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Tag: Anil Kapoor

  • #Retrace2021: From Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar to dentsu veteran Ashish Bhasin, who all made news in 2021?

    #Retrace2021: From Nykaa’s Falguni Nayar to dentsu veteran Ashish Bhasin, who all made news in 2021?

    Mumbai: The year that began with the slowdown of pandemic cases, and phased opening of businesses across the country, is ending with another Covid variant rearing its head. The new cases of Omicron are spreading faster, even as the industry struggles to hold on to its post-pandemic revival after braving a deadly second wave in May early this year.

    Amid all these challenges, there were signs of resilience, that highlighted the advertising industry’s slow yet significant recovery this year. If 2020 was the year of ed-tech, 2021 only took the game a notch higher. E-commerce dominated headlines, and several D2C brands rose to success with their innovative advertising and marketing strategies. The year saw the largest number of startups joining the unicorn league, of which many of them are internet-based companies, including Flipkart, Nykaa, Zomato, and Paytm. The agencies too, adapted to the new normal, brainstorming newer ways to strengthen brand connect and retain audiences across media channels.

    With the curtains falling on this eventful, yet resilient year, we take a look at some of the biggest names that made headlines, and created a buzz in the world of brands, advertising, and marketing this year.

    1.      FALGUNI NAYAR, NYKAA FOUNDER

    An entrepreneur at 49 and a billionaire at 58, Nayar made waves with her company’s chartbuster initial public offering (IPO) in November. The ₹5,352-crore IPO of her FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd was oversubscribed nearly 82.5 times. On the same day, the company’s market capitalisation touched the ₹1 lakh crore mark, making Nayar who owns a 52.56 per cent stake in the company, India’s richest self-made woman billionaire. An investment banker, Nayar launched the beauty and fashion e-commerce platform Nykaa in March 2012 after quitting her job at Kotak Mahindra Capital. Today, Nykaa Fashion is a multi-brand platform with close to 1,500 brands—of which five are its own brands- two acquired and three it has built from scratch. Nykaa Beauty and Nykaa Fashion are separate businesses.

    Falguni Nayar: The billionaire founder of Nykaa who dared to dream at 50

    2.      BYJU RAVEENDRAN, BYJU’S FOUNDER-CEO

    Byju Raveendran-owned edtech, Byju’s has been on a dream run. The company, which saw its business grow rapidly during the pandemic, ramped up its user base and saw a swift growth in revenues. It also announced several deals around the world over, acquiring a number of its competitors, eight of which were this year. With this, Raveendran and his family have also expanded their fortunes, making them the 67th richest Indians, according to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021. The home-grown edtech startup is now the 13th most valuable start-up in the world, as per CB Insights’ latest unicorn tracker. Currently valued at $21 billion, the Bengaluru-based start-up is also the world’s most valuable ed-tech start-up. It is also the only Indian name to feature in the list of the world’s elite unicorns as of December 2021. Recently, the ed-tech giant was in the news for its advanced discussions to go public through one of Churchill Capital’s special-purpose acquisition companies (SPAC). While an announcement could come as soon as January, the negotiations are not final. 

    3.      PARAG AGARWAL, TWITTER CEO

    2021 was also the year when Indians were taking over coveted leadership roles in the global forum. The first to mark his name was Indian-born Parag Agarwal, who was appointed as the CEO of the micro-blogging platform Twitter in November. An alumnus of IIT-Bombay, Agarwal had joined Twitter in 2011 and worked his way up the ladder to becoming the chief technology officer (CTO) by 2018 and was reportedly one of the ‘first choices’ of the company’s co-founder Jack Dorsey in the line of succession, after the latter announced his resignation. In a staunch endorsement of 37 years old Agrawal, Dorsey wrote: “He’s been my choice for some time, given how deeply he understands the company and its needs. Parag has been behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around… My trust in him as our CEO is bone-deep.” Before Twitter, Agrawal had briefly worked at Microsoft, AT&T, and Yahoo. He did his bachelor’s in engineering in computer science here, before moving to the US for further studies, his doctorate coming from Stanford University.   

    Jack Dorsey steps down, Parag Agarwal named as Twitter CEO

    4.      LEENA NAIR, CHANEL CEO

    In another proud moment for India, Maharashtra-born Leena Nair joined the list of Indian-origin CEOs of multinational brands in December. Her appointment as the CEO of the French luxury fashion house Chanel was unprecedented, given that Nair was a rank outsider with zilch experience in the fashion industry, not being a part of the Paris fashion scene.

