals, including a Grand Prix, nine gold, nine silver and 13 bronze. This is not India’s best showing, though — it got 42 medals in 2022. Among the agencies, FCB India had a good outing, securing nine Lions, including a […]

ORGANIC APPEAL: Greenery at Bengaluru airport | Photo Credit: Shivendu Jauhari Is it possible that the humble fruit in Apple’s logo is part of what makes its customers among the most loyal in the world? Could the lush gardens and open green spaces at the new Bengaluru airport be doing more than beautifying the terminal […]

RAPT FACTOR: Krafton India’s 24-minute ‘DoomTroopers’ campaign Seen the Sleepy Cat “slap facial” ad that is trending and has attracted rapturous posts by marketers? It’s outlandish, hilarious, quirky… and quite long. At two minutes and 34 seconds, it breaks the norms of 30- or 60-second commercials and yet engages you fully in this “attention-defic

Recently, Mark Read stepped down as advertising behemoth WPP’s global CEO, and a not-so-secret reason murmured in industry circles was the network’s inability to truly embrace AI in its marketing and creative DNA. And if the world’s largest agency network is feeling the AI heat, where does that leave Indian marketers and agencies? Well, if you [&he

What’s cooking at the ‘Olympics of creativity’

BREAKING THE CLUTTER: Yourri Guerassimov, CEO and CCO , Marcel “Creativity in agencies should really be linked to the business gain of our clients. Our main job is to make the brand succeed. It’s a matter of responsibility for the talent of the agency to bring the creative idea to exactly the place where it’s […]

Rohit Ohri, Founder, Ohriginal | Photo Credit: Advertising veteran Rohit Ohri, who retired from FCB last September, has launched a culture consultancy, cleverly named Ohriginal. The 62-year-old adman says he wanted to do something he was passionate about and make a difference to an organisation in a new way. “When I looked back at what […]

PUMA India’s new Instagram campaign, ‘RCB Shotline’, which features Virat Kohli, Usain Bolt, PV Sindhu, Jack Grealish, Rajat Patidar, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and Krunal Pandya, is fun, quirky and hooks you with its playful banter between the sporting stars. RCB players Kohli, Patidar, and Pandya operate the PUMA “Shotline”, fielding calls from fans

IT’S A STRETCH! Luxury sleeping pod for business-class nomads | Photo Credit: Chesky_W Last month, I undertook a long journey from India to the US and back. The flying time from Bengaluru to Chicago was around 15 hours, and there was a brief transit at Frankfurt airport. On one of these flight sectors, I watched […]

Takeaways from Goafest2025, where the ad and marketing community aired its worries about the future

MESSAGING MATTERS: Col Sofiya Qureshi (left), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh at a media briefing on ‘Operation Sindoor’ | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR I woke up on the morning of May 7 to see X on fire. Claims were flying — India had lost the war, all our drones and […]

Mayo Murasaki, a Hindi-speaking Japanese YouTuber At the inaugural World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (Waves), cine stars Shah Rukh Khan, Rajinikanth, Mohanlal, et al, created a buzz, as expected. But the non-glamorous show stealers at the summit, which saw rousing words on the orange economy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were creator

HERITAGE INC: Godrej Enterprises Archives records the nation’s history through the evolution of the company’s product portfolio For marketers, old can be the proverbial gold if leveraged well. Recently, IIM-Ahmedabad started an unusual executive education programme called ‘Strategic Legacy Management’. The course teaches participants to use history

Actor Neena Gupta and her daughter Masaba bring a smile to your lips in Myntra’s Mother’s Day campaign. Neena asks Masaba what she will gift her for Mother’s Day and there follows some hilarious scenes as Masaba’s wild suggestions meet with scathing takedowns from her mom, until an exasperated Neena says all she wants is […]

In yet another structural shift, WPP has moved creative agency Grey from the AKQA group to Ogilvy. Grey’s global chief Laura Maness will now report directly to Devika Bulchandani, the global CEO of Ogilvy. An internal memo circulating in the media quotes Bulchandani as saying, “This is not a consolidation, but rather a realignment to […]

PIE CHART: A delivery platform sent out 5.84 crore pizzas in 2024 | Photo Credit: jimkruger Last month, I visited the US for six days. Within this brief period, I ate pizza three times. In Chicago, I feasted on Sicilian pizza for dinner. The toppings included anchovies and shrimp, and it was exquisite. The very […]

Advertising as we know it seems nearly dead. Brands are seen making more Instagram reels than 30-second commercials. The planning and strategy function in ad agencies must obviously keep step. As Prem Narayan, chief strategy officer at Ogilvy India, explains,“Fundamentally, from a world of one big idea, we are now moving to many pieces of […

BUY WORD: E-commerce drives 21 per cent of India’s digital ad market | Photo Credit: filadendron With digital advertising, marketers gained amazing reach. Now, with AI tools, we are at a stage where businesses can be marketed across geographies, age groups, cultures and regional languages within seconds. AI is fundamentally transforming digital adv

Sunscreen wars spilled over into some opportunistic campaigns, but it was the tech-fuelled melodic ode to the ‘cup that cheers’ that wowed

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan speaks during a session titled ‘The Journey: From Outsider to Ruler’ at the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, in Mumbai | Photo Credit: – The first edition of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 in Mumbai pulled in top politicians, businessmen, cine stars and [&he

GRT Jewellers has launched a special sales campaign Akshaya Tritiya, titled ‘Akshaya Tritiya Celebration’. In Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the campaign will be called ‘Akshaya Tritiyai Kondattam’. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the campaign would be called ‘Akshaya Tritiya Vedukalu’ and ‘Akshaya Tritiya Sambrama’ in Karnataka. As part of the campa

