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Tag: advertising

  • Bharti Airtel revenues jump 22 per cent in Q2

    Bharti Airtel revenues jump 22 per cent in Q2

    NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced its highest ever consolidated quarterly revenue, reporting a 22 per cent jump driven by higher tariffs and a rise in data usage from a Covid2019-fuelled shift to remote working. 

    India revenues for the quarter ended 30 September was at Rs 18,747 crore year on year while mobile revenues grew by 26 per cent. As a result, average revenue per user for the quarter rose to Rs 162, from Rs 128 last year. 

    Consolidated net loss for the quarter came in at Rs 763 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 23,045 crore a year earlier.

    The company has continued to garner a strong share of the 4G net adds in the market. 4G data customers increased by 48.1 per cent to 152.7 million compared to the previous year while traffic increased to 77.3 PB/day vs 48.9 PB/day in the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated mobile data traffic was at 7,403 PBs in the quarter with a healthy YoY growth of 58.8 per cent. 

    As for engagement parameters, average data usage per data subscriber stood at 16.0 GBs/month; while voice usage was at 1,005 mins per user per month.

    Homes business segment witnessed a revenue growth of 7.3 per cent YoY. The company added over 129,000 customers during the quarter to reach a total base of 2.58 million. It re-calibrated its offering and launched Xstream bundled with content and unlimited internet to accelerate penetration. The company signed on many more LCO partnerships in non-wired cities, extending the model to 48 cities. The company also focused on fast-track network expansion by rolling out fibre home passes and upgrading existing copper network during the quarter.  

    Airtel Business clocked a growth rate of 7.5 per cent YoY, driven by data demand across global business and enterprise and government business. To further leverage growth from “Work from Home”, Airtel BlueJeans, Airtel Secure, Airtel Cloud and Airtel IQ were launched to meet the specific needs of B2B customers.

    Airtel MD & CEO India & South Asia Gopal Vittal said, “Despite being a seasonally weak quarter, we delivered a strong performance with revenue growing at 22 per cent YoY. In the mobile segment, we added over 14 million 4G customers and grew revenues by 26 per cent. Our data consumption grew by 58 per cent YoY which reflects strong  engagement of customers on our network. Other lines of business also continued with steady  growth momentum, with Airtel Business growing 7.5 per cent YoY.”

    Digital TV witnessed a growth of 1.9 per cent YoY on an underlying basis, on the back of strong customer additions of 549,000 during the quarter. Airtel continued to expand its channel portfolio and is also working with educational institutions to broadcast classes to students to ensure education is not disrupted.

    In the digital services segment, Airtel now has 160 million digitally engaged users. On Wynk, it’s now #1 in terms of MAUs (59.3 million in Q2’21) with an addition of 9 million during the quarter; Thanks platform has 81.6 million MAUs in Q2, with an addition of 8 million and Airtel Xstream is at 33.7 million MAUs, addition of 8 million users during the  quarter. 

     Consolidated EBITDA witnessed an increase of 32.6 per cent YoY to Rs 11,848 crore in Q2’21. This led to an improvement in EBITDA margin from 42.3 per cent in Q2’20 to 46.0per cent in Q2’21. Incremental EBITDA margins across businesses remained healthy, with mobile services EBITDA improving from 36.3 per cent in Q2’20 to 42.6 per cent in Q2’21. 

  • CEAT appoints HUL’s Priya Nair as additional director

    CEAT appoints HUL’s Priya Nair as additional director

    KOLKATA: Tyre manufacturer CEAT has appointed Hindustan Unilever Limited’s Priya Nair as additional director in the capacity of independent director. Her appointment is effective from 27 October, for a tenure of five years.

    Nair is vice president – beauty and personal care at Unilever South Asia, where she's responsible for the business across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Her duties include business delivery on top line and bottom line by creating and delivering a strategic plan for the business. She has also served as executive director of the home care segment at HUL.

