MUMBAI: When football meets flavour, you get Kingfisher’s latest twist on a classic. Kingfisher premium packaged drinking water has reinvented its signature O la la la leo jingle in a lively acappella format, enlisting Argentina’s football legends Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez, Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Tagliafico to turn music into motion.
The campaign, created by Ogilvy, ditches instruments entirely, layering beatboxing, humming, whistling and harmonies to celebrate Kingfisher’s globally recognised anthem of good times. Fans and players share the spotlight in a split-screen spectacle, syncing ball tricks to rhythm in a seamless dance of sport and sound. From high-energy dribbles to perfectly timed passes, every move echoes the jingle’s infectious beat, uniting football and music in a festival of flair.
“This campaign marks an exciting step in Kingfisher’s global journey,” said United Breweries Limited chief marketing officer Vikram Bahl. “By bringing our signature jingle into international football, we are connecting with audiences in a way that is both playful and powerful. Sport and music speak the same language, and together, they create unforgettable experiences.”
AFA chief commercial and marketing officer Leandro Petersen added, “The acappella treatment combined with our players’ energy reflects the vibrancy and passion that define football. It’s a celebration of rhythm, unity and joy.” Ogilvy South chief creative officer Puneet Kapoor summed it up, “What started as India’s party soundtrack is now a global groove, uniting fans, friends and football legends. When O la la la leo drops, it’s a signal to Messi, Tagliafico, Fernandez and Martinez to raise their glasses and let the good times roll.”
The brand film will be streamed across Meta, Youtube and television, bringing this high-octane, rhythm-packed experience to football enthusiasts and Kingfisher fans alike, proving that good times can now be scored in goals and grooves alike.
MUMBAI: Pour decisions just got easier in Bengal. United Breweries Limited (UBL), part of the Heineken group, has relaunched the iconic Kalyani black label strong in West Bengal, reviving a brand that has been part of the state’s cultural fabric for generations.
First brewed on the banks of the river Kalyani, the strong-tasting beer has long been a favourite across eastern India, often remembered as the first sip of beer for many. With its bold flavour and loyal following, the relaunch aims to blend nostalgia with novelty, reconnecting with long-time fans while enticing a new wave of drinkers.
Available at just Rs 140 for a 650ml bottle, the pricing makes it as accessible as it is iconic. United Breweries, CMO, Vikram Bahl explained, “Kalyani black label strong is deeply rooted in Bengal’s beer culture. By relaunching it at an attractive price point, we celebrate its legacy while inviting a new generation to enjoy it.”
The brand is positioned to reinvigorate the strong beer segment in West Bengal, standing shoulder to shoulder with UBL’s wider portfolio, which includes Kingfisher, Heineken, and Amstel.
With its return, Kalyani black label strong isn’t just a beer on the shelf, it is a toast to heritage, taste, and Bengal’s enduring love for a bold brew.
MUMBAI: Stefi Dsouza has traded one beer giant for another, leaving AB InBev to become media lead at United Breweries Ltd, the Indian arm of Dutch brewing behemoth Heineken. The move caps a career that has seen the media planning specialist work her way through some of advertising’s most prestigious agencies before landing client-side roles at major corporates.
Dsouza’s appointment comes after two years as senior media manager at AB InBev, where she helped the world’s largest brewer navigate India’s increasingly competitive beer market. Her move to United Breweries—Heineken’s local operation—represents a significant coup for the Dutch company as it battles for market share against rivals including AB InBev and Carlsberg.
The media planning veteran brings 12 years of experience spanning both agency and corporate roles. Her CV reads like a who’s who of Indian advertising, with stints at Mindshare, OMD India, MediaCom and MediaVest before making the leap to the client side in 2020.
At Volkswagen India, where she served as media manager and later senior media manager, Dsouza helped the German carmaker navigate the choppy waters of India’s automotive market. She then moved to Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd for a year-long stint before joining AB InBev in 2023.
Her agency background includes a director-level role at Mindshare and a group head position at OMD India, suggesting she knows how to handle large-scale media campaigns. The Cannes Young Lions India shortlist recipient and Social Samosa award winner has built a reputation as what she calls an “Excel nerd”—no small compliment in the data-driven world of modern media planning.
The appointment signals United Breweries’ commitment to strengthening its media capabilities as competition intensifies in India’s beer market. The company, which owns brands including Kingfisher, has been battling for market leadership against AB InBev’s portfolio of premium international brands.
Dsouza’s move also highlights the increasing importance of media planning expertise in India’s consumer goods sector. With digital advertising spend continuing to surge and traditional media becoming more fragmented, companies are placing greater emphasis on hiring specialists who can navigate the complex media landscape.
Her tagline—”bringing brands live on media, one campaign at a time”—suggests United Breweries can expect an integrated approach that combines traditional and digital channels. Given her track record across automotive, electric mobility and brewing sectors, Dsouza appears well-equipped to handle the diverse challenges of marketing alcoholic beverages in India’s highly regulated environment.
