MUMBAI:The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), India’s largest branded plotted land developer, announced its grand arrival in Nagpur with a show-stopping aerial display over the city’s iconic Futala Lake.
On 4 November 2025, three paramotor pilots painted the skies with massive banners, heralding HoABL’s foray into the Orange City and teasing its upcoming project, Nagpur Marina. Inspired by waterfront living, the development promises over 40 world-class amenities designed to bring together leisure, wellness, and celebration, a first-of-its-kind lifestyle for Nagpur.
“Nagpur is fast becoming a powerhouse in Maharashtra’s growth story,” said HoABL CEO Samujjwal Ghosh. “Our entry here marks not just a new project, but a new chapter in how land is experienced, as a legacy built on trust, transparency and enduring value.”
With its central location and growing connectivity through the Samruddhi Mahamarg and Smart City initiatives, Nagpur’s rise as a hub for premium living perfectly mirrors HoABL’s philosophy of creating spaces that breathe and evolve.
Adding to the creative flair, chief marketing officer Saurabh Jain said the lake display reflected HoABL’s approach to “turn land into lifestyle” through immersive brand experiences.
As the skies over Futala shimmered with banners and buzz, HoABL’s message was crystal clear, Nagpur’s real estate story just took flight.
MUMBAI: Even before the iPhone7 became available in retail stores, Apple had announced that the flood of pre-orders had resulted it being sold out in the US. The Cupertino – hqed company is pulling out all the stops to ensure that its debut in India generates as much of good news. And it’s tie ups with the Mukesh Ambai owned Reliance Retail and Jio are steps in that direction.
Buyers of a new iPhone7 and iPhone7 Plus, are being offered Rs 1,499 worth Jio Digital Life services complimentary for 12 months from 1 January 2017. This includes unlimited local, STD and national roaming voice, unlimited text, 20 GB of 4G Data, 40 GB of WiFi Data and Unlimited Night 4G Data, unlimited subscription to premium Jio Applications. The offer is valid in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru only.
And it has also been extended to new purchases of older iPhone models such as the 6s, 6s+, 6, 6+, 5SE across all Reliance Digital stores and select Apple Premium Resellers (APR) and Apple Authorized Resellers (AAR).
Plus of course, they are entitled to the three months of free data, voice and app services until 31 December 2016. Making it a total of 15 months of freebies if they buy one of the above iPhone models now.
“Today’s announcement brings together India’s best premium 4G network with the incredible iPhone experience,” said Jio president Mathew Oommen. “Jio is India’s 4G-only network, providing high-speed internet across India. The true power of iPhones can now be experienced by all Indian iPhone users on the Jio network.”
Reliance Retail is offering users the convenience of pre-ordering the iPhone models online and having them delivered, installed and activated with Jio services in their homes.
“It’s a great initiative by Apple, Jio and Reliance Retail,” says a marketing consultant. “It should lead to volume uptakes. However, With Jio’s calls now getting connected with other mobile telcos easier than before, one will have to wait and watch whether it can provide consistent service in both data speeds and in voice.”
Jio is currently under challenge from other mobile providers like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea who have also shaved their 4G wireless broadband prices, in line with it playing the volume and price warrior game.
MUMBAI: Even before the iPhone7 became available in retail stores, Apple had announced that the flood of pre-orders had resulted it being sold out in the US. The Cupertino – hqed company is pulling out all the stops to ensure that its debut in India generates as much of good news. And it’s tie ups with the Mukesh Ambai owned Reliance Retail and Jio are steps in that direction.
Buyers of a new iPhone7 and iPhone7 Plus, are being offered Rs 1,499 worth Jio Digital Life services complimentary for 12 months from 1 January 2017. This includes unlimited local, STD and national roaming voice, unlimited text, 20 GB of 4G Data, 40 GB of WiFi Data and Unlimited Night 4G Data, unlimited subscription to premium Jio Applications. The offer is valid in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru only.