    She has led sustainability initiatives for HUL with a focus on the WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) programme for the company. Reaching over 140 million people under the Swachh Aadat Swachh Bharat initiative, it educates consumers to adopt three clean habits of washing hands with soap, drinking clean purified water and using a clean toilet.

    One of the most influential women marketeers in India, Nair was invited by Niti Aayog to participate in the Champions of Change programme.

  • Sweet success: How Apis is achieving its B2C goals through IPL

    Sweet success: How Apis is achieving its B2C goals through IPL

    NEW DELHI: If a brand wants to reiterate its positioning or share new positioning; introduce a new product/service or range; induce high brand recall or saliency, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the perfect platform for it. The cricket extravaganza attracts undivided attention from millions of fans across the country, on both television and mobile screens.

    Homegrown brand Apis, a name to reckon with in organised honey trade in the country, took a cue from the above insight and decided to introduce itself to the pan-India audiences via IPL. The brand has partnered with Rajasthan Royals as an associate sponsor and is the leading headgear partner for the team.

    Until 2015, Apis was mostly into B2B exports of honey and domestic private labels, but then it decided to foray into the B2C space as well. The nearly century-old brand – specializing in honey, tea, cookies, pickles, jam, dates, preserves – raked in Rs 102 crore in revenue for the fiscal year 2018-19. 

    Apis was keen on making its debut with IPL due to its mass viewership but had been unable to do so before because of the tournament’s timing.

    “IPL has always been scheduled in the April-May period, which is not a key advertising season for brands like us. This year it coincides with our critical advertising period and we feel it is the right time for us to associate with the tournament,” said Apis CEO Pankaj Mishra.

    The brand has planned a strong foray into the B2C space by leveraging IPL to create an impact on the minds of consumers, and thereby improve brand recall. “The goal of the collaboration is to strengthen brand value and recall by engaging with a vast consumer base. The brand logo on the team's helmet is aligned with the overall brand narrative of ‘Immunity Building’ being a necessity,” explained Mishra.

    He went on to say that during the pandemic health has taken centre stage in everyone’s lives. As a result, people are rediscovering honey as an effective natural therapy, capable of reducing acute inflammation and boosting immunity.

    The association of the honey brand with health benefits will be amplified with a 360-degree campaign and marketing mediums covering television, print as well as digital and social media platforms, he added.

    To this end, the brand is holding contests on its socials and creating content to engage with the audience. It has also signed on for digital promotions across cricket affinity platforms like Hot Star, Cricbuzz and Gaana.com.

    Simultaneously, Apis is working to release a TVC that will push the brand messaging. “The brand will spend 60-70 per cent of the marketing budget on digital media, followed by the other mediums of communication,” Mishra summed up.

    He was of the view that the brand’s tie-in with the IPL will also generate a massive reach and exposure not only at home but in the UAE market also.

    In the three years since its entry into the B2C segment, Apis has performed fairly well in terms of revenue, with the south Indian market being the strongest in terms of performance. Hence, the partnership with Rajasthan Royals was in aid of making a strong impact across various regions.

    On the back of strong consumer response, the company added four new categories to its product portfolio – Apis Fruit blast, Jams, Apis Pickles, Apis Preserves, and recently, Apis soya chunks during the last two years. It has plans to introduce more products in the coming years. 

    Delineating the overall objective, Mishra said: “The brand has plans to clock Rs 200 crores this fiscal. In spite of being the lean season, the first half of the fiscal has delivered good numbers and we expect a stronger operational performance. Now, as we are entering the higher consumption cycle for our product categories, we are planning new launches, thus adding on to the top line.”

    Apis’ association with the IPL is a smart move but the brand has to be very focused towards measuring the RoI. “Our aim is to gain an increase in brand awareness, increased engagement, brand loyalty and trust, which will thus get converted to sales. We will measure success on the basis of our increase in followers, engagement rate, reach, and impressions on social media. These marketing activities would help us in the sales of our products,” Mishra stated. 