    Before this, the 52-year-old had an illustrious career that spanned 30 years at Unilever, becoming the first female and youngest-ever chief human resources officer at the global company, in London- a position she resigned from to join the 111-year-old luxury group. Nair rose through the ranks of Unilever having started out as a management trainee. Under her watch Unilever achieved gender parity across global management. With the latest win, Nair is being hailed as a “serial glass-ceiling breaker”. An electronics and telecommunications engineer from Walchand College of Engineering in Sangli, Maharashtra, she did her MBA in Human Resources from XLRI Jamshedpur in 1992 before joining as a trainee at HUL.

    5.      PIYUSH PANDEY, OGILVY

    An advertising industry veteran with over three decades of experience in the industry, Pandey has donned several hats, representing Rajasthan in Ranji Trophy cricket during his younger days and being a tea taster are some of them before discovering advertising as a career choice. This year, the ad guru added one more feather to his cap when he took on the role of global creative chairman at WPP Plc. owned creative agency Ogilvy in May. He continues to serve as chairman of Ogilvy India helping brands understand their consumers.

    6.      ANITA NAYYAR, PATANJALI AYURVED COO-MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS

    The year 2021 saw life turning 360 degrees and completing a full circle for former Havas media India boss Anita Nayyar in the advertising and media industry, as she joined Patanjali Ayurved as COO- Media & Communications in July, after a brief stint with Zee5 from May 2020 to March 2021. An industry veteran, Nayyar had an eventful two years, with transitions circumscribing the client-side from the agency side, before settling finally on the brand side, having managed many portfolios of brands across sectors in a career spanning three decades.

    #Retrace2021: Cautious optimism will drive industry growth in 2022

    The year also saw some of the country’s biggest agencies undergo senior-most level executive shuffles and the arrivals and departures of some of advertising’s top talents. In recent months, dentsu India network parted ways with many of its key leaders in an exodus that began in January. The exits were announced as part of its restructuring process to usher in the dentsu India 2.0 vision. The rejig, brings together its creative agencies under one umbrella, including Dentsu Webchutney, Taproot Dentsu, WATConsult, Perfect Relations, Isobar, Dentsu One, Dentsu India, and Dentsu Impact. The high-level exits from its India leadership team included veterans like Santosh Padhi, Shamsuddin Jasani, Vivek Bhargava, Rubeena Singh, Haresh Nayak, Gopa Menon, and the India CFO turned CEO Anand Bhadkamkar. After almost five years of being the CEO at the digital-first media agency iProspect, Rubeena Singh started new innings as the country manager at the short-video app Josh in October.

    7.      ASHISH BHASIN, DENTSU

    Ashish Bhasin -stepped down as dentsu International- CEO APAC & chairman India in November. An industry veteran with over 30 years’ experience, Bhasin had joined Aegis Media in June 2008 and was tasked with launching the business in the market. He was promoted to CEO, Dentsu Asia Pacific in September 2019. Earlier this year, Bhasin had resigned from the board of directors and Audit Committee of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India) sparking the retirement rumours.

    Ashish Bhasin steps down as dentsu International CEO APAC & chairman India

    8.      SANTOSH PADHI AND AGNELLO DIAS, TAPROOT DENTSU

     

    The news about Padhi’s sudden exit from the agency he founded with Agnello Dias in 2009 shocked everyone in the industry. Padhi ended his historic innings with Taproot dentsu in September. An art graduate from Mumbai, Padhi began his career with DDB Mudra. He then moved on to Leo Burnett, where he was an executive creative director and later became the national head of art.

    Earlier in June, Taproot made some leadership level rejigs and announced that Agnello Dias (Aggie) will move on to a role as a consultant for key brands, but he too put in his papers around this time. Dias began his advertising career in 1989 and after working with many local and international agencies, including Dart, Interpublicity, Lowe and Leo Burnett, he joined JWT India in 2005, where he soon became the chief creative officer. It was in 2009 when the art and copy duo Padhi and Aggie, decided to together launch their independent creative boutique Taproot India — a bold independent setup. Over the last 12 years, Taproot dentsu rose to become one of India’s most prominent creative agencies, notching up several accolades along the way.