The hiring represents a small but significant shift in the ongoing talent war between India’s major consumer brands, as companies increasingly poach senior executives from direct competitors rather than relying solely on agency talent pipelines
Mumbai: Kingfisher launched their latest campaign, “#NoFilterFriendships”. The campaign aims to celebrate genuine and unscripted conversations among friends. The campaign, titled “#NoFilterFriendships” focuses on a simple yet profound message: “Open up and have an unfiltered conversation with your friends”.
Conceptualised and created by Ogilvy India, the advertisement focuses on relatable scenarios and everyday friendships, encouraging individuals to shed pretences and be themselves when connecting with friends.
In today’s world, it’s hard for Gen Zs to have real, unfiltered conversations. Social media and digital communication have created a culture of curated personas and edited conversations. This can make it difficult to find genuine friends and connections. This campaign offers a refreshing change by inviting Gen Z to be themselves and have honest, unfiltered conversations. It’s a call to action to come together, open up and forge meaningful connections that transcend the superficiality of social media.
Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Vikram Bahl, Chief Marketing Officer, United Breweries Limited, said, “Kingfisher has always been a progressive brand, and through this Pan India campaign we aim to echo the tension in the lives of Gen Z audiences, who hesitate to open up freely, fearing judgements from others. This campaign is a celebration of opening up and having judgement-free conversations.”
Ogilvy India Kainaz Karmakar chief creative officer Harshad Rajadhyaksha said, “For an iconic brand like Kingfisher which enjoys such widespread popularity, the emotion and sentiment of its core audience – Gen Z, needed to be expressed in an entertaining yet meaningful way in the new campaign. Even in today’s world where ‘sharing’ is an accepted way of life for this audience, there are still nuances about their lives they hesitate to express. #NoFilterFriendships was borne from this tension. Among the many stories that we thought of, the one we chose to debut this thought in, carries a little more social currency amongst our Gen Z audience. The story is executed with a light touch and uses all the loved brand elements like the oolalala jingle”.
The campaign will make its presence felt across diverse platforms, spanning TV, OTT, social media, influencers, and on-ground activations to champion the central message and maximize its impact.
Mumbai: Two of The Zoo Media Network’s agencies, FoxyMoron and The Rabbit Hole, have won the creative and branded content mandate for its flagship products, “Kingfisher Premium” and “Kingfisher Ultra.” The mandates were won following a multi-agency pitch.
As a part of the mandate, creative and performance digital agency FoxyMoron will handle the creative mandate from the agency’s Gurgaon office, and the branded content mandate, which was won by the network’s video content solutions agency, The Rabbit Hole, will be handled out of its Mumbai headquarters.
Kingfisher Premium has been the flagship product of United Breweries for over four decades, while Kingfisher Ultra, launched in 2009, is the premium lager brand.
Commenting on the massive win, Zoo Media & FoxyMoron co-founder Pratik Gupta said, “In the thick of intense competition, Zoo’s agencies have stood out for their insight-driven, creatively layered, integrated strategies. Our teams are geared to make the brand contemporary and relatable to young urban India.”
United Breweries chief marketing officer Debabrata Mukherjee commented, “We are excited to have the Zoo Media network as a partner and look forward to doing some impactful work together.”
Mumbai: United Breweries Ltd has roped in actors Rashmika Mandanna and Varun Dhawan as brand ambassadors for its iconic brand Kingfisher. The association will kick off Kingfisher’s ‘Spread the Cheer’ campaign, focused on celebrating this year as the ‘Year of the Cheer.’
Through this campaign, Kingfisher has also created an exciting dance hook-step with Rashmika and Varun as their way of spreading the cheer. The TVC is shot by Raylin Valles and the music is composed by Ram Sampath.
“Kingfisher has brought joy and energy to the lives of consumers over the years and has always been India’s first choice of a social beverage. As we look back on this journey with humble pride, we also look ahead with renewed resolve to further strengthen our consumer connections, enhance the aspirational and iconic brand codes and dial up differentiated consumer engagement experiences,” stated United Breweries Ltd CMO Debabrata Mukherjee. “The ever-evolving consumer landscape and the continuous tectonic shifts in the media platforms are energizing us to strive for more in the way we approach integrated marketing communications and how we build winning partnerships. We are thrilled that Rashmika and Varun are joining forces with us as our brand ambassadors as we embark on this invigorating voyage.”
“For me, Kingfisher represents passion, enjoyment and living life to the fullest. The last two years have been tough for everyone because of the pandemic and now I hope we all spread the cheer with Kingfisher and come together to have a good time,” said Varun Dhawan.