    As per media reports, the honey market in India was worth Rs 15,579 million in 2018, registering a CAGR of 10.9 per cent during 2012-2018. The market is further projected to reach a value of Rs 28,057 million by 2024, at a CAGR of 10.2 per cent during 2019-2024. 

    An Apeda report stated that honey exports from India grew 19 per cent year-on-year in 2018-19 to 61,333 tons, valued at Rs 732.16 crore. In 2019-2020, the country exported 59,536.75 tons of natural honey to the world for the worth of Rs 633.82 crores.

  • IPG names Philippe Krakowsky as new CEO

    IPG names Philippe Krakowsky as new CEO

    KOLKATA: IPG has named Philippe Krakowsky as chief executive officer effective 1 January 2021. Michael I. Roth, the current chairman and chief executive officer will remain in his current role until then and when he will become executive chairman of the Board.

    Krakowsky is currently the executive vice president and chief operating officer of IPG and the chairman of IPG Mediabrands, with direct oversight of several IPG companies.

    "Philippe is the right CEO for the next era at IPG," said Roth. "He is a brilliant strategist and effective leader who has played a key role in developing our open architecture client service model, as well as modernizing our data, marketing services and media solutions. Our partnership over the years has been a key factor in our long-term success with both clients and our people.”

    “Through his multiple experiences running businesses and corporate functions at IPG, Philippe has built an outstanding track record of delivering growth for clients and IPG. In working with him for these past 18 years, I’ve seen first hand that Philippe is a values-driven leader who is well-positioned to lead IPG and our clients into a new era of marketing. He cares about people and leads with his head and his heart,” Roth added.

    Read more news on IPG

    Roth joined the IPG board in 2002 and chaired its Audit Committee until his appointment as Executive Chairman and co-CEO in 2004, and CEO in 2005. During his tenure as CEO, Roth righted the company’s financial course and made IPG an industry leader through organizational and financial restructuring, building a culture of collaboration, and ensuring IPG remained ahead of its peers through the early adoption of data-centric and digital-first tools across the entire organization.

    As a result, in each of the past five years, IPG’s growth rate has outperformed the industry average, and total shareholder return has topped IPG’s peer group over trailing one-, three-, five-, and 10-year periods, marking a reliable level of achievement and progress during a time that saw significant change in the industry with constantly evolving market dynamics.

    Roth’s tenure is also highlighted by his commitment and investment towards diversity and inclusion as a cornerstone of the organization. Under Roth’s leadership, IPG made diversity and inclusion a key aspect of how IPG’s leadership team and individual businesses are graded and introduced ambitious goals to create long-term culture change. Since Roth began implementing IPG’s formal diversity and inclusion programs, the company has seen important shifts in its workforce for people of color and women; however, as Roth has consistently said, “There is still much work to be done on this front.”

    “Michael’s leadership of IPG has been and continues to be outstanding. He has substantially transformed the company and ushered in a new era of modern marketing solutions," said David Thomas, presiding director of the IPG Board of Directors.  "He has taken bold strategic actions to reposition IPG for the future, focusing the company on the right business lines, growing digital and data capabilities organically and through acquisition, all while advancing diversity and employee engagement and setting the industry standard for growth and margin expansion. As Executive Chairman of IPG, Michael will work closely with the Board and with Philippe in his new role and with senior company executives on continuing to manage through changes related to COVID-19 and help shape the future of IPG.”

    "Having led one of the great turnarounds in American business, and establishing a strong foundation for its future, Michael has transformed IPG into an industry leader, and the Board is confident that Philippe is the right CEO for IPG’s next phase of continued value creation for all of our stakeholders," Thomas continued.  "Working with Michael, our multi-year succession process found in Philippe a leader with empathy, operational and management skills, a respect for talent and a vision for a digital-and-data-first marketing company – all of which will guide IPG at this fast-moving time.”