    9.      AJAY GEHLAUT, DENTSU CREATIVE

    Industry veteran Ajay Gahlaut joined dentsu Creative as group CCO in the midst of Dentsu India’s transformation journey towards dentsu India 2.0 and Ajay’s joining is a critical part of the plan, the agency said. Gahlaut, with over 27 years of experience in advertising, was with Publicis Worldwide, India, as chief creative officer and managing director till June 2020. He wrote the line ‘Do Boond Zindagi Ki’ that anchored the famous Pulse Polio Immunisation campaign with Amitabh Bachchan and the ‘Make It Large’ tagline for the whiskey brand Royal Stag. He was also the man behind the ‘Men will be men’ series of campaigns for whiskey brand Imperial Blue and the creator of the character ‘Mr. Murthy’ for Voltas air conditioners.

    10. SHAMSUDDIN JASANI, WUNDERMAN THOMPSON

    As Wunderman Thompson chairman and Group CEO South Asia Tarun Rai moved into a new role as executive director Strategic Initiatives, APAC, Jasani was roped in to take on the mantle. Before this, he was with Isobar as Group MD South Asia. Jasani is a veteran of the industry, having launched Isobar in India in 2008, growing it from a two-person team to over 300-strong across South Asia.

    Isobar’s Shamsuddin Jasani joins Wunderman Thompson South Asia as CEO

    11. PRITI MURTHY, GROUPM

    Priti joined GroupM India as president, GroupM Services India this October, which the network described as a ‘homecoming’ for her and strengthening of the GroupM India leadership team. As an industry veteran, Murthy has spent a large part of her 22+ year career with GroupM. Her last held role with GroupM was as the chief strategy officer at Maxus Global.

    Priti Murthy joins GroupM as president, GroupM services India

    12. ANISHA IYER, OMD India CEO

    Iyer was elevated to OMD India chief executive officer in December. With nearly 18 years of experience in the advertising business and a niche in digital and technology, she joined OMD, a subsidiary of the group, in 2019 as the managing director for Malaysia. Her previous stints include working in companies such as Mindshare, Madhouse, and GroupM in a career spanning two decades.

    13. ANUPRIYA ACHARYA, PUBLICIS GROUPE 

    Anupriya Acharya, a veteran in the media and advertising world, was re-elected as president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2021-22 in September this year. Hailing from Dehradun, Acharya has worked with Ogilvy & Mather, McCann (then McCann Erickson), media agency Mindshare Fulcrum and The Media Edge in her 20 plus career. She has also remained the Group CEO of Zenith Optimedia (part of the Publicis Groupe), where she was elevated to lead the India business of Publicis Media in 2016 with a 900-plus strong team.

    14. SWATI BHATTACHARYA, FCB INDIA

    This year also saw the FCB Group India announce the restructuring of its creative agencies and a new three agency structure – FCB Ulka, FCB Interface and FCB India. FCB India, the newest agency in the fold, which’s led by Swati Bhattacharya as the creative chairperson, announced its newly elevated C-Suite leadership team. A noted industry professional, Bhattacharya has been the only woman CCO in India when she joined FCB Ulka in 2016. The brains behind award-winning campaigns like Sindoor Khela for the Times of India, Horlicks, Maggi sauces and noodles, Close up, Airtel, Kit Kat, 7Up, Pepsi, Pizza, UNICEF, Sunrise and Slice are some of her other note-worthy works.

    15. RAMESH NARAYAN, CANCO ADVERTISING

    Canco Advertising founder and Indian advertising doyen Ramesh Narayan was inducted into the prestigious Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) Hall of Fame at the AdAsia conference held at Macao in December. “The AFAA Hall of Fame sets out to recognise those who’ve defined a generation of advertising, those who we look up to, who inspire us, and who have done what few others have ever done or could ever do; for those who have pioneered- the very few we can call legends,” said outgoing AFAA chairman, Raymond So about Narayan’s inclusion in the prestigious hall of fame. Earlier this year Narayan also released his book titled “A Different Route to Success”, which gives readers a ringside view of his professional life, having retired at the age of 50, after running Canco Advertising, an advertising agency he founded and ran for 24 years.

    Ramesh Narayan inducted into AFAA Hall of Fame

    16.  ARJUN MOHAN, upGrad CEO

    upGrad CEO ArjunMohan is an experienced industry professional having worked across sales, marketing, and product development domains for more than 15 years, before helming upGrad. One of the most creative edtechs in the country, when it comes to utilising marketing channels to amp up its reach, Mohan helped script a remarkable success story backed on innovative services and out-of-box marketing activities. The upGrad CEO is on a high this year with education going digital-first due to the compulsions brought about by the pandemic.