Recently, Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha publicly offered to intern — without pay — at Aravind Srinivas’s company Perplexity, to learn about the AI industry. Kamath had interviewed Srinivas on his YouTube channel, which has about 1.5 million subscribers. Several Indian startup founders maintain active social media profiles. Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola, Aman

The sheen is wearing off traditional ecommerce. For all their size and scale, platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy are grappling with user fatigue, seller disillusionment, and a workforce walking a tightrope. Customers now routinely question whether “guaranteed delivery” means “next day” or “next neighbour”. Sellers feel increasingly

Satinder Singh, GM India, Royal Canin “The entire market has transformed from when we first arrived in India,” declares Satinder Singh, GM India of pet nutrition company Royal Canin, which has just launched a global campaign to tackle pet obesity. Misinformation and lack of awareness are at the heart of this weighty issue among pets, says the Frenc

Cricket is a passion for most Indians. So is food. Imagine marrying the two — the brand engagement can go up 10X. This IPL season has seen two such combos from brands that are captivating fans. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has started Knight Bite, an exciting new long-term initiative that brings fans closer to their […]

IPL season is hotting up and the ad breaks are as interesting as the match play. But guess which ads are scoring? Men seem to recall auto ads while women seem to have higher recall of food and snack brands. The ongoing eDART-IPL25 study by CrispInsight and Kadence International reveals a striking demographic divide in […]

To be at the company that actually markets marketing is incredible, says Lara Balazs, the new CMO of Adobe, the San Jose-based tech company that sells digital marketing solutions and posted revenues of $21.51 billion in fiscal 2024. The go-getting marketer who has worked with Visa, Gap, Nike, Amazon, and Intuit, and is on Forbes’ […]

LAYERS OF MEANING: ‘Marilyn Diptych’ by Andy Warhol Whenever I am in London, I make it a point to visit the Tate Modern because its collection of art is amazing. During my recent visit, I did one more thing that this lovely museum now encourages visitors to do — slow looking. Art of slow looking […]

KP Bhavadasan, Managing Director of KP Namboodiri’s KP Namboodiri’s — the toothpowder company in Kerala famous for offering its flagship Dantadhavanachoornam product to Lord Krishna in Guruvayoor — turned 100 this year. But the company, established by Kolathappally Pothayan Namboodiri in 1925, is certainly not long in the tooth — rather, with the n

Trump’s tariffs have heightened uncertainty among brands and advertisers

On the campaign trail

If you look at your living room, the TV has evolved from the old cathode-ray tube model to LED and a smart TV with a voice remote. But if you look at your kitchen, not much has changed, says Eshwar K Vikas, co-founder of Mukunda Foods, the company that had, 10 years ago, engineered the […]

It was AI that dominated conversations at the just concluded Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, which saw over 12,000 attendees, largely from the marketing community. The 23rd edition of the glitzy conference, which is all about digital experiences, saw Adobe talking about its vision and approach to agentic AI, and launching a whole new bunch […]

It’s the season of Holi, and IPL is not far behind. While the premier T20 tournament kicked off on March 22, brands are scrambling to use cricketers in their campaigns to leverage the two-month-long cricket extravaganza. Brands have used cricketers in multifarious ways. The second Dream 11 ad takes off from the first, which saw […]

Steve Jobs famously said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” The same is true with technology — you never really know what’s happening; you only get to know in hindsight, in retrospect. I think that’s what’s happening with digital technology and the IPL — the Super Bowl […]

Reshma Budhia, CEO of Toss the Coin (TTC), joked with co-founder and Managing Director Jayan Narayanan that their 12-year-old marketing consultancy should work so well that it should make money even as they sleep. In the event, that’s what happened! From December 10 to 12, 2024, when Reshma was in the US for client meetings, TTC’s […]

It has become de rigeur for brands to put out some strong positive messaging around women’s empowerment in the first week of March, and this year too there is the usual outpouring. A couple of companies have tried interesting social experiments to break through the clutter. Jewellery retail brand Tanishq, which was one of the […]

Fairs offer a fun way to gauge what’s trending. A walkthrough at Aahar 2025 in Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam gave one a whiff of what’s cooking and brewing in food and beverage companies around the world. With 80 participants from 22 countries, there was lots to absorb — there were the Australians pushing their macadamia nuts […]

Does gender play a role in entrepreneurship? Women have faced challenges of gender bias — both conscious and unconscious — for centuries. And they continue to build, facing these challenges. And that’s where I see the difference between men and women entrepreneurs. Among start-ups, women-led are at a low 4 per cent! Another 20 per […]

It’s the opening day of Bharat Tex — the mega textile trade fair at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi. The attractively designed Trident pavilion is buzzing with visitors. The ₹6,808 crore home textile, yarn, paper and chemicals company’s founder Rajinder Gupta, his son Abhishek, and daughter Neha Gupta Bector are busy in meetings with buyers. [&hellip

India’s formidable array of craft traditions got full play at the just concluded Bharat Tex 2025, the mega textile trade show in New Delhi that showcased the best of Indian weaves to the world. But if there was one theme that dominated this year’s textile extravaganza, aimed at generating more exports, it was the focus […]

Charles Dickens sums up the Ranbeer Allahabadia episode quite well: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Both go hand in hand these days. Free speech and hate speech are the co-founders of the latest digital content startup, and it’s doing rather well. Frankly, worse has been said online — […]

This must be the busiest February for brands, who have been showering Valentine’s Day love, pulling out new activations at Mahakumbh, celebrating Shivaji’s birthday and then padded up for the Super Sunday India-Pak cricket clash unveiling contests galore. A lot has been said about Amazon cartons — from cute posts by cat parents who share […]