    “Philippe operates at that rare intersection of courage, drive and emotional intelligence. He looks to the future and sets ambitious goals for the company and its leaders – and he succeeds because he is a true collaborator who shares success with the team and uplifts them during the hard days. He’s been a strategic partner to me over the past 18 years, helping make IPG the company it is today,” added Roth.

    “It’s an honor to be elected as the next Chief Executive Officer of IPG, and I appreciate the confidence that Michael and the Board have placed in me,” said Krakowsky.  “With our people, agency brands, technology companies, and culture, we are uniquely positioned to help our clients solve their toughest business challenges. I am looking forward to working with our fifty-thousand people and all our clients around the world at this unique time, where we are seeing changes in media and consumer behavior accelerate at incredible speed. We have great opportunities ahead to help clients deepen their relationships with their customers, doing so efficiently, creatively and at-scale.”

    Krakowsky, 58, is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for IPG, where he works with the CEO to manage business operations across Interpublic. Philippe is also the Chairman of Mediabrands and oversees IPG’s independent companies Acxiom, Carmichael Lynch, Deutsch, Hill Holliday, Huge, Kinesso, Matterkind and R/GA. During his 18 years at IPG, Philippe has also overseen communications, business development, strategy and talent functions, and he remains the Chief Strategy Officer for IPG. Prior to being named COO at IPG, Philippe also held the role of CEO of Mediabrands, leading the 10,500-person unit that oversees marketing investment for many of the world’s most iconic brands. He has served on the boards of several IPG companies, including Huge and the IPG-backed O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul; he mentors start-ups as part of R/GA’s Accelerator; and he served as interim CEO of FCB for much of 2013, during the agency’s leadership transition. Originally from Mexico, Philippe holds an A.B. from Harvard University. He started his career as part of a team that built and ultimately sold an artificial intelligence software company to Apple Computer.

  • Colgate Palmolive net profit for Q2 20 grew by 12.7%

    Colgate Palmolive net profit for Q2 20 grew by 12.7%

    New Delhi: Colgate-Palmolive (India) has reported net sales of Rs. 1,277.6 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, an increase of 5.3 per cent over the same quarter of the previous year.

    Domestic net sales for the quarter reported 7.1 per cent growth. Reported net profit after tax for the quarter was Rs. 274.2 crore as against the net profit of Rs. 244.1 crore for the same quarter of the previous year. Excluding the one-time impact of tax rate change in the previous year, the net profit growth is 32 per cent.

    H1 2020-21: Net sales for the half year ended September 30, 2020 was recorded at Rs. 2,311.3 crore, an increase of one per cent over the same period of the previous year. Reported net profit for the same period was Rs. 472.4 crore, an increase of 14 per cent over the preceding period.

    Dividend: The board declared a first interim dividend for the financial year 2020-21 of Rs. 18 per share of Re 1 each (face value). The dividend pay out to the shareholders will be Rs. 489.6 crore and will be paid on and from 17 November 17 2020 to those shareholders whose names are on the Register of Members of the Company as on 22 November 2020.

    Colgate Palmolive MD Ram Raghavan says, “We are very pleased with our performance as we continue to see momentum strengthening across the portfolio with domestic revenue growing at 7.1 per cent this quarter. Our resilience and disciplined approach to managing all revenue and cost drivers, despite all the uncertainties and challenges around us drove improvements in key financial metrics with gross margins and EBITDA at 67.9 per cent and 32 per cent respectively.

    We are pleased that we were able to increase shareholder value while we continue to drive innovation that meets the needs of our consumers. All categories saw positive growth this quarter with toothpaste continuing its accelerated performance, driven by strong brand fundamentals and household penetration. The quarter also saw some exciting innovation. We launched Colgate Visible White Instant, with its unique optical brighteners technology that starts whitening from the first brushing itself.