    17.  VINEETA SINGH, SUGAR COSMETICS CEO

    Singh famously gave up a crore-rupee job offer from an investment bank while she was still in her twenties because she wanted to dive into entrepreneurship. Sugar Cosmetics, a digital-first brand, is her third start-up—the first two did not take off but the second startup, Fab Bag, a subscription business that offered women an assortment of beauty products every month for a small fee- gave her enough data and insights to kickstart her third one. Unlike most digital-first brands, Sugar was early to develop an omnichannel presence and her mantra to make cosmetics for Indian skin tones and suited to the Indian environment paid off. In 2020-21, the D2C firm achieved Rs 130 crore in revenue, and raised $21 million (Rs 160 crore) in venture funding, bringing its valuation to Rs 750 crore.

    From the verge of closing shop, Sugar Cosmetics delivers 49x returns to investors

    18. GHAZAL ALAGH, MAMAEARTH CO-FOUNDER

    Baby and mother care brand Mamaearth turned unicorn after raising close to $80 million in a new round at unicorn valuation led by Sequoia. One among the few startups to turn unicorns with a woman co-founder, the five-year-old D2C brand took birth after Ghazal Alagh and her husband, Varun became parents. In 2016, the couple launched the brand under the parent company Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd, in Gurugram using natural, plant-based or manmade ingredients, which are both certified safe as well as effective.  In just four years, Mamaearth became Asia’s first brand to get the MadeSafe certification for its toxin-free products. The company recently acquired a female-centric content platform, Momspresso, and associated influencer-engagement platform, Momspresso MyMoney to further accelerate engagement with consumers and strengthen content-to-commerce.

    19. ANIL KAPOOR, AD VETERAN

    Finally, taking a stock of all that we lost this year, there are some losses which cannot be restored ever in any manner whatsoever- and that’s the lives of people lost. This year saw the demise of many eminent names and talents of the industry, many of whom were lost to the Coronavirus.

    FCBUlka chairman emeritus Anil Kapoor passes away

    One such name is that of DraftFCB+ Ulka’s late chairman emeritus Anil Kapoor, who passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer, in April this year. His passing marked the end of an era in the advertising industry. Kapoor joined a struggling Ulka in 1988 and scripted one of the greatest turnaround stories in advertising. He was given charge of the situation to stop the exodus of clients and is credited with bringing in a fresh set of talent, including from institutions like the IIMs. Clients who had left returned and he built a leadership team that stuck together for decades. Kapoor’s career in the ad industry extended to over three decades, and under his guidance, Ulka group emerged among the top five advertising agencies of India. He was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the AAAI in 2013. His death leaves a huge void in the realm of India’s advertising industry.

    In memoriam: Anil ‘Billy’ Kapoor

  • Teachmint teams up with Anil Kapoor for #NayeZamaaneKiNayiSchooling campaign

    Teachmint teams up with Anil Kapoor for #NayeZamaaneKiNayiSchooling campaign

    Mumbai: Teachmint, an education infrastructure startup and teaching platform has launched its brand new campaign featuring Bollywood veteran Anil Kapoor. Centered around the idea of ‘Naye Zamane ki Nayi Schooling,’ the all-new ad campaign decodes what makes a school truly digital in today’s world and how digitisation can empower schools and teachers, thereby benefiting the learning opportunities and experiences of students.

    The digital ad film sees Kapoor play the role of a school principal who is experiencing the benefits of having digitised his entire school. The film begins with him establishing the fact that true digitisation goes beyond just conducting “live classes,” it takes place when you automate your operations and allow your teachers to focus on what they love doing – teaching. 

    The film also highlights the brand’s features like automated test generation & correction, classroom recordings as well as end-to-end institute management which enables principals and admins to significantly boost efficiency by automating several mundane, manual processes.

    “I am delighted to be associated with Teachmint, not just as an actor but also as a strong advocate of the power of education,” said Anil Kapoor. “Tech-enablement in education will play an integral role in building the future of our nation and it’s heartening to see a young company like Teachmint revolutionize this experience for educators, schools and institutes.”

    This is Teachmint’s second significant celebrity collaboration in 2021. The company had launched its first large marketing campaign with Rajkummar Rao in April to drive awareness and adoption of its mobile-first teaching platform. 