And it has also been extended to new purchases of older iPhone models such as the 6s, 6s+, 6, 6+, 5SE across all Reliance Digital stores and select Apple Premium Resellers (APR) and Apple Authorized Resellers (AAR).
Plus of course, they are entitled to the three months of free data, voice and app services until 31 December 2016. Making it a total of 15 months of freebies if they buy one of the above iPhone models now.
“Today’s announcement brings together India’s best premium 4G network with the incredible iPhone experience,” said Jio president Mathew Oommen. “Jio is India’s 4G-only network, providing high-speed internet across India. The true power of iPhones can now be experienced by all Indian iPhone users on the Jio network.”
Reliance Retail is offering users the convenience of pre-ordering the iPhone models online and having them delivered, installed and activated with Jio services in their homes.
“It’s a great initiative by Apple, Jio and Reliance Retail,” says a marketing consultant. “It should lead to volume uptakes. However, With Jio’s calls now getting connected with other mobile telcos easier than before, one will have to wait and watch whether it can provide consistent service in both data speeds and in voice.”
Jio is currently under challenge from other mobile providers like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea who have also shaved their 4G wireless broadband prices, in line with it playing the volume and price warrior game.
MUMBAI: There are some things you can hate, or you can love, but you cannot ignore. For example, the fact that agent 007, James Bond, aka Pierce Brosnan, is actively promoting a pan masala brand in India.
When India woke up to a white haired Brosnan, peering intensely out from a full page ad on The Times of India, holding a jar of Pan Bahar, the nation did a double take. Soon enough, Twitter and Facebook was flooded with a wide range of mostly polarized reactions — from mildly amused to some outright offended.
Social influencer and writer Anjali Alappat tweets “The names Bond, James Bond. I have a license to spit? #PanBahar #PierceBrosnan”
And then there were those who went into denial, doubting if it really is the real Pierce Brosnan, or a doppelganger of his, with a good use of make-up and photoshop, or CGI for the video spot that invaded Youtube and Facebook next.
Needless to say funny James Bond memes in a desi avatar trolled the Bond actor, with masters of roasting, All India Bakchod giving a blow in their own signature style
There were also a few who raised a valid question that led to a proper discussion
Harsha BhogleVerified account @bhogleharsha 6h6 hours ago
Can advertising and brand experts tell us if going viral but becoming a laughing stock is good brand strategy? #PanBahar
While most agreed that the brand has scored high on brand recall and customer mindshare, there was a general discomfort to the idea of an international star endorsing a homegrown pan masala brrand.
To those who went ‘why on earth?’ DDB Mudra creative head Sambit Mohanty said, ‘why not?’
Mohanty and his creative team at DDB Mudra take full credit for causing this daylong mayhem on the social media, and proudly so.
Of course, the client too was quite the daredevil to have gone ahead with this ‘audacious’ idea. “It was pretty balsy on the part of the client, but being a pioneer in the category, they know the pulse of their audience. The brand’s TG is the aspirational 30 plus who easily associate with James Bond, aka Pierce Brosnan, with class, style and statement. Therefore they upped the ante by actually getting him on board. And it has paid off, as you can see from the conversation around the brand that the campaign has generated.”
“The decision to bring Pierce Brosnan on board as Pan Bahar’s brand ambassador speaks volumes about our vision and ambition. We always have been focusing on a structured and quality brand promotion aligning with our product quality. As Pan Bahar stands for class, success and sophistication, we see our association with Brosnan as a natural fit,” said DJ Group CEO Dinesh Jain.
No matter which side of the spectrum one lays on this debate, the question that everyone has on their mind is how did the brand convince Brosnan to get onboard?
“We tend to complicate things most times by over speculating about something, and let that negativity get the better of us. How do you know if it won’t work out without even trying it? We simply went ahead and asked Pierce if he would do it, and he agreed. It is that simple. We explained to him what Pan Bahar was, and what it meant for the people who consumed it, and we liked the concept and the scripting,” Mohanty simply stated.
