Category: MAM

MUMBAI: UltraTech Cement has renewed its sponsorship agreement with the Indian Premier league (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals.   
Through this association, UltraTech will be the official team sponsor of the Jaipur-based IPL team.
 
UltraTech Cement business head OP Puranmalka said, “The coming together of the two brands, UltraTech Cement and Rajasthan Royals, is the bringing together of two champions. Both are champions in their respective domains. Both are leaders and victorious, and are a perfect match. UltraTech has had a long association with Indian Cricket and we are extremely proud to be associated with Rajasthan Royals.”
 

MUMBAI: The period for December 2009 saw a total of nine ads come under the scanner, reveals the latest report from The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). While one ad out of the nine was withdrawn, four underwent modification.

The ad that was withdrawn is that of Telemart Shopping Network for its Saptarishi Sri Panchmukhi Hanuman Kavach brand.
 
According to the report, the ad claims that the brand has supernatural qualities of providing energy and fending off all problems related to health, wealth and wisdom. As per CCC, the claims of the product were not substantiated, and thus the TVC has been withdrawn. Since the claims of the product were not corroborated, the commercial was withdrawn. 
 
Meanwhile, the ads that underwent modification are those of Novartis India Ltd for its Otrivin Nasal Spray TVC, The Unicharm India Pvt Ltd ad for Mamy Poko Pants diapers and the Airtel Digital TV ad.
 
The ads that were not upheld by CCC are Red Bull India, Orion Appliances for Spectrawide Water Purification System, Dabur Uveda Fairness Cream and Nutra Skyn Care for its Toppik Hair Building Fibers.

MUMBAI:Rediffusion-Y&R has been assigned with the creative duties of Rasna. 
 
Says Rediffusion Y&R Mumbai EVP Nisha Singhania, “We are glad to have won the Rasna account as it‘s an iconic brand. We have a deep understanding in the children and mother‘s segment in the Indian market. We shared our ideas with Rasna and they were happy with what we offered.”
 
The new campaign for Rasna will be launched during the summer of 2009.
 

MUMBAI: Grey India has won the creative duties of Dabur’s Fem and Oxybleach business.
 
Bagged after a multi-agency pitch, the accounts will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.
 
The Fem portfolio includes brands such as Stratum colour protecting hair conditioners, Botanica anti-aging cream, Oxybleach cream and Saka Men’s Bleach.
 
In December last year, Dabur had roped in Bates 141 and Law & Kenneth to handle the creative duties of Oxybleach ( for women) and Saka Men’s Bleach respectively, both of which are part of the Fem portfolio.

MUMBAI: Asian Paints has rolled out the Apex Ultima campaign. Conceptualized by Ogilvy Mumbai, the brand will be focusing on pushing Asian Paints‘ colour stay property.
 
Says Asian Paints VP sales & marketing Amit Syngle, “The new Apex Ultima film has been targeted at the high end consumer who has a taste of good living. The communication focuses on showcasing the ‘colour stay‘ property of the brand through an engaging film.” 
 
Adds Ogilvy Mumbai SVP Deepika Tiwari: “In this film we have communicated a simple promise ‘come what may Apex Ultima from Asian Paints is a paint that stays.”

MUMBAI: Kimberly-Clark has roped in Prakash Iyer as managing director of Kimberley Clark Lever, a 50:50 joint
venture between Kimberly-Clark Corporation, of USA and Hindustan Lever.

Iyer takes over from Rajeev Mohan who is retiring from the company after a stint of over 30 years stretched across USA and Indian in multiple functions and roles. 
 
Iyer says, “I am looking forward to my new innings with Kimberly-Clark. I hope to take our brands Huggies and Kotex to greater heights by tapping unexplored segments of the hygiene market and creating a stronger connect with Indian consumers.”

Based out of Pune, Iyer will be responsible for growing the business and the category in India. He will also be part of the regional leadership team of South Asian Developing & Emerging Countries comprising India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia.
 
Incidentally, Iyer started his career with Hindustan Lever (now Hindustan Unilever) as a management trainee. Prior to this, Iyer was Future group CEO and was responsible for the company‘s loyalty business.

MUMBAI: 141Sercon, a below-the-line marketing agency, has won the mandate to organize the eighth edition of the Chennai Marathon. The event will be held on 21 February 21. The marketing spends for the same are estimated at about Rs 30 million.
 
Organised by Sports Authority of Tamil Nadu, this consumer activation event plans to bring together about 25,000-30,000 participants including consumers, corporates, schools, colleges, government departments and celebrities.
 
Says 141Sercon VP – sales & marketing CR Prasanna, “Chennai marathon not only represents the spirit of the city but also gives exciting opportunities to a brand to connect with its target group.”
 
The marathon will be promoted through a 360 degree campaign covering print, electronic, digital and outdoor media. 141Sercon will be responsible for managing the complete marathon besides sponsorship generation.
 

MUMBAI: Law & Kenneth has been assigned with the creative duties of Kelvinator as well as Sansui following a multi-agency pitch.

The other agencies that too scouted for the twin account include Fortune Communications and Pickle Advertising. Saatchi & Saatchi is the incumbent agency.
 
The sizes of both the accounts together stand at Rs 400 million.
 
As part of its new mandate, Law & Kenneth will devise a 360 degree creative plan for both Kelvinator and Sansui that will include print, out-of-home, television, internet and below-the-line (BTL) activities.

The creatives for both the account will be launched in the next 2-3 weeks. 
 
Says Law and Kenneth SVP Varinder Shah Kant, “The summer campaign for Kelvinator will be launched with a new positioning. For the Sansui account, we will be focusing on its Japanese heritage as the brand has to break the LCD TV advertising clutter.”
 

MUMBAI: It is a catch that could be worth Rs 1 billion. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. has decided to shift its media planning and buying business to Mediaedge:cia (MEC), a GroupM company.

TME, the media arm of Rediffusion DY&R, will, thus, have to end a 25-year-old relationship in India that had even survived the global alignment of Colgate-Palmolive‘s media business with MEC in 2004. India, in fact, was the only country where TME had the media mandate until now. 
 
The change will be effective 1 April. Earlier, Mindshare, part of GroupM, had retained the Unilever account.

Says Mediaedge:cia India MD T Gangadhar, “As part of its strategy to achieve better global and divisional alignment, Colgate-Palmolive (India) has reassigned its media planning and buying account to MEC India, a WPP group company, which is Colgate-Palmolive‘s globally aligned media agency.” 
 
Rediffusion DY&R, however, will continue to handle Colgate-Palmolive‘s creative duties.

Says TME president Divya Radhakrishnan,” It has been a great journey and we are extremely proud of our association with Colgate Palmolive. To be able to retain the business for six years is a tribute to the great work that the team at TME has done over the years. Global realignments are a modern reality and it‘s a pity that a great partnership has to end due to matters beyond our control.” 
 
Colgate-Palmolive‘s range includes toothpastes, toothpowder and toothbrushes under the Colgate brand, dental therapies under the banner of Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals and personal care products under the Palmolive brand.
 

MUMBAI: Himanshu Shekhar has put in his papers at Big FM as regional head of North and West India, after a two-year stint. 
 
It is learned from sources that Shekhar is serving his notice period at the FM radio company and will be joining Mindshare Fulcrum in Jakarta.  
 
“Shakhar will be joining Mindshare Fulcrum sometime next month and will be heading the media account of Unilever,” the source said. 
 
This will be his second stint with Mindshare Fulcrum, where Shekhar had earlier served for eight years before joining Big FM in 2008.