    “We have witnessed unprecedented growth in just 17 months since launching Teachmint and this campaign marks a new milestone in our journey of building a state-of-the-art infrastructure for education,”  said Teachmint COO & co-founder Divyansh Bordia. “With this new campaign, we take this up a notch by introducing an offering to help an entire institute digitise within minutes – Teachmint for Institute. We are extremely excited to collaborate with Anil Kapoor and are confident that this partnership will help us reach out to a larger audience, connect with educational institutes and help them become more aware of the benefits of end-to-end digitisation.”

  • FCB Group India institutes ‘The Anil Kapoor Award for Excellence in Partnership’

    FCB Group India institutes ‘The Anil Kapoor Award for Excellence in Partnership’

    Mumbai: On the birth anniversary of its legendary leader Anil Kapoor, FCB Group India has instituted a special award-  ‘The Anil Kapoor Award for Excellence in Partnership’ in his honour. 

    The company that is also celebrating its 60th anniversary this year announced this internal award to recognise talent that embraced the one value that Anil Kapoor held very dear – partnership. 

    “Anil believed that strong brands were built on the foundation of strong partnerships. These were not just client-agency partnerships but partnerships that spanned the entire brand ecosystem,” said FCB Group India chairman & CEO, Rohit Ohri. “Internal agency partnerships, network partnerships, client partnerships, brand-consumer partnerships. Today, on his birthday, I am proud to honour his memory and keep his flag flying high with the institution of this award.” 

    Kapoor, an outsider to advertising took over an ailing Ulka Advertising in 1988 to turn it around not just into a ‘top five agency’ but also one that was recognised for building some iconic Indian brands. An industry captain with a strong voice, he was a proponent of the ‘strategic partner’ model for advertising agencies.

    IPG Media Brands CEO Shashi Sinha, who worked closely with Kapoor for almost three decades and was a key member of his leadership team is equally thrilled about this award. “Anil never tired of emphasising the importance of partnership. For him, the partnership was not unidimensional. It all starts with talent. To provide long-term partnerships to clients’, we needed to have long-term partnerships with our people. Only then would we fuel a virtuous cycle of existence. And this Award truly embodies that philosophy.”

  • Malabar Gold & Diamonds unveils wedding anthem to kick off ‘Brides of India 2021’

    Malabar Gold & Diamonds unveils wedding anthem to kick off ‘Brides of India 2021’

    Mumbai: Jewellery retailer Malabar Gold & Diamonds has kicked off the ninth edition of its ‘Brides of India’ campaign with a special wedding theme song titled #MakeWayForTheBride which depicts the grand entry of brides, the hallmark of modern-day Indian weddings. The three-minute video song features celebrity brand ambassadors Anil Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor along with brides from diverse regions of the country.

    The video shows 13 brides from various states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Bengal entering the wedding arena in a majestic manner, thus breaking the stereotypes and conventional practices. All these looks are captured in an exquisite range of bridal jewellery shot by photographer Avinash Gowarikar. 

    The ‘Brides of India 2021’ wedding anthem has been conceptualised by the creative agency Dentsu India and developed by some of the highly gifted and supremely talented professionals from the world of celluloid. Directed by Kookie Gulati, who has also directed films such as “The Big Bull”, the anthem also boasts of Amit Roy, who was director of photography for “Love Aaj Kal”, along with “Piku” fame Anupam Roy as music composer and “Vicky Donor” fame writer Juhi Chaturvedi as a lyricist.

    The shorter versions of the wedding anthem will be played on television channels and OTT platforms as an advertisement. The full version of the wedding anthem will be aired on select TV channels and streamed on digital platforms. The campaign will exclusively be streamed on digital platforms in the first week and will be aired on television and occupy print media space afterward, the brand said in a statement.

    “The Brides of India campaign is our tribute to the new-age brides and their awe-inspiring individuality,” said Malabar Group chairman, MP Ahammed. “The theme of Brides of India 2021 encourages all to make way for the bride. Because this is her moment, it’s her big day, and she’s here to own it! With the launch of Brides of India 2021 campaign, we celebrate the brides who choose to make the big day all about her. With designs that cater to varied sensibilities of new-age brides across regions, there is something unique for every bride to complement her unique entry.”

    The campaign also features all the major jewellery sub-brands of the Malabar Gold & Diamonds including Mine, Era, Precia, Divine, Ethnix, and Polki collections. As a part of the campaign, the jeweller will also showcase an especially curated range of bridal jewellery catering to the new-age brides at its showrooms.