    The new Colgate Gentle line of toothbrushes offers an effective yet gentle clean. Launched across price points, it offers solutions to different consumer preferences. We also relaunched our flagship toothbrush, Colgate Zig Zag, with unique anti-bacterial bristle technology.

    Another first from our stable, was the launch of our Colgate Vedshakti mouth spray. A pocket sized solution that offers instant germ kill with a refreshing minty saunf flavour, that consumers love.

    Our sharp focus aimed at fulfilling demand and ensuring uninterrupted access ensured agile and innovative approaches, specifically in our supply chain and distribution efforts. As an organisation we continue to live our values and remain unwavering in our focus to improve the health and well-being of our consumers. We are thankful to our customers, business partners and employees for their continued support.”

  • Mathrubhumi Group elevates Naveen Sreenivasan to head media solutions TRD

    Mathrubhumi Group elevates Naveen Sreenivasan to head media solutions TRD

    Kochi: Mathrubhumi elevates Naveen Sreenivisan as head media solutions TRD. In his new role, Naveen will be responsible for the management of sales and marketing functions of Mathrubhumi News Television Channel, Kappa TV, Club FM, and Mathrubhumi Digital.

    Naveen Sreenivasan said, “I am really excited to take on this responsibility. While the situation is challenging, we have a great team which is geared up to face it head on. Further, as a media group, we have always deeply connected with the social fabric of Kerala and have enjoyed the trust of Malayalees, which will help us in being the partner of choice for brands; for marketing/media solutions in Kerala.”

    An IIM Lucknow alumnus with extensive experience across industries and domains, in his earlier appointment with the group, Naveen was heading as a cluster head sales for Mathrubhumi daily and is credited with generating new innovative ideas and sales driven activities for the company. He will report to Mathrubhumi Group MD M V Shreyams Kumar.

  • Amid controversy BARC assures total commitment to it stakeholders

    Amid controversy BARC assures total commitment to it stakeholders

    NEW DELHI: Over the last several days, there have been various news reports as regard to Television Ratings and Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India). BARC India as an Industry body has representation from bodies that represent Broadcasters, Advertisers, and Advertising and Media Agencies. BARC India owns and manages a transparent, accurate and inclusive TV audience measurement system.  

    BARC is providing the necessary assistance to the ongoing investigation by law enforcement agency and this should be seen in the light of larger stability of the panel and in the interests of self-regulation, rather than in isolated cases of particular channels which leads to a distortion of facts.

    Our efforts on combating infiltration are focused on the individual(s) responsible for these activities and we firmly believe that television channels are committed to maintaining a clean and transparent ecosystem.   

    BARCs management team works with full confidence and support of Board and the various Committees. BARC continues to be driven by only one goal: to generate ratings that its subscribers rely on which are deeply rooted in science, report with the greatest sense of responsibility and truly reflect ‘What India Watches’.

  • NBF calls out BARC for ‘singling out’ news genre

    NBF calls out BARC for ‘singling out’ news genre

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), India’s largest industry association  representing interests of news broadcasters from across the length and breadth of the country, has strongly objected to BARC’s decision to pause audience estimates (ratings) of news channels. It has stated that: 

    (1) BARC did not consult the NBF, before such a crucial decision, which impacts the entire news broadcasting industry, the single-largest genre within the television sector. BARC would not have taken any such crucial decision if it had involved any genre, without consulting GECs member channels.

    (2) BARC meters do not single-out the news genre in its audience measurement system. If BARC sincerely wants to review and augment its system, it should pause ratings for all genres including general entertainment channels (GEC), sports, Infotainment, movies, music, kids, youth and lifestyle.

    (3) Information has come out recently about a channel which has been found guilty of TRP manipulation and has been fined by the BARC disciplinary committee. NBF is shocked that a member of the same channel has been included on the board of BARC. It’s not just a conflict of interest and no reasonable decision-making process can happen with a person named in ratings manipulations. What has happened itself is shocking. Now the matter is in the public domain, this individual on the board of BARC should voluntarily remove the said executive from the his position for a period of at least one year.                 