Ketan Mody, the COO of Reliance Consumer Products Ltd, the FMCG arm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, was in Chennai recently to announce the acquisition of the Velvette brand, which had kicked off the shampoo sachet revolution. In a conversation, Mody, a CA, talks about the plans for RCPL and how the […]

Brands and political parties are about right positioning. Brand position is what you stand for and political position is the ideology you espouse. It is important to understand what defines localness and what defines nationalness. Brands and parties are not spending enough time doing this right now. Local brands must outperform and out serve their

Bad Nauheim is a small town in Germany, with a population of just 33,000. It is a health resort noted for its salt springs. I visited this town recently, and was intrigued to see that health is not the only reason why tens of thousands of tourists visit Bad Nauheim. Another segment of people come […]

Meghana Sundaresan, 24, a microbiology researcher, is extremely conscious of what she puts on her face, hair and body. Aware that she is acne prone, she peruses labels and looks at pH values and active ingredients before choosing soaps, shampoos, face creams and sunscreens.  Meghana is not alone. More and more consumers — especially the […]

As you enter the India Art Fair grounds, a monstrous cement truck that has been repurposed into a piece of outdoor art, with bits and pieces of metal scrap, catches your eye. Inside, the hall is a visual feast and explosion of colours and creativity, with 78 art galleries from around the world showing a […]

Come February and brands begin smelling of roses and romance. Even as Valentine’s Day fever is peaking with brands playing Cupid, Cadbury as usual gets the eyeball for taking a very different tack. Globally, all eyes are on the Superbowl which brings out ad land’s creative best. The mush can sometimes get too much. For […]

India’s advertising industry grew by 6.3 per cent in 2024 despite macroeconomic headwinds; and, within that, digital advertising surged by a whopping 21.1 per cent, says the 9th edition of Dentsu India’s digital advertising report. Themed ‘Looking Through the Kaleidoscope’, the ‘dentsu Digital Advertising Report 2025’ looks at the forces shaping In

The New Year seems to have put new energy into the ad world, which has given us lots of lovely work this past fortnight — from Absolut’s unlabel campaign, which encourages people to look beyond labels and stereotypes, to Naukri’s tongue-in-cheek billboard campaign during the Coldplay concert in Mumbai, addressing employees who may be reporting [&he

A golden rule in marketing, says brand consultant Giraj Sharma, is to go where the people are, and the numbers will follow. With 400 million people attending the once-in-144-year spectacle of the Poorna Maha Kumbh, brands that have rushed to Prayagraj are reaping rich dividends. Captive audience As Sharma points out, the fact that no […]

If Shehzad (the man accused of stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan) had tried his stunt at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, he’d have been identified, located, and apprehended faster than you can say 22436 Vande Bharat Express. The AI engines would have predicted his next move, sending a drone to deliver a complimentary paratha before […]

The year 2025 could well be one of contradictions, going by the 11th edition of VML’s ‘The Future 100’ report, which pinpoints business and cultural trends based on a survey across 14 markets globally. The study found conflicting desires of digital innovation versus analogue pursuits, fear for the future versus hope for society, and simpler [&helli

The Pantone Color Institute has declared its colour of the new year 2025 — ‘mocha mousse’, an evocative soft-brown. When I first saw this lovely colour, it suggested cocoa, coffee and chocolate, and it also made me feel nice and cosy. The colour brown was already trending in some product categories for the past few […]

In a world filled with heavily funded start-ups that create noise by throwing money, how a small, cash-strapped jewellery and watch brand grew through frugal marketing makes for an interesting study.  Joker & Witch, founded by the husband-wife team of Satish Singh and Maya Varma in 2015, has managed to carve out for itself a […]

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the influential tech event in Las Vegas that opens every calendar year and gives us a glimpse of trends to come, there was a flying car, a solar- and AI-powered helmet, an AI-powered radio, a robotic vacuum cleaner with arms, unusual wellness gadgets, and plenty of other exciting stuff.  […]

Three guys in a convertible, off on a holiday. Reminds you of Dil Chahta Hai, perhaps? Or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara? Phone maker Oppo’s new ad for its Reno13 smartphone series is more than a passing ode to the two films. With three upcoming actors — Vedang Raina, Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi — playing the holidaying […]

The Digital Personal Data Protection (DRDP) rules have been put out by the Indian government for public consultation until February 18, 2025. They can impact the digital and influencer marketing strategies of brands since they call for consent before obtaining personal data and also stress upon deletion of customer data after three years of inactiv

Whether it’s the inside story on Zepto’s work culture, or a British tourist’s take on India’s infrastructure, or the latest ‘tea’ on Bollywood celebrities, many of these viral discussions on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) are increasingly spillovers from someplace else. That’s Reddit, which is slowly but steadily becoming the social media plat

I don’t know if it’s in 10 years, five, or sooner, but change is coming. And it won’t trickle in gently; it will sweep through like a wave, leaving behind an advertising industry stripped of everything it once held sacred. We are heading towards a future where consumers, empowered by technology, will no longer need […]

Newly launched uber luxury fashion brand Riccaro Corduso has unveiled a bold, stylish campaign called ‘Rise Above’, shot in Ladakh. Featuring international models, the brand film promotes the cashmere fabric with the mighty Himalayas as the backdrop. It’s a visually stunning campaign and the narration in the form of a few questions is also out of [

Luigi Mangione — a name that has sparked debates across the globe. The young man, hailing from a prominent real estate family in Baltimore, US, shocked the world when he was arrested for a tragic act of violence — the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. But beneath the sensational headlines lies a story that […]