The idea, Mohanty explained, was to bring out the product from everyone’s pocket and have them consume it with pride. “These days pan masala is not just a ‘massy’ thing, several corporate and boardroom tables have pan masalas kept on the table. Moreover we live in a world where Indians are globally successful thanks to their creativity, audacity and entrepreneurial attitude. That’s why, when it came to assigning a new brand ambassador for Pan Bahar, Pierce Brosnan was a great choice. We wanted to give a classy image to the brand and who better to drive that brand statement than James Bong himself?”
Citing the brand’s earlier campaign ‘Pehchan Kamiabi ki’ with Saif Ali Khan, Sambit added the thought remained the same, though it definitely graduated to the next level with Peirce Brosnan as the brand ambassador.
“We easily get starry eyed when we think of Bollywood and often restrain ourselves from thinking far and widen our horizon. The truth is there are several home grown brands that cater to a large enough audience who resonate with an international personality. By restricting ourselves to just Bollywood celebrities we are doing ourselves and our clients a disservice. We should let the possibility to sign on an ambassador who can deliver a far better brand value,” Mohanty added on the use of an international star as opposed to the Bollywood celebrities.
While Mohanty refrained from giving any details, he admitted Brosnan has been well compensated for his year-long deal with the brand, subject to extension based on the brand and the Hollywood star’s wishes.
Shot in Austin, the film begins with Brosnan stopping his sports car in front of a grand entrance. His lady wishes him luck. He has a look of destiny on his face. As he enters the building, he is welcomed by a no. of obstacles waiting for him. He must win over these hurdles to get to the chair, his rightful prize. The film ends with Brosnan saying, “Pan Bahar, class never goes out of style.”
The brand released a teaser on its social channels to create buzz about the film. A series of smartly crafted print teasers were also released, to create anticipation in the market about the campaign. To create a further relevance with 007, the film has been released on 7 October, 2016.
But, the fact remained that several had raised an eyebrow at the actor’s decision to endorse a pan masala brand that is thought to be harmful by many.
To them, Mohanty says, “It is an advertisement! No one has died! If Brosnan himself doesn’t have an issue, I don’t see the harm in him endorsing this brand. People can take it up with him if they are that concerned, or they can chew on some pan masala, and take a chill pill.”
MUMBAI: There are some things you can hate, or you can love, but you cannot ignore. For example, the fact that agent 007, James Bond, aka Pierce Brosnan, is actively promoting a pan masala brand in India.
When India woke up to a white haired Brosnan, peering intensely out from a full page ad on The Times of India, holding a jar of Pan Bahar, the nation did a double take. Soon enough, Twitter and Facebook was flooded with a wide range of mostly polarized reactions — from mildly amused to some outright offended.
Social influencer and writer Anjali Alappat tweets “The names Bond, James Bond. I have a license to spit? #PanBahar #PierceBrosnan”
And then there were those who went into denial, doubting if it really is the real Pierce Brosnan, or a doppelganger of his, with a good use of make-up and photoshop, or CGI for the video spot that invaded Youtube and Facebook next.
Needless to say funny James Bond memes in a desi avatar trolled the Bond actor, with masters of roasting, All India Bakchod giving a blow in their own signature style
There were also a few who raised a valid question that led to a proper discussion
Harsha BhogleVerified account @bhogleharsha 6h6 hours ago
Can advertising and brand experts tell us if going viral but becoming a laughing stock is good brand strategy? #PanBahar
While most agreed that the brand has scored high on brand recall and customer mindshare, there was a general discomfort to the idea of an international star endorsing a homegrown pan masala brrand.
To those who went ‘why on earth?’ DDB Mudra creative head Sambit Mohanty said, ‘why not?’
Mohanty and his creative team at DDB Mudra take full credit for causing this daylong mayhem on the social media, and proudly so.