    “The decision is unilateral, one-sided and undemocratic, impacting and targeting one single genre within the broadcasting ecosystem,” NBF general secretary R Jai Krishna said. “The decision will severely impact news broadcasters, who have seen a surge in ratings despite the challenges of a lower-than-expected economic growth that has impacted their revenues already. in addition to the financial impact created by the lockdown to prevent spread of Covid-19.”

    NBF counts Dighvijay, DY365 News, First India Rajasthan, Gulistan News, IBC24, India News, JK 24X7, Living India News, MH One News, News Live, News Nation, NewsX, North East Live, Odisha TV, Prag News, PuthiyaThalaimurai TV, Republic Bharat, Republic TV, S Newz, TV5, First News Kannada, India News Gujarat, India News MPCG, India News Rajasthan, India News UPUK, India News Punjab Himachal and Twenty Four News among its members.
     

  • WarnerMedia to cease transmission of HBO & WB in India from end 2020

    WarnerMedia to cease transmission of HBO & WB in India from end 2020

    MUMBAI: WarnerMedia International will be ceasing the HBO SD and HD linear movie channels in India and Pakistan, as well as the WB linear movie channel in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives with effect from 15 December 2020.

    WarnerMedia International will continue to operate and invest more in the highly popular kids brands Cartoon Network and POGO in the south Asia region, including increasing local animation production in this region.

    “After 20 years of successes for the HBO linear movie channel in south Asia and more than a  decade with the WB linear movie channel, this was a difficult decision to make. The pay-TV industry landscape and the market dynamics have shifted dramatically, and the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for further change,” said WarnerMedia SVP and MD – south Asia Siddharth Jain.

    He added: “We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all our partners and fans who  have made HBO and WB household names. We also owe a debt of gratitude to all our employees  who have worked so passionately on these well-loved brands. WarnerMedia has a strong interest  in India and are committed to assessing optimal opportunities to serve valued customers here.”

    WarnerMedia will continue to have employees based in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore to manage its kids brands operations, sales and marketing as well as the distribution of CNN International.

  • Advertising fraternity comes out in support of Tanishq

    Advertising fraternity comes out in support of Tanishq

    NEW DELHI: The team at Tanishq couldn’t have foreseen, even in their wildest dreams, that a simple ad about two communities co-existing in peace and harmony would land them in such massive trouble. They have been dragged on social media, in the equity markets, probably on the ground too (if news reports are to be believed). It’s fair to say that the trolls, naysayers, and people with a different mindset forced them to pull down their creative. Overnight, what was meant to promote their brand ahead of the festive season instead became a hot-button issue, for all the wrong reasons.

    What did it showcase: A young daughter-in-law all set for a baby shower. Only that she is a Hindu married into a Muslim household, and for the sake of her happiness, her new family is celebrating the occasion in accordance with her traditions.

    The idea of a interfaith union is not an alien one in India; there are enough number of Hindu-Muslim couples across Bollywood, sports, business and what not. So, there was not even an iota of sentiment that hurt any religion. But naysayers felt the pinch, lashed out at the brand in a big way and pushed it on the backfoot.

    However, the advertising industry came to the rescue of the much-maligned brand. ASCI, IAA, AAAI and The Ad Club issued separate statements, strongly condemning the trollers and extended their support to Tanishq, even going as far as to say that the jewellery maker could restart its campaign if they so wanted, as it did not contain any misleading or unethical content in the first place.

    This is not the first time when an ad has been attacked or trolled but it is one of the rare occasions when the advertising associations quickly turned around and created a special committee to evaluate the ad and give it a green chit.

    We spoke to several creative stalwarts and advertising agency bosses who in a unanimous tone censured trolls, supported the brand, and stood for the freedom of expression in the advertising business.