As 2024 nears its end, many of you may be planning year-end parties to ring out the old and ring in the new. Or you may not have begun planning yet, because you like doing these things closer to the hour. It does not matter really, because you can now get virtually everything you need […]

If you follow food vloggers on Instagram, you cannot help noticing the Wonderchef brand in their cooking videos — be it the cookware, the gas lighter, the Nutri-Blend mixer, or the coffee maker. The brand’s influencer marketing seems on point. Tell that to Wonderchef CEO Ravi Saxena, and he laughs in a pleased way. He […]

A seven-city roadshow, several high-decibel brand collaborations, scintillating trailers… Pushpa 2: The Ruleaced it not just at the box office but also on the marketing front. From Tata Tea to Uber to Beardo, brands rode on the Pushpa wave. iTel released a co-branded video with Pushpa 2 for its flagship A80 smartphone release, which went vira

Back in 2013, ad networks Omnicom and Publicis tried to merge citing technological threats. The feeling was that by combining their armoury, they could manage the digital wave sweeping the world better. That merger did not happen, and British holding agency WPP, the lead ad network at that time, no doubt heaved a sigh of […]

Colgate-Palmolive MD and CEO Prabha Narasimhan had put in place a four-pillar strategy that has been successfully driving growth for the company in the last few quarters. The first pillar is growing category consumption and the share of core brands within that; the second is to drive science-led premiumisation; third is building competitiveness of

Cosmetics brand Swiss Beauty’s campaign #SajDhajKe celebrates the new-age bride who confidently takes charge of her big day — from directing decorators, helping her friends with makeup and juggling professional calls, even as she steals moments of laughter with her family. But that ‘shaadi wali feeling’ is missing until the Swiss Beauty makeup is a

Takeshi Sano, who took over as CEO of Dentsu Japan in January this year and will soon assume an additional role as deputy global COO of the network, was in India recently. The go-getting Sano has exchanged business cards with 2,900 people in the last 11 months, he says. During his India visit, Sano met […]

Consumer goods major Marico Ltd made a strong play in digital a few years ago with a string of acquisitions. This has emerged as a strong pillar of growth for the group, complementing its core portfolio of Saffola and Parachute oils. It has parlayed the Saffola brand into foods, as well, and expects this to […]

I have been in three big cities over the past month — Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Madrid. In all three, I have observed the resurgence of a timeless fashion trend — women attired in leopard and other animal prints. Then I saw a data point highlighted by Alexandra Van Houtte, founder of the fashion search engine […]

Quick commerce is highly disruptive and, with multiple triggers for strong growth over the medium to long term, it’s all set to impact India’s FMCG and retail ecosystem in a big way. In FY24, India’s quick commerce market was pegged at $5 billion with a potential total addressable market (TAM) of $59 billion (50 per cent […]

A year ago Myntra launched FWD — short for ‘Forward’ — its dedicated Gen Z offering. Three months ago it launched The Ultimate Glam Clan, a creator programme on the Myntra app, which already has one-plus lakh sign-ups, it says. And to further drive the creator programme it has an offline event, Creator Fest, which […]

The WPP group, which comprises a host of agenciessuch as VML, Ogilvy, Group M, and Burson — spanning creative, media, PR, and digital, among other segments — recently opened its third campus in India at Chennai. The campus will house WPP’s enterprise IT team to service its global network, as also its largest content production […]

“Every day sees a new trend,” declares Amit Wadhwa, CEO, South Asia, Dentsu Creative, a self-declared “impatient soul” who craves constant action. Well, the creative industry, which has been transforming hugely, is certainly yielding enough action. Dentsu Creative itself has been re-organising itself. In this conversation with Brandline, Wadhwa exp

B Dayakar, CEO of the ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research’s Nutrihub, insists it’s a misconception that millet consumption is low in rural areas. Traditional grains have not lost their appeal at all, recent research by the institute shows. “Rural consumers are consuming millets on par with urban peers,” he asserts at the recent international

Diwali ads are generally high in sugar. As in, 95 per cent range from bad to very bad. The basic formula is to weave some soppy, sugary narrative around the USP; these days there are several USPs packed into a product, as the average brand manager wants to play safe. The narrative is usually about […]

Culture collective Kommune’s insights vertical, Stumble, has released its first culture report, ‘Consumed: A Deep Dive Into Consumer Culture In India’. The report aims to help brands, students, collectives, academics, organisations, and pretty much everyone understand the cultural trends shaping our present and future. Among the trends it identifie

Ethnic clothing brand Sabhyata, which produced a lovely festive campaign in 2022 featuring Sheeba Chadha, is back this Diwali with another heartwarming ad — this time celebrating motherhood. The advertisement features a young mother returning to the workplace and struggling to find a private space in the office where she can pump breast milk for [&

This October, ITC Maurya gave a taste of its seven-year-old progressive South Indian gastronomy brand Avartana to Delhi-ites as it opened the restaurant in its flagship hotel.  At the preview, the playful and magical food and cocktails blew away one’s mind. For instance, the dessert — a raw mango pudding, served with an edible candle […]

When I visited Spain last month, my wife and daughter had only one ask of me. “Bring back a Bialetti moka pot.” I searched for it in Madrid and finally found it at El Corte Ingles, the iconic Spanish department store located on the edge of the busy and picturesque public square Puerta del Sol. […]

Home Centre’s Diwali campaign is centred around gifting items that elevate the beauty of a home. The digital-first campaign ‘Speaking Gifts by Home Centre’ shows highly aspirational home products, even as the storyline plays on how gifting is all about meaningful gestures and strong connections. It shows the delight on the face of the receiver [&he