“Kingfisher is one of the most iconic brands to have come out of India, enjoyed not just locally but across the world. I am very excited to be a part of the Kingfisher brand family,” added Rashmika Mandanna.
MUMBAI: If there’s one sport that unites people all over the world, it is football. Cricket maybe a religion in India, but football is life for billions of fans in every nation. When a Neymar changes teams for $260 million, as many – if not more – weep or rejoice. India too has its legions of football lovers: Estimates are that 283 million of them viewed football in 2018-19. The Premier League remains by far the most watched and supported football league with an awareness level of 79 per cent amongst soccer fans, according to a Brand Finance research report. The league itself has estimated that 155 million Indians track it, its teams and the players throughout the year, religiously. In the 2018-2019 season, 30 million actively watched the Premier League.
Run by the UK’s Football Association, the 28-year-old league is available in 643 million homes in 212 countries globally with a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion. 20 clubs each play 38 matches against each other (at home and away) on Saturdays and Sundays in the afternoon.
In 2017, the league roped in Gully Boy Ranveer Singh- who is also a keen Arsenal follower – as its official brand ambassador for India, thus broadening its appeal within the country.
The typical Premier League enthusiast is a new millennial, affluent, someone who wears either Levis or Killer jeans or a Zara T-shirt, goes on a holiday in India at least a couple of times a year, uses personal transport, orders from an e-commerce platform at least once a month, and is located in the metros and mainline cities. He meticulously follows the game scores, is tech savvy, tweets and posts about the game on social media. Women also seem to have developed a fancy for the Premier League as they comprise a sizeable 30 per cent of the fan base.
The Premier League mania is so strong that official clubs have sprouted up nationwide in almost every metro supporting the top teams: Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham Spurs. These clubs have affiliations with the mother clubs in the UK and have a presence in almost every metro and major city in India. Memberships run into 500 plus in almost each city, making for a massive fan base.
31-year old Mayur Bhosale is a Chelsea fan and also the marketing head of the team’s official fan club in India. “For me football is my life. I am so looking forward to the next season of the Premier League. This time the gap between the previous season and this one has been short, which is good.”
MAYUR BHOSALE (SECOND FROM LEFT):A DIEHARD CHELSEA FAN
Mayur’s day job is as a chief engineer with one of Airtel’s data centres in Pune. But the nights are devoted to football. “I watch every match – even when the kick-off is late at night 12:30 and ending at 2:30 am. I will wake up the next morning and head to my meeting weary in body but fresh in spirit.”
Tony George, who works in a pharma company, is the chairman of the Arsenal India Supporters Club, Kerala chapter. “We have been following the Premier League for the past 19 years and especially Arsenal. We are expecting the team to do better this year, with new signings.”
In fact, the supporters’ clubs normally have screenings when the matches are on, with 50-200 members gathering in a club, and making merry while watching the furiously-paced game on a large screen. Brands such as Budweiser, Kingfisher and Heineken have supported the get togethers in the past. Other brands which have been consistent partners – especially of the Manchester United Supporters Club – include: HCL, nutrition brands like ON and RiteBrite, Apollo Tyres and home grown beer brand White Owl.
“People come dressed in colours of their favourite team,” says Mayur. “They are tattooed and they cheer every forward’s move and defender’s success at intercepting a rival’s pass. We replicate what we believe is happening in the stadium. Budweiser is the partner for many of our initiatives and for us Budweiser is our favourite beer and is equal to the Premier League.”
According to him, most of the members of the fan clubs are either students or those who are newly into their professional careers. “70-75 per cent of them are in that age group of 23-29 years,” he reveals. “25-30 per cent are above 30 like me.”
With clubs being shut thanks to the pandemic, fans have migrated to the virtual world. Mumbai-based Chelsea fan Andre Rodrigues says meetups have happened over Zoom ever since the pandemic hit India. “The Mumbai chapter has organised some Zoom meets for quizzes and discussions over the last few months. And we will continue to do so for the coming season as well during the matches as well.”
Mayur adds that the Chelsea Fan Club has made five Zoom bridges bringing together 600-700 fans across cities, thus catching their reactions towards the action during the live matches and screenings in the past few months. ”We have done at least four or five these,” he says. “These probably are here to stay. Then we have our Whatsapp group, Instagram handles, and our Facebook pages where we constantly engage.”
Disney Star India – the broadcast partner of the Premier League in India – organises large format match screenings for various team fans across cities under the brand Select FC.
Mayur, who loves his Jawa two-wheeler, wears Woodland or Adidas shoes, when he goes to screenings, remembers his experience fondly. “It was a fantastic vibe,” he says. “They gave us a few gifts, had quizzes, free beer coupons and the fact that we were all together egging our team on was memorable. For us, Premier League fans, it rules.”
This access to young affluent and passionate fans of Premier League is wooing over marketers, media buyers and planners. The platform helps drive associative value for brands and categories which want to target this