Of course, the client too was quite the daredevil to have gone ahead with this ‘audacious’ idea. “It was pretty balsy on the part of the client, but being a pioneer in the category, they know the pulse of their audience. The brand’s TG is the aspirational 30 plus who easily associate with James Bond, aka Pierce Brosnan, with class, style and statement. Therefore they upped the ante by actually getting him on board. And it has paid off, as you can see from the conversation around the brand that the campaign has generated.”
“The decision to bring Pierce Brosnan on board as Pan Bahar’s brand ambassador speaks volumes about our vision and ambition. We always have been focusing on a structured and quality brand promotion aligning with our product quality. As Pan Bahar stands for class, success and sophistication, we see our association with Brosnan as a natural fit,” said DJ Group CEO Dinesh Jain.
No matter which side of the spectrum one lays on this debate, the question that everyone has on their mind is how did the brand convince Brosnan to get onboard?
“We tend to complicate things most times by over speculating about something, and let that negativity get the better of us. How do you know if it won’t work out without even trying it? We simply went ahead and asked Pierce if he would do it, and he agreed. It is that simple. We explained to him what Pan Bahar was, and what it meant for the people who consumed it, and we liked the concept and the scripting,” Mohanty simply stated.
The idea, Mohanty explained, was to bring out the product from everyone’s pocket and have them consume it with pride. “These days pan masala is not just a ‘massy’ thing, several corporate and boardroom tables have pan masalas kept on the table. Moreover we live in a world where Indians are globally successful thanks to their creativity, audacity and entrepreneurial attitude. That’s why, when it came to assigning a new brand ambassador for Pan Bahar, Pierce Brosnan was a great choice. We wanted to give a classy image to the brand and who better to drive that brand statement than James Bong himself?”
Citing the brand’s earlier campaign ‘Pehchan Kamiabi ki’ with Saif Ali Khan, Sambit added the thought remained the same, though it definitely graduated to the next level with Peirce Brosnan as the brand ambassador.
“We easily get starry eyed when we think of Bollywood and often restrain ourselves from thinking far and widen our horizon. The truth is there are several home grown brands that cater to a large enough audience who resonate with an international personality. By restricting ourselves to just Bollywood celebrities we are doing ourselves and our clients a disservice. We should let the possibility to sign on an ambassador who can deliver a far better brand value,” Mohanty added on the use of an international star as opposed to the Bollywood celebrities.
While Mohanty refrained from giving any details, he admitted Brosnan has been well compensated for his year-long deal with the brand, subject to extension based on the brand and the Hollywood star’s wishes.
Shot in Austin, the film begins with Brosnan stopping his sports car in front of a grand entrance. His lady wishes him luck. He has a look of destiny on his face. As he enters the building, he is welcomed by a no. of obstacles waiting for him. He must win over these hurdles to get to the chair, his rightful prize. The film ends with Brosnan saying, “Pan Bahar, class never goes out of style.”
The brand released a teaser on its social channels to create buzz about the film. A series of smartly crafted print teasers were also released, to create anticipation in the market about the campaign. To create a further relevance with 007, the film has been released on 7 October, 2016.
But, the fact remained that several had raised an eyebrow at the actor’s decision to endorse a pan masala brand that is thought to be harmful by many.
To them, Mohanty says, “It is an advertisement! No one has died! If Brosnan himself doesn’t have an issue, I don’t see the harm in him endorsing this brand. People can take it up with him if they are that concerned, or they can chew on some pan masala, and take a chill pill.”
While the cine world is abuzz about the recently released offering from the Bond franchise, Spectre, James Bond aka actor Daniel Craig’s flashy appearance in Heineken’s new TV commercial ‘The Chase’ has also grabbed many eyeballs. The TVC is part of the beer brand’s integrated global campaign for Spectre which released on November 20 in India, making Heineken the only Spectre partner with a TVC featuring Craig.
Created and conceptualized by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, the TVC sees Daniel Craig as James Bond being chased by goons. Bond leads The Chase by jumping into a speedboat and accidentally makes a water skier tied to it a part of the action. Through several dangerous and comic situations, the ad shows how the ski girl Zara saves Bond.