Customers in the US can look forward to more Indian flavours on store shelves. Ahead of Diwali, Walmart is making available popular Indian food and snack products in that country. It is taking products from Britannia, Bikano, VAHDAM, Coimbatore-based Jayanti Spices, and Gujarat-based frozen foods brand HyFun, among others, to the US market. Offerin

When three advertising veterans with a distinguished body of work band together to start a new venture, you sit up and take note. Former Lintas and Tilt Brand Solutions executives T Gangadhar, Shriram Iyer and Rajiv Chatterjee’s new venture, ZeroFifty Mediaworks, has just launched with the promise of simplifying the agency model. Bandra vibes The [

What keeps housewives, college students and corporate leaders glued to screens from 9.15 am to 3.30 pm on days the stock market is open? And what lessons are there in this for marketers? Middle-class India is in the grip of a pandemic, and it’s called intraday trading, or day trading — buying and selling financial […]

In the post-pandemic world, all of us had crawled out of our work-from-home caves in pyjamas, and realised that we may not need to look so put together anymore. Comfort became top priority. Suddenly, those skinny jeans or well-fitted trousers seemed too restricting. Nothing — not even formal occasions — could discourage us from sinking […]

Festive season is here — the time when brands up their creativity and pull out sparkling ideas. It’s also the season of giving, and many of the campaigns are full of purpose and tug at the heart. Meanwhile, Mattel has taken India’s biggest festival global, launching a Barbie Diwali doll in collaboration with fashion designer […]

It was a pitch fest of the Keiretsu Forum Chennai in late 2018, and Anusha and Mahesh Dharam were understandably nervous as two of their earlier pitches for venture funding hadn’t met their mark. They had brought two cartons of candy and lollipops made at their venture, Kandee Factory, for the roomful of sharp investors […]

The Puja and Diwali festive season is just ahead. This is the time of the year when many of us will think about gifting. We love receiving and giving gifts, because they are symbols of affection and respect. Gifts also make us very happy. In India, it is conventional to gift mithais or chocolates during […]

The breakfast bread that India consumes is evolving — from the unhealthy white and brown loaves, there has been a shift to multigrain, atta and now millet bread. But a small chunk of India — and not just the upper crust, but also the health conscious — have embraced artisanal, handcrafted, hearty breads being served […]

Brand and design evangelist Lulu Raghavan has just released her book Go Further, Faster, which is about professional growth and the importance of personal branding. The articulate and charming Raghavan who lives by the philosophy of “play every day” — fully immersing and enjoying every activity she engages in — has recently been elevated as [&helli

Farmery, a direct to consumer (D2C) disruptor redefining the consumer experience with fresh, organic food through its farm-to-fork ethos, has launched cow and buffalo ghee. These offerings, set to be available this month, embody the brand’s commitment to sustainability, transparency, and quality while bringing the rich heritage of traditional ghee-

“Jack be nimble, Jack be quick Jack jump over the candlestick” Who would have imagined this early 19th century nursery rhyme was actually about the Indian quick commerce (q-commerce) scenario in 2024? Just joking, of course. But it isn’t hard to see the connection. If the ‘candlestick’ is e-commerce, with its “Thank you, your item […]

One advertisement tagline that has stuck on for years is JK Tyres’ ‘Total Control’. Over the weekend, tyres developed by the Singhanias-owned tyre major powered speed demons as they roared across the 3.5km long Chennai street circuit. This is the city which witnessed motorsports and racing first in Sholavaram over three decades ago. At that [&helli

“This generation is an experience-seeker,” says brand consultant Sanjay Sarma, describing how, for the average 20-something in Delhi, a routine evening out means catching a gig at a place like SOCIAL or a musical performance at Pianoman or Depot 42. They scroll through platforms like Book My Show, Paytm Insider or Townscript to see what’s […

This fortnight has been marked by two films with standout storytelling that tugs your heartstrings. Brands are also gearing up for festive times ahead with bold campaigns. Pure nostalgia Snacking brand Chitale Bandhu, known for its Bakarwadi, has released a brand film on its 75th anniversary that has scored a big hit. Tea, a beloved […]

A recent report released by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), in collaboration with Parallel, a product design studio, highlights the use of deceptive patterns by many leading Indian apps. This study is a limited body of research that aims to serve as a starting point on this important issue. It has analysed 12,000 […]

“Where else can you be 50-year old, wear Mouse ears or dress as your favourite Disney character and be free to be a child again, without being judged!” exclaims Corey Wylde, looking at-home, dressed as Donald Duck, at the Anaheim Convention Centre in California. Her 22-year old daughter looked pretty as a picture dressed as […]

The monsoon is still active across India, and equally it has rained campaigns. After a brief dry spell, brands have found their muse in Independence Day, finding different ways to pay ode to the country. For others, the festive spirit has inspired a creative burst, with brands showing different facets of sibling love in their […]

The Advertising Club has forged a deal with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) to offer global courses at special prices to its members under the aegis of The TAC Academy. The Ad Club is an industry body representing the interests of professionals in the marketing, advertising and media world. There will be early […]

India’s $130 billion lifestyle market, with fashion accounting for nearly 80 per cent and the rest beauty and personal care segment, is expected to grow at 10-12 per cent CAGR, to reach $210 billion over the next five years, largely led by the organised segment. India’s e-lifestyle market is poised to grow from $16-$17 billion […]

Furry companions never had it so good. Till a few years ago, you could count the number of pet food brands on one paw, with Pedigrees and Whiskas from Mars International having a big share of the market. Now, the pet care shelves are suddenly crowded with not only several global biggies bringing their brands […]

