Ad Campaigns

‘A watch, not a gizmo:’ O&M’s campaign for Titan’s Juxt

Published

10 years ago

February 3, 2016

MUMBAI: From smart phones to smart watches, the gizmos are getting more and more compact. With increasing number of players like Apple, Samsung and Motorola and now Titan entering the smart-watch fray, campaigning for a new product in a market, which has already been impacted by other brands in the same category, is no doubt challenging. Therefore for the recently launched Titan Juxt smart watch, Ogilvy and Mather Bengaluru took the ‘not just a technological intrigue’ route when building awareness.

The Juxt ads don’t have flashy shots, text heavy screen explaining features, expensive locales, sexy models and difficult camera angles but resort to a simple laid back and nonchalant conversation between three friends – director Kabir Khan, music composer Pritam and actor Vir Das, which brings out why the new smart watch can become part of our lifestyle. The ads imply the fact that that besides being “stunning,” the Juxt watch is also “smart.”

With #SmartIsStunning being the core thought, the agency has released two TVCs, which sees the three familiar yet fresh faces getting into a banter where Juxt is mentioned in a matter fact manner that smartly brings out the need to adapt with technology.

“Smart watches brought to the market by tech companies have focused on technology. After the initial excitement of owning a tech loaded watch dies down, most consumers grapple with the role these watches play in their lives. Consumers still gravitate towards watches that are about craftsmanship and beauty. Herein was the big opportunity for Titan Juxt – a watch that bridges the gap between good looks and technology. The core thought was to make consumers evaluate smart watches on a new parameters of watch design and looks,” shares Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore Senior vice president & head of advertising,Tithi Ghosh.

Aimed at the creative minded people — and hence the choice of casting– the agency wanted to reach out to those who realise the importance of staying networked in their professional and personal lives with a digital first approach.

“We looked at the world of the successful creative professionals who also have significant social presence and influence and chose Kabir Khan, Pritam and Vir Das. All three are hugely successful in their respective fields and would easily manage to start a conversation around Titan Juxt,” Ghosh points out.

Having said that, the Juxt smart watches are priced at the premium end of Titan’s product range.

Elaborating on the concept of Juxt as not just a gizmo but a timepiece, Ghosh further adds, “The next time a consumer is looking at a smart watch, he will certainly consider how desirable the watch is in its design aesthetics and the Titan Juxt also scores over competition in this respect. It is meant to be respected as a ‘watch’ and not a gizmo.”

But this very ‘by the way’ toned brand communication may be a hit or a miss with consumers, feel several creatives in the industry, who feel the new campaign for Juxt leaves something wanting.

“It’s a very Titan thing to do, this ad,” says a well known creative from the industry, who shares his take on the campaign on condition of anonymity.

“Without even seeing the credits I can tell it’s a Titan watch ad, and Ogilvy has done a very good job of tying this new product to Titan’s essence. But is this a smart watch? I don’t think so. The ‘matter of fact’ way in which the smart watch is introduced in the TVC is as if the brand is saying to the consumers: ‘We have a new watch out. Oh, and by the way, it is a smart watch.’ Judging by the campaign, I feel that the target market isn’t the hardcore tech nerds who go gaga over new technology, nor is Titan competing with Apple and Google,” opines the creative.

“The ad doesn’t highlight the services that the smart watch can give, which my phone isn’t already taking care of for me or why I need the smart features in the watch? While it would be unwise to comment without knowing the mandate for the campaign, but the ad takes a middle path when it comes to the target group — watch lovers who may also like new features,” he further adds.

While Dentsu Aegis Network chairman & CEO South Asia Ashish Bhasin finds the advertisement informative enough about the new features, he feels the ad is a missed opportunity when it comes to upholding a product which is a first of sorts in the market.

“It is definitely the first time that an Indian watch maker has come out with a smart watch, but that doesn’t come through in the ad. So it’s a bit of a missed opportunity because as a product Juxt is unique and therefore holds a huge scope that could have been capitalised upon better,” Bhasin opines. “I do feel it could have evoked an emotional connect with the consumers a little more. What I feel missing from the ad is the value addition to the product. The ad establishes the features but what doesthat do for the consumers?” Bhasin questions.