The TVC is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the grand promotion activities the beer brand has done with the film. “We have used television, in-cinema and digital for our campaign, and of course there is point-of-sale, which is a driver for our category (BTL),” informs UBL’s Marketing Senior Vice President Samar Singh Sheikhawat.
Interestingly, Heineken went with for digital first approach with the new TVC. Explaining the strategy, Sheikhawat told Indiantelevision.com, “We chose to release the TVC on Facebook first due to its powerful reach and because of Facebook’s massive network and its recent strategic additions to its video platform. No other video platform has the advanced targeting capabilities like Facebook does. Through gathered data from over 144 crore active users, marketers can efficiently reach their target audience. With the help of Facebook’s targeting capabilities, the video has been carefully placed in front of the eyes of viewers that the matter most to Heineken. This release has been followed by with the launch of our TV campaign. “
To further heighten anticipation ahead of the movie’s release this autumn, fans were given access to special edition Heineken® Spectre bottles and cans that were launched in India for the first time. In order to unlock exclusive content from the movie, fans need to visit www.heineken.com/bond, and scan the Heineken® label on the special-edition packs. The exclusive content features Daniel Craig, plus behind the scenes footages from five of the movie’s dramatic locations – Mexico City, Rome, London, Austria and Morocco. The campaign in India also included purchase-linked promotions where fans could win exclusive Spectremerchandise.
Spectre isn’t the brand’s first collaboration with the Bond franchise. The association between James Bond and Heineken go way back to 1997. “James Bond is one of the most iconic characters in cinematic history and Heineken® is proud to have played a part in the 007 legend since 1997,” pointed out Sheikhawat.
“Our successful partnership has grown with every release from ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, ‘The World is Not Enough’, ‘Die Another Day’, ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Quantum of Solace’, ‘Skyfall’ to, most recently, 2015’s ‘Spectre’,” he further added.
What makes Heineken the perfect brand campaign partner for the Bond Franchise? “James Bond and Heineken® are instantly recognizable premium brands that share many of the same aspirational qualities – wit, resourcefulness and confidence, plus a fascination with the latest technology,” Sheikhawat simply responded.
Sheikhawat further elaborated the significance of this powerful brand collaboration for both the brands. “Our partnership is mutually beneficial. Heineken® is the world’s most international premium beer, which means that Sony (film distributor and promotor) is able to use the global reach of our Bond campaign to help promote the film in 85 countries around the world. In return, we are able to partner with a globally recognized and loved franchise that our target market identifies with.”
NEW DELHI: Australian television stations may soon be able to broadcast in high definition formats on their main channels, with the Government moving a legislation to remove the insistence on using only standard definition.
Australia’s Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has introduced the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Primary Television Broadcasting Service) Bill, an amendment to 1992’s Broadcasting Services Act, in this regard.
The Bill provides the national and commercial free-to-air broadcasters with the flexibility to deliver programming on their primary television services in either standard definition or high-definition formats.
Broadcasters’ primary television services include ABC1, SBS ONE, 7, Prime7, Nine, WIN, Ten and Southern Cross.
Currently, free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters are required to provide their primary television service in standard definition. But Turnbull said, “This is a relic of the analogue era, introduced at the start of the digital television switchover process to ensure that viewers would have access to at least one digital channel per broadcaster. At the time not all televisions and set-top boxes were capable of receiving high-definition content.”
The bill makes minor technical amendments to ensure the transmission of primary services by free-to-air satellite broadcasters such as VAST receive the same flexibility to transmit in either standard or high definition.
Turnbull noted that following consultation on de-regulation of TV services the proposal to allow broadcasters to provide their primary service in either standard or high definition received very strong support from the public and free-to-air broadcasters.
“With the completion of digital switch-over and the availability of a range of new television services, many Australians now expect premium free-to-air programming to be provided in high definition—especially events such as live sports.”