(A-Z: This series of light hearted explorations on familiar objects from everyday life dear to the urban Indian middle class looks at how they shape our wants & desires and ultimately make us who we are as a people. This is the concluding article in the series.) The concept of clothes as a marker of […]

When two award-winning chefs get together it’s bound to be an unforgettable evening of gastronomic delight. ITC Hotels is bringing Chef Pam Pichaya Soontornyanakij of Bangkok’s Potong Restaurant, which boasts a Michelin star, in collaboration with Chef Manisha Bhasin, Executive Corporate Chef of ITC Hotels, to Chennai for a culinary showcase. Chef

The Chola dynasty and its nearly 1,500 year rule over southern Indian and southeast Asia is legendary. There was an outpouring of nostalgia when the movie Ponniyin Selvan, depicting the early life of Chola prince Arunmozhi Varman, was screened to critical acclaim. The nostalgia could well continue. In Chennai, ITC’s mammoth hotel, the 522 room Gran

The festive season is around the corner, with Raksha Bandhan, Janmasthami, Onam starting it all off. So is the beauty season. It’s the time when Indian women start to deck up in festive finery and glam up with make-up. Excitedly geared up for this peak season for the beauty industry are Vineeta Singh and Kaushik […]

Yoga, an ancient practice that originated in India over 5,000 years ago, was traditionally limited to yogis or individuals deeply immersed in spiritual pursuits. Yet, it was not until the West appropriated this practice and made it its own that the Indian youth and the populace at large started to appreciate the benefits of yoga […]

Imagine swapping your morning commute (groan!) for a cozy spot at home with a cup of kadak chai, and voila — you’re ready for class. From the hustle of Mumbai to the tranquility of Kerala, students and professionals are diving into the ocean of online courses, armed with nothing but their smartphones, a good internet […]

It’s said that the good that people do lives on long after they are gone. In the case of advertising doyen and philanthropist Shambhu Venkatrao Sista — better known as Bobby Sista — the Laadli campaign that promotes gender equality, one of the initiatives of his organisation, Population First, has created a huge impact in […]

Brands are chasing their own pot of gold at the Olympics, piggybacking on athletes and unleashing campaigns that highlight their grit and determination. But several brands without clear endorsement deals that tried moment marketing by congratulating the winners, especially Manu Bhaker, have received legal notices. Athletes have gotten smart. Power

At 35-year Lisha Vineeth’s home in Kochi, dishes like rasam, avial and kaalan simmer in traditional red earthen pots. She is all set for this Onam, with a range of brass urulis, chombus, and cook-and-serve claypots that hark back to another era. And no, these are not inherited heirlooms; she has bought them online, filled […]

With the Paris Olympics 2024 set to kick-off on July 26, a contingent of 117 athletes will represent India at the Games, carrying the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on their shoulders. As India aims to surpass its previous medal tally and set new records, brands too are gearing up to piggyback on […]

Later this month, the 2024 Olympic Games will open in Paris. For 19 days, millions of people across the world will be in front of their televisions, watching beautiful displays of the human body, mind and spirit. The core of the Olympics are the competitive games – a total of 329 events spanning 32 sports […]

A noticeable trend this fortnight was the growing number of brand campaigns created by independent agencies outside the networks or films created in-house by companies. Fix it with AI OPPO India’s new campaign,‘Your Everyday AI Companion’, starring Ranbir Kapoor and a life-sized CGI model, shows how the OPPO AI avatar can help when you face [&helli

A surprise recent success in the energy drinks category in India is Pepsico’s Sting which has upstaged Red Bull, capturing 90 per cent of the market share within just six years of its launch. Sting’s success in India was thanks to introducing an energy drink at an unprecedented low price point and expanding the market […]

A-Z: This series of light hearted explorations on familiar objects from everyday life dear to the urban Indian middle class looks at how they shape our wants & desires and ultimately make us who we are as a people. The “Whirlpool, Whirlpool” washing machine commercial is etched deeply in all our minds. That is where […]

In the bustling households of India, where every appliance tells a story of utility and aspiration, there lies an unsung hero — the voltage stabilizer. Imagine entering a lively middle-class home: the aroma of spices wafting through the air, children’s laughter echoing down the hall and the soft hum of electrical appliances working tirelessly to [&

It was a dull fortnight for ad commercials — perhaps due to the confusion created by the new self-declaration certification norms. Some works of new brands, however, caught the eye. Timing it sweetly Max Life Insurance scored a hit for its sweetly timed ad campaign showcased during Prime Minister Modi’s interaction with India’s T20 World […]

Adrian Mendonza has joined Rediffusion as a senior national creative resource. He will oversee creatives for the agency’s North India operations. He will be based in Delhi. Mendonza, who most recently led creative with RK Swamy BBDO and had worked on the Mercedes-Benz brand for five years, will now be responsible for the BMW India […]

Cheil X, part of Cheil SWA group, has adopted a new visual identity and philosophy which takes its muse from the agency’s Korean heritage. Cheil X is an independent full-service agency under the Cheil SWA group that manages the fast growing new client mandates in India. It has two full-fledged offices in Gurgaon and Mumbai. […]

With India’s triumphant T20 World Cup win, the ongoing UEFA European Football Championship and Tour de France, and the impending Paris Olympics, I had to do a ‘sports’ column this time. On how tech is making us fitter. I’ve been a casual, hobby runner and cyclist for a long time, about 25 years or more, […]

In February 2011, when the ODI World Cup was on, a friend who heads the South Asian operations of a Dutch tech company had some visitors from the Netherlands at his office. Coincidently the Dutch cricket team was playing England at Nagpur on that day. My friend put on the TV thinking his visitors would […]