    Along with the wedding anthem, the Brides of India 2021 campaign will involve a 360-degree marketing overdrive which includes print ads, hoardings, popular social media feeds like reels, bridal look-books, catalogues, product shots and videos, and a dedicated microsite as part of the brand website. The on-ground activation of the campaign includes in-store launch events, specially designed visual merchandising elements such as bridal swings and grand entrance arches. 

  • discovery+ fortifies its India play with star-studded originals

    discovery+ fortifies its India play with star-studded originals

    Mumbai: discovery+ has announced a slate of brand-new originals along with the return of its successful franchises ‘Star VS Food’ and ‘Mission Frontline’. The originals line-up includes ‘Say Yes to the Dress’, and ‘Money Mafia’.

    Produced by ABP Studios, ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ is an Indian adaptation of one of the biggest American reality television series, giving Indian brides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as they search for their perfect wedding dress. Launching on 4 August, ‘Money Mafia’ takes an in-depth look at some of the biggest financial scams the country has ever seen from the perspective of the victims and the perpetrators. The show is produced by Chandra Talkies.

    ‘Star vs Food S2’ is produced in collaboration with Korea Tourism. It will feature popular celebs Ananya Panday, Anil Kapoor, Nora Fatehi, and Badshah trying to impress their family and friends with their cooking skills. Sara Ali Khan will be seen in the second season of ‘Mission Frontline’ returning in August.

    “Our upcoming content slate demonstrates our constant determination of bringing original, full of life, bold and unexpected stories to our audience. By on-boarding personalities from different walks of life like Sports, Bollywood, music, and comedy among others, we have made a conscious effort at expanding our reach and engaging with a new set of audience,” said Discovery Inc, managing director – South Asia, Megha Tata. “We aim at using our platform as a medium to connect people through the art of storytelling and the line-up ranging from documentary to reality TV has something for every generation to enjoy, further strengthening our Family, Facts and Fun premise.”

    Talking about his experience of being on the show, actor Anil Kapoor shared, “Despite my undeniable love for food, it is no secret that my expertise lies at eating and not cooking. Being blessed with excellent culinary artists in my home and family, I have never had to enter the kitchen to prepare a meal for myself. Star vs Food S2 set me up against the challenge of cooking a scrumptious meal for my loved ones and I must say, this was a much more daunting task than acting. Undoubtedly, it has been an exhilarating experience and I can’t wait to make my family proud with this new notch in my belt.”

    “The announcement of a season 2 within a six-month span of the first season is a testament to the success of season one. We look forward to yet another delectable season full of fun, flavour and food,” Endemol Shine India CEO Abhishek Rege added.

    BanijayAsia Founder & CEO, Deepak Dhar said, “Content consumption patterns have changed drastically in the last 2 years. People are consuming content faster and need more if they like a certain genre. With a plethora of content available to view on OTT platforms, it is immensely challenging, yet potentially lucrative for us to create stories that resonate with the audience. Our partnership with discovery+ gives us the freedom to work on different concepts as the brand is not limited to one genre. With our next special Mission Frontline with Sara Ali Khan, we have taken our relationship with Discovery to the next level after Into The Wild with Bear Grylls. We are confident that this show will deliver a special message we want to convey to our target audience and inspire them.”

    discovery+ has also put together a specially curated watchlist including ‘Special Operations: India’, ‘Little Singham Desh ka Sipahi Blockbuster’, ‘India: 70 Wonders’, ‘India Marvels and Mysteries’, and more to commemorate the Independence month.  Viewers will also have access to titles such as ‘Surviving R. Kelly’, ‘Could I Live There’, ‘MasterChef Canada’, and ‘Matilda & The Ramsay Bunch’.

  • The Sleep Company ropes in Anil Kapoor as brand ambassador

    The Sleep Company ropes in Anil Kapoor as brand ambassador

    Mumbai: D2C mattress maker The Sleep Company has introduced Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor as its first-ever brand ambassador.

    The brand looks to amplify its national presence through a slew of collaterals as well as digital campaigns which will be headlined by Kapoor and released this month, a statement said. “His dynamic personality and active lifestyle make him the perfect fit for The Sleep Company that believes that the start to a healthy lifestyle begins with sound sleep”, it added.
    “Having Anil Kapoor on board with The Sleep Company as brand ambassador is an absolute dream. His personality and lifestyle completely resonates with our product and we are thrilled to extend our relationship with him from customer to now, the face of the brand,” said The Sleep Company founder, Priyanka Salot. “With this association, we hope to leverage his unique brand of fun, quirk, and class to further amplify The Sleep Company’s unique value proposition and technology.”