    Dentsu CEO APAC and chairman – India Ashish Bhasin is pleased to see the industry coming together in support of the cause. “Everyone in advertising would want the freedom of expression of this fraternity to continue and not get endangered. I think it is a good example of the entire community coming together to support the cause since it is of common interest to all. In the marketplace, we may compete as different businesses and agencies. However, one good thing about the advertising fraternity is that when it comes to issues of common interest, we cooperate and collaborate in the truest sense and I have witnessed this many a time. I am pleased that the fraternity is coming together to take a stance on something that affects everyone. Right now, it is just one agency or one client, but tomorrow it can be other agencies and clients as well. So, it is important for the fraternity to state its point of view, which I think is well done this time,” says he.

    Read more news on Tanishq

    Spring Capital founder and creative partner Arun Iyer is someone who has worked with Tanishq in the past and understands it. He could not find a reason as to why people are upset about the film as there is nothing wrong with it. “It is a neat piece of work and the intent behind it is nice. The film simply shows that the two communities can live together peacefully. However, there is a faction that thought otherwise. It is unfortunate that people have to take sides (for or against) on this piece of work as there is no need for it. Also, if there was not this much of trolling, may be the ad also would not have garnered this level of attention. I believe people are becoming increasingly sensitive about matters involving Hindu-Muslim. The brand has a point of view and it should not be blown out of proportion,” believes Iyer.

    The Social Street founding partner and CEO Mandeep Malhotra is happy that the industry associations are standing by Tanishq as these associations are like an extended family of the brands. “As a consumer, personally, I did not find anything offensive with the ad. However, we live in a country where people can be divided over extremely small issues. I personally feel it’s a good sign that the associations are showing solidarity with the brand in these low times. These brands have contributed very strongly to the community and it is one of those times when the family should be standing by you especially when you are right and have done nothing unethical. Also, I believe that the situation has already helped the brand achieve its objective of reaching out to people – in a good way or bad way, it remains to be seen,” Malhotra adds philosophically.

    DDB Mudra West VP & head strategy Toru Jhaveri opines: “I don't think advertising should have great pretensions beyond persuasion. Ads are storytelling snippets that move products, and the best ones are beautifully crafted and move people, too. Whatever power advertising has as a cultural force, lies in its ability to represent and normalise reality – which is one crucial way of shaping it. After all, imagining begins with an image, with seeing – or hoping to see. The Tanishq film was honestly simply a nice, warm film until we could no longer see it. Which begs the question: what else can we expect to stop seeing, and then imagining?”

    Tidal7 co-founder and chief creative officer KS Chakravarthy demands what the fuss is about anyway? “I think the very vocal opponents are missing the fundamental point – if an ad, any ad, offends people's sensibilities, the advertiser will pay the price in terms of brand image, goodwill, and ultimately, business. So if an ad is truly offensive to the vast majority of this country, it will be punishment enough by and of itself. If on the other hand it does not offend, and actually wins respect and affection, then what's the fuss about anyway?” asserts Chax.

    Infectious Advertising co-founder and director Nisha Singhania is unhappy with the situation and sees the attack as completely unwarranted and uncalled for. “It’s a lovely ad which actually represents India and it’s secular values beautifully. Tanishq as a brand has always done path breaking work and I congratulate them once again for doing the same. It is very unfortunate that the ad had to be pulled off, I commend the entire team behind it. It is sad that we live in times where stories that inspire equality and promote brotherhood have become objectionable,” she says.

    Havas Group India adds, “We have our Group CEO Rana Barua as both an industry representative and a Mancom member of all 3 institutions – IAA, AAAI and The Ad Club part of all the decisions taken by these industry bodies condemning the attack, which remains our stand."

    Tanishq is a creative brand that has done some very topical promotions in the past that have broken through the clutter and sparked conversations. It will be interesting to see if the brand manages to bounce back and resume its campaign with all the support it has garnered from the industry.