“Despite the wave of headlines seen when several tech giants released their versions of smart watches, India as a market is yet to see a tidal wave in demand for the products, which hints at a need for an ‘X factor’ that the tech companies haven’t catered to. Titan as a watchmaker is armed with an understanding of the watch buyers in the market, which gives them an advantage,” observes Ghosh.

Whether Titan’s old world charm will work for a contemporary product like Juxt, or the brand will have to come up with a new strategy, only time will tell. That said, the #SmartIsStunning campaign definitely joins the ranks of brands with innovative campaigns from the brand – agency association.

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Ad Campaigns

Amazon Ads maps 2026 as AI and streaming rewrite ad playbooks

Published

1 month ago

January 15, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.

At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.

“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”

One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.

AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.

Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.

Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.

Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.

Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.

Ad Campaigns

Publicis India appoints Sonal Verma as Arc Worldwide MD

Published

1 month ago

January 15, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe India has appointed Sonal Verma as managing director of Arc Worldwide India, handing the reins of its experiential and shopper marketing business to a leader steeped in live brands and real world storytelling.

Arc Worldwide, the Groupe’s specialist arm focused on experiences that nudge consumers from curiosity to checkout, sits at the intersection of creativity, commerce and culture. Verma’s mandate is to sharpen that edge as brands grapple with shorter attention spans and more complicated buying journeys.

Verma joins from Cheil India, where she spent nearly five years building and leading the brand experience practice, most recently as senior vice president and head of brand experience. Her career reads like a tour of India’s experiential landscape, with leadership roles at Momentum Worldwide, Percept D Mark, Blockkbuster Events and Showtime Events.

She has also held senior activation roles at Radio City and The Times of India, giving her a rare mix of agency, media and on-ground execution experience. The common thread has been simple: turning big ideas into moments people remember and talk about.

At Arc Worldwide India, Verma will focus on expanding the agency’s experiential and shopper capabilities, strengthening client partnerships and keeping the work firmly rooted in consumer behaviour rather than buzzwords.

With Verma at the helm, Arc Worldwide is expected to double down on ideas that live beyond screens and closer to everyday life. For an industry obsessed with clicks and scrolls, this is a reminder that sometimes the strongest connections still happen face to face.

Ad Campaigns

Barbeque Nation taps ‘milne ki bhookh’ to kick off the new year

Published

2 months ago

December 29, 2025

indiantelevision.com Team

BENGALURU: Barbeque Nation is ringing in the new year with a reminder that some cravings cannot be ordered online. The casual dining chain has rolled out a new film campaign, milne ki bhookh, pitching its restaurants as places to meet, reconnect and linger over food.

Set against a world of constant messages and missed meet-ups, the campaign leans into a simple truth: dining out remains one of the few rituals that still brings people together. Barbeque Nation positions itself as the excuse and the setting for real conversations, shared plates and unhurried moments.

Nakul Gupta, cmo at Barbeque Nation, says the brand has long been about shared celebrations. As the year turns, milne ki bhookh captures what he calls a growing hunger to meet, connect and spend time together, with food at the centre of that experience.

Created by Makani Creatives, the campaign comprises three films built around Barbeque Nation’s signature grills and desserts. The storytelling is deliberately sensorial, designed to spark cravings while nudging diners to step out and meet in person.

Pavan Punjabi, chief integration officer at Makani Creatives, says the idea stems from a familiar contradiction. People are constantly connected, yet meetings with loved ones are endlessly postponed. Milne ki bhookh, he says, is a gentle push to make time for real-life catch-ups, using food as the reason to come together, share a meal and create memories.

The campaign breaks on December 25 with the grilled prawns film and will run for two months, amplified across digital platforms. As the new year begins, Barbeque Nation is betting that the strongest appetite of all is not for food alone, but for each other.