    “If the last year and a half has taught us anything it’s that we need to take care of our physical and mental wellbeing, with sleep being critical to that self-care,” Anil Kapoor said. “It’s important for me to be able to believe in a brand first, before endorsing it and The Sleep Company is one such brand that I have full confidence in. I am excited to be associated with the brand and as a customer first, I can, without a doubt say that their patented SmartGRID mattress is truly a Eureka moment in sleep and comfort solutions.

  • Malabar Gold promises customers ‘fair pricing’ in its latest campaign

    Malabar Gold promises customers ‘fair pricing’ in its latest campaign

    MUMBAI: Jewellery retailer Malabar Gold & Diamonds has launched its latest campaign, outlining the benefits of standardised pricing. The term ‘Fair Price Promise’ is a clever take on the policy. With its tagline of ‘For Everyone. Every Day. Everywhere.’, the campaign underlines that the promise holds true in all circumstances.

    Conceived by 82.5 Communications, the short film featuring Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, communicates the brand’s fair pricing policy with the added assurance of unmatched quality. The campaign consists of a TVC, as well as with extension in print, radio, and the digital medium.  

    The film, produced by Dharma Productions and directed by Abhishek Varman, emphasises on the brand’s reasonably priced making charges on its jewellery.

    “Since various jewellers charge exorbitant making charges, consumers feel that they do not get the right deal despite discounts, offers, extensive comparing and bargaining. We, at Malabar, believe that consumers should be saved from this conundrum. That’s why we have put in place our Fair Price Promise. It addresses this concern and assigns transparent and reasonable making charges on jewellery. So that everyone gets the best deal, every day and everywhere,” said Malabar Group chairman M.P. Ahammed.

    82.5 Communications SVP & South head Naveen Raman shared, “In the jewellery industry there is a tendency to quote marked up making charges, which is not favourable for consumers. To remedy the situation, Malabar offers a fair pricing policy, which benefits customers as they do not have to bargain to bring down the making charges to an acceptable level.”

    82.5 Communications – Bangalore, group creative directors, Sangeetha Sampath and Ravi Cherussola said, “It feels good to be associated with such an iconic brand. We feel the film is an elegant yet impactful expression of a very unique feature. It was a delight to work on the brand and especially this film.”

  • Anil Kapoor & Arjun Kapoor team up for Licious’ new campaign

    Anil Kapoor & Arjun Kapoor team up for Licious’ new campaign

    Mumbai: Online meat delivery startup Licious has launched a new campaign highlighting all the fuss that meat and sea-food lovers indulge in while choosing what to eat. The brand which specialises in meat and seafood has roped in the winsome combo of Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor for the campaign.

    Created by advertising agency Tilt, the two films feature the uncle-nephew bonding over cooking while sharing their favourite meat-based dishes. The commercials highlight the convenience, safety and hygiene of meat being offered by the company, which operates on a farm-to-fork model. It entices users to download the brand’s app to partake in a fresh-from-the-sea fish and tender meat experience.

    The natural camaraderie between the actors, coupled with their distinct signature styles and dialogues makes for an interesting watch, while delivering the brand message across effortlessly. The first film portrays the senior Kapoor trying his hand at cooking, frying fish to the tune of some of his memorable songs, while the second film has his nephew donning the chef’s hat.

    Licious’ chief business officer Meghna Apparao said, “We pride ourselves in our ability to devise and improve on our stringent quality control measures, animal rearing and handling best practices, so that our consumers get nothing but the best – every single time. Licious is a brand created by the meat lovers for the meat lovers. It is a delight to see Anil Kapoor & Arjun Kapoor showcasing their love for meat in a way that strikes a chord with us. After all, it is only one nakhrebaaz that understands another.”

    Sharing his take on the campaign, actor Anil Kapoor said, “I had such a great time working on the films! Good food and great culinary experiences – I could not really ask for a more enjoyable way of spending my time. And just like with food, this experience was made even better in Arjun’s company, so it was a win-win situation for me! I am super impressed with all the good work that Licious is doing in disrupting the meat & seafood ecosystem of the country. It is truly heartening to see the impact of their transformative work and I’m happy to be a part of their story.”

    Arjun Kapoor added, “I am delighted to be associated with the brand Licious. The high-octane, positive energy is palpable on the set. I had a great time collaborating with Anil chachu and I hope people will enjoy the ad film as much as we did shooting for the same.”

