MAM
Why do we lack animated ads despite their popularity
MUMBAI: Do you recollect the much-loved Zoozoos, the evergreen Amul girl or the crazy alien dance when they find Cadbury Chocolate on their planet? Most of us might because these are iconic animated characters that create a higher brand recall in the consumer’s mind.
Eye-catchy visuals in animated ads not only help push brand advertising but also have a 30 per cent higher engagement rate making it an essential piece for the marketing heads in order to drive more consumer engagement and conversation.
The claim to the first animated advertisement is a much-debated subject but one of the oldest recorded animated ads was named ‘Matches an Appeal’ that utilised stop-motion to illustrate a matchstick man spelling out the company’s name. Although animation in advertising dates back to as early as 1940, the phenomenon hit India only in late 90s. Brands such as Amul, Vodafone, Appy Fizz, Mortein and Red Bull, etc, are the brands that successfully used animation in ads.
Dentsu One national creative director Titus Upputuru points out that, while some great animation ads have been created in the past, there is a lack of innovation in animation for television advertising. Though, we are more advanced today, the same is not reflected in the advertising industry through animations.
Explaining that India has a long heritage of drawing and painting, Publicis India MD and chief creative officer for South Asia Bobby Pawar draws attention to technology and newer well equipped animation studios that have created animations for Hollywood blockbuster Avatar, in turn aiding the evolution of the art of animation in India.
Time still remains a major constraint while creating animated ads. Titus adds, “We don’t see a lot of animated ads because it is time consuming to create each frame and see progression of movement or any action in the frame.”
According to a recent FICCI KPMG report on the Indian media and entertainment industry, Indian animation and VFX industry grew at 16.4 per cent in 2016 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 17.2 per cent over 2017–21 to reach a size of Rs 131.7 billion, driven by a steady 9.5 per cent growth in animation and a 25 per cent growth in the VFX segment. Although the numbers look decent, we lag behind the West when it comes to the quality of animation and seamless VFX.
Bobby Pawar suggests that, “There is a serious dearth of talent for animation directors; people who can imagine characters, write about them and have fun with them.” While lack of talent, studio-set ups, animation artists, time, and the high cost of execution remain a challenge for the industry, brands are slowly inclined to experiment.
Indiantelevision.com takes you through some of most memorable and milestone moments (ads) in the Indian ad world.
Maggi noodles, as we know now, once had flavours like Fruitti fruitti (more like Toofi Frooti) and Toffi Toffi back in 1986. Although the ad was loved by the kids, the sweet flavours did not work for the brand and were soon discontinued. Maggi hasn’t gone the animated ads way after that and decided to get celebrities instead or showcase the ‘2-minute’ cooking.
OLD MAGGI TVC:
Created by Sylvester da Cunha in 1966 to rival Polson’s butter girl, the Amul Girl which was a 2D animation character was first used in outdoor advertisement and later made her way to television ads.
OLD AMUL TVC:
AMUL TVC (2013):
The poofy-loveable white creatures, Zoozoos have been a hit ever since they were launched in 2009 during the second season of Indian Premier League. The white creatures with ballooned bodies and egg heads have been used to promote various value added services of Vodafone and remain a favourite among the viewers. Vodafone continues to leverage the popularity of Zoozoos even today.
Vodafone Zoozoos TVC:
Nestle India has experimented on an array of products from their kitty with animation and VFX in their ads, be it the singing Squirrel ad, the dancing babies ad, love birds ad for Kitkat or the Kangaroo mother ad for Nestea. The ads have helped the brand in creating higher brand recall and driving more sales.
NESTEA TVC:
Mondelez International created animated ads as early as 1980’s in the United States and other markets but the concept came to India only in 2004 when Mondelez India (then known as, Cadbury India) decided to have an animation film to promote its new product. Although Dairy Milk has always been associated with its iconic ads and the song ‘Kuch khaas hai, kya swaad hai zindagi mein,’ the brand decided to adopt a new song this time that would be a hit with their target audience (kids) for this new product (Dairy Milk 2 in 1). The ad became an instant hit and it also used the animated series to advertise another product (Dairy Milk Whoopie). In October 2016, Cadbury Dairy Milk introduced an animated alien series to promote its product with #InterstellarParty where the alien was thoroughly enticed by the chocolate. The song became an instant viral hit.
DAIRY MILK TVC (2004):
DAIRY MILK TVC (2016) :
Havmor ice creams is the latest entrant to join the bandwagon of animated ads. With an aim to create a property that reflects what Havmor stands for, the brand has launched a #MadeOfMilk campaign to grab the attention of the consumer and create a lasting impression.
HAVMOR TVC (2017) :
MAM
Nielsen launches co-viewing pilot to sharpen TV measurement
Super Bowl pilot to refine how shared TV audiences are counted
MUMBAI: Nielsen is taking a fresh stab at one of television’s oldest blind spots: how many people are actually watching the same screen. The audience-measurement giant on February 4 unveiled a co-viewing pilot that uses wearable devices to better capture shared viewing, starting with America’s biggest broadcast stage.
The trial begins with Super Bowl LX on NBC on February 8, 2026, before extending to other high-profile live sports and entertainment events in the first half of the year. The goal is simple but commercially potent: count viewers more accurately, especially during live spectacles that pull families and friends to one screen.
The new approach leans on Nielsen’s proprietary wearable meters, wrist-worn devices that resemble smartwatches. These passively capture audio signatures from TV content, logging exposure to shows, films and live events without requiring viewers to sign in or self-report. In theory, fewer clicks, fewer lapses, better data.
Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s ceo, cast the move as part of a broader measurement push. He said the company’s task is to keep pushing accuracy as clients invest heavily in live programming that draws mass audiences. The co-viewing pilot, he added, builds on upgrades such as Big Data + Panel measurement, out-of-home expansion, live-streaming metrics and wearable-based tracking.
Co-viewing is not new territory for Nielsen, which has long tried to estimate how many people sit before a single set. What is new is the heavier integration of wearables and passive detection to reduce reliance on active inputs from panel homes.
For now, the pilot comes with caveats. Co-viewing estimates from the trial will not be folded into Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings, which remain the industry’s trading currency. Instead, pilot findings will be shared with clients a few weeks after final Big Data + Panel ratings are delivered. Clients may disclose those findings publicly.
More impact data will follow later this year. Full integration into Nielsen’s marketing-intelligence suite is slated as a longer-term play, with a target of bringing co-viewing into currency measurement for the 2026–2027 season. This is only phase one, with further co-viewing enhancements planned beyond 2026 and additional timelines to be announced.
The push fits a wider pattern. Nielsen has in recent years expanded big-data integration, adopted first-party data for live-streaming measurement and broadened out-of-home tracking. It also positions itself as the reference point for streaming metrics through products such as The Gauge and the Nielsen Streaming Top 10.
In a market where billions of ad dollars hinge on decimal points, counting who is in the room matters. If Nielsen can pin down shared viewing, the humble sofa could become prime measurement real estate. The race to count every eyeball just found a new wrist to watch.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
MAM
Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships
At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.
Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.
Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.
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