Think Ram Madhvani and most people would instantly recollect Sushmita Sen’s Aarya or Neerja — the sensitive biopic on the brave flight purser. But for ad folks, Madhvani is synonymous with the sparkling Happydent ‘tera dil roshan’ commercial that won a Cannes Lion. Among the memorable body of advertising work of Equinox, the film production [&helli

“India has been praying for years with Cycle brand agarbathies, and now the brand aims to be the country’s puja room brand,” declares Arjun M Ranga, Managing Director of N Ranga Rao & Sons, owners of Cycle Pure Agarbathi, India’s leading agarbathi manufacturer that produces about 12 billion agarbathi sticks a year. The Mysuru-headquartered Cycl

My wife and I were in Coimbatore recently. While in this city, there is a place that I will never miss visiting. The legendary Annapoorna Hotel. This time, I ate at three of their outlets — the original restaurant in the RS Puram area, which is now more than 50 years old, a newer outlet […]

In a world where creativity is facing an imminent threat from AI, data and technology, Cannes Lions 2024 has been a celebration of creativity powered by these very seeming threats. AI, data and technology have become powerful allies for ad folks. The creative business has seamlessly embraced the power of technology to solve for large […]

As ad folk networked alongside the azure blue Mediterranean sea, sunny beaches and glamorous yachts, the talk that dominated the festival of creativity this year was all about AI, Olympics and the role of humour in ads. One of the highpoints for the guests networking over rosé bottles was when the Olympic torch cut through […]

Day marketing dominated the ads of last fortnight with Father’s Day eliciting a rush of campaigns. Pride Month and World Music Day came in for brand love too. Ode to those who do more TVS Jupiter’s Father’s Day heartwarming campaign won the internet for showing a man learning how to drape a saree so he […]

The moment you think of a uniform, the first image to enter your mind would be a school uniform. You immediately see rows of children standing for morning assembly, with their teachers reprimanding them if their shoes aren’t polished properly, hair isn’t braided or shirt isn’t tucked in. Children with the whitest shoes, tidiest hair […]

Disney+ Hotstar has launched an advertising feature for pausing ads exclusively for its Connected TV (CTV) feed, making it the first platform in the country to introduce this cutting-edge format. . On average, users pause content 4-5 times a day, with over 90 per cent of these pauses lasting less than 10 seconds. Pause ads […]

Retailers witnessed sluggish demand in May amidst elections, but are betting on a better second half. May sales were mostly led by essentials and consumer durables, including a strong demand for cooling products.   According to the latest Retail Business Survey released by the  Retailers Association of India (RAI), sales growth in May 2024 was 3 pe

If there’s one object that has revolutionised the Indian middle-class living room, it’s the television — also known as the “idiot box”. More than just an appliance, the TV became a window to the world for countless Indian households, providing entertainment, information and a unique shared experience. Contrary to the belief that smartphones have ta

Food delivery app Zomato recently introduced a new feature that suggests “healthier options” when customers select food items. For instance it will suggest roti, instead of naan, and if you are hovering over a dessert, it would suggest low calorie options. Considering that Zomato has long been providing options for healthy eating, be it salads, [&h

Is the ad and media community adapting to disruptive changes fast enough? The onslaught of technology, new consumer behaviours, changing equations with clients who increasingly treat them more like vendors than old partners, the growing influence of influencers, the need for inclusivity — many of these have posed challenges to the industry Also rea

At any given point if you log into social media platforms, you will see people ranting about the customer service of some brand or the other. It is the biggest pain point for organisations and one that they spend a lot on. Consider this: the global customer experience business process outsourcing (BPO) market size was […]

ITC Grand Chola has organised a gastronomic celebration at Madras Pavilion to commemorate World Environment Day. The event will feature a curated selection of heirloom rice cultivated through time-honoured farming techniques. The team of chefs of Madras Pavilion has crafted a menu that showcases the diverse flavours and textures of heirloom rice. &

My wife and I were travelling in Meghalaya a few weeks ago. We visited Shillong and then we went to Cherrapunji in the East Khasi hills. These were mesmerising locations, with stunning caves, waterfalls and lakes. I recalled Cherrapunji from my school geography books, where it had been showcased as the wettest place on earth. […]

The Mumbai billboard crash has shaken up the advertising industry. Will brands be reluctant to spend on the outdoor medium now? Even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) seeks structural audits on hoardings, most marketers and agencies feel that the tragedy won’t impact the out-of-home ad business. Says Abhijit Sengupta, CEO, OAP Mediate

The 2024 edition of the ad and media festival Goafest will see a lot of focus on skilling and training. Goafest has entered into a strategic partnership with D&AD, an organization representing global creative, design and ad communities, to curate skill development masterclasses at the festival’s 17th edition, in Mumbai. Crafted around the centr

This fortnight a print ad overshadowed all the TVCs, becoming the talk of the town. As IPL draws to a close, cricket continued to be a big theme. Clever bites Interiors Platform Homelane put out an eyecatching set of print ads with striking visuals and creative copy. The national ad shows a man’s head as […]

It’s a rainy morning in Chennai, unusual during the peak heat of May. Ajoy Chawla, the CEO of Tanishq, is on a quick trip for a market visit to the city. In this interview, Chawla talks about the different brands that Tanishq has, the growth and opportunities and the impact of the rising gold prices […]

With its adjustable handle, trolley wheels and lightweight exterior, the suitcase evokes style, and more importantly, the dream of a destination. With it by your side, you could be visiting a relaxing beach to sip pina coladas on a hammock or you could be moving to a new city to start an exciting chapter in […]

How to manage the marketing communication strategies for a brand that is sold all over the world? I do a session titled ‘Adopt, Adapt, Create’ at B Schools and it stimulates some healthy discussion on how MNC brand advertising should be or should not be handled. I was introduced to this concept two decades or […]