    The campaign, which went live on Thursday, will be promoted across television, digital and social media platforms.

    The pandemic-led disruption last year gave a boost to online meat buying, prompting the Bengaluru-based startup to go beyond metros and also start operations in smaller cities this year, including Jaipur, Coimbatore, Kochi, Puducherry, Vizag and Vijayawada among other cities.

  • In memoriam: Anil ‘Billy’ Kapoor

    In memoriam: Anil ‘Billy’ Kapoor

    MUMBAI: Billy Kapoor. A feisty manager. An advertising legend. A man who brought management to what was an entrepreneur driven ad agency at that time.

    My memory of him was a man who loved his suits, but was more than open to taking off his jacket, rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty to do any job. Not that he had to do it often: he had built a fabulous team of young managers – all MBA types – at a time when advertising agencies did not really look at recruiting them in the numbers he did – in the late eighties-early nineties.

    And he deeply believed that advertising was not just about great copy or breathtaking visuals – you had to bring marketing thinking to your client’s brands and products. Wear a marketer’s hat all the time was his constant urging to his team. Find strategic or other solutions to move product off the shelves and generate sales. Once you do that, the brand and marketing manager will see in you a partner, not an agency chasing billing. You will build that trust, where he knows his interest is your interest. And the partnership can only grow and grow from there.

    Another memory of him is that he could get gruff and tough when he wanted to. At BusinessWorld magazine in the nineties, I was in charge of the advertising and marketing section, and I was assigned to write a story on Ulka Advertising, which was reportedly looking shaky – and was on the verge of closure – but Billy had showed signs of turning around. I met him in the Nirmal building office (if I remember correctly) – and he spoke  to me about the agency, his teams, and how it functioned. He then called in his musketeers – Shashi Sinha, MG Parameswaran, Niteen Bagwat, Nagesh Alai, and Arvind Wable – into the boardroom and introduced me to them. For the next 15 minutes they spoke to me, while Billy watched them narrate what had lured them into his orbit, and the agency’s philosophy.

    Billy brooked no nonsense from any one including clients and even me. When I slipped up in some of my information about the agency, he got visibly upset and growled. I squirmed, almost visualising what if this bulky man were to thump me one. But he immediately smiled and told me: “You should get your facts right.”

    The article was published and I called him to have his feedback. He pointed out to a couple of errors – which I was not responsible for, it was probably the desk. But later on I learned that he had proudly shared the feature on Ulka with his colleagues.

    From then we would be in regular touch. I would call him up frequently. And he would too. I remember once when he barked at me in relation to a feature on advertising agencies I had written. He called me and told me: “There are many who want to write on advertising and marketing. I want you to be the best. I will not tolerate any mediocrity in your work.”

    Remember, Billy  was only an advertising executive on whom I had done a feature. Like Mike Khanna and Ravi Gupta, he took a special interest in seeing me develop into a better professional, he often scolded and chided me when he thought I was going wrong.

    I lost touch with him at the turn of the century as I moved on to being an entrepreneur and setting up the Indiantelevision.com group. However, I did stay in touch with Shashi and Ambi. And I happened to interact with actor Ram Kapoor when he had been hired to host The Indian Telly Awards. He told me Billy is his dad, and he was not keeping well. I called him once and spoke to him. Billy was happy with my progress, congratulating me. He once again told me not to stoop to or accept mediocrity. That’s the only way to succeed, he told me. We did not talk about his cancer. But he was fighting it well, Ram told me.

    And now when I read about Billy passing on after staring cancer in the face, battling it well, I can only applaud a life lived to the fullest.

  • FCB Ulka chairman emeritus Anil Kapoor passes away

    FCB Ulka chairman emeritus Anil Kapoor passes away

    New Delhi: DraftFCB+ Ulka chairman emeritus Anil Kapoor I had passed away.

    Kapoor served as managing director and chief executive officer of DraftFCB+ Ulka until 2006, when he was appointed as Draftfcb president with responsibility for the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. In 2010, he was made the chairman emeritus after a 22-year stint with the organisation and its other associated agencies. 

    With nearly 33 years of advertising experience, Kapoor was a highly regarded and respected figure in advertising and marketing circles. He also remained the president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulation of 2007-08.

    An industry veteran, Kapoor was also credited for launching a string of brands, during his 14-year tenure as Boots Company India marketing director. In 2013, the AdvertisingAAAI conferred him the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is the highest honour given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the advertising industry.