A few days back, an AI-generated video featuring Mamata Banerjee made waves on social media, prompting the killjoy Kolkata Police to send a warning to the creator — which made it even more popular. Later, the PM, never to miss an opportunity, retweeted a similar video of him, showing his dancing, with a funny line. […]

If there’s one object that symbolises the Indian middle-class pre-liberalisation, it is the scooter for sure. Scooter was not just a typical two-wheeler for the middle class, it gave wings to the middle-class dream. Ironically, the family had to scoot over enough to make ample space on to the scooter. Somehow, the scooter always managed […]

Advertisers love mothers — after all they wield undue influence in the shopping decision. Millions of ads have been made portraying mothers recommending everything from tea to detergent. So it’s hardly surprising that on Mother’s Day, advertisers are scripting beautiful campaigns effusively celebrating the day. The maternal instinct For dairy brand

Meet anyone in the recruiting industry and the constant lament is how finding the right-fit candidate is very tough. Could it be the fault of the job ads they are putting out? The style of how we work has changed. Employees have changed. What they look for in jobs now is very different from what […]

I recently began using a Mont Blanc Meisterstück fountain pen. It is a pleasure to write with, and its overall look and feel is so beautiful. Whenever I write with this pen, I feel that the hectic pace of my life slows down, and time comes to a standstill. That is perhaps the exact emotion […]

Goafest, the premier event of the advertising and marketing community is back — but this time in Mumbai. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club have chosen the theme — ‘The Age of Adaptability’ for Goafest 2024. It’s a fitting change, as the event in its 17th edition will have to […]

When the shoe does not fit, it’s time to rethink size measures! And that’s what is happening in India. There may soon be a new sizing system called ‘Bha’ to measure footwear for Indians. Currently Indians use Europeans standards to gauge sizes. The need for a local system for shoe sizes has arisen given the […]

In a world where convenience reigns supreme, the evolution of technology has led us down a path where every aspect of our lives is meticulously controlled by a single, omnipotent device: the remote. The evolution of remote controls is a fascinating story in itself. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Nikola Tesla experimented with […]

The advent of summer has seen brands at their light-hearted best. Quirky scenarios and humorous dialogues are being used to deliver summer laughs and the brand message.  The cool Waah moment Ice cream brand Vadilal’s summer campaign consists of three films that depict the significance of celebrations and the need for its presence. Each of […

It’s been ten years since the DDB Group bought out 22feet, a fast growing independent digital agency (named interestingly after the size of our small intestine to denote its gutsiness) and merged it into its existing digital unit, Tribal Worldwide to create 22feet Tribal. Three years earlier, in 2011, Omnicom had acquired Mudra and merged […

With just a few days to go for the first phase of #GeneralElections2024 to begin, every politician worth his salt or her sugar is out campaigning. Physically and virtually. In this column, I’ll explore how some first-time Lok Sabha aspirants are using social media/digital platforms to campaign and steal an early march over their rivals. […]

There was homage to history. There was homage to grapes and wine and misty hills. There was homage to Indian capability. Last week, when the world’s largest selling whisky brand, McDowell’s, launched a single malt, the colour purple — in all its hues, from pale lavender to deep burgundy — dominated the room. An apt […]

The start of the financial year has seen brands get off to a great start with several good campaigns flooding the screens. Some of these, like Ariel, are annual iterations — a nice touch, for it shows continuity of thought and messaging. The real star Online travel firm MakeMyTrip’s latest campaign uses star power rather […]

It’s just over a month since Babita Baruah took charge as the CEO of VML India. For Baruah, who was leading WPP’s Ford business for several international markets and serving as executive director of VMLY&R, Thailand, out of Bangkok, the return to Mumbai has been a homecoming of sorts. She has seen all the avatars of […]

As symphonic as the ‘tring-tring’ of the telephone, and the ‘ding dong’ of the doorbell, is the whistle (Seeti) from a pressure cooker in an Indian home. The trademark sound accompanied by the noise of gushing steam tempted Sandeep to check the scene in the kitchen. He found his Paati (Grandmother) very carefully stirring the […]

My favourite marketing moment of the recently concluded Tata Women’s Premier League (WPL) came when Ellyse Perry, playing for team RCB, hit a huge shot that broke the window glass of the Tata Punch.ev car displayed near the boundary of the stadium. By doing this she shattered yet another glass ceiling, in the midst of […]

Guess who is hitting the jackpot on India’s start-up street? Their films might be hit or miss, but Bollywood celebrities are finding huge success with the brands they are co-creating. Take Katrina Kaif, who teamed up with beauty and lifestyle retailer, Nykaa, to launch Kay Beauty in 2019. Nearly 1.5 million consumers have bought the […]

Publicis India is ramping up its creative leadership. It has appointed Aman Mannan and Shitu Patil as joint National Creative Directors (NCDs). The duo will lead the creative vision for all brands at Publicis India, and report to Managing Director, Oindrila Roy. Mannan has nearly 25 years of experience across leading agencies such as Interface [&he

International influencer marketing agency YKONE has announced it is acquiring 70 per cent stake in Indian content and influencer marketing agency Barcode. For the Paris headquartered YKONE, founded in 2008 which has a turnover of close to $100 million, the acquisition is strategic, especially as it has a big play in luxury segment. Given that [&hel

It’s IPL season and the volume of ads has gone up. It also means CRED is back with its signature disruptive ads. It’s also poll season and there is fair buzz around political ads. Different strokes CRED has served up an ace of an ad this cricket season getting Leander Paes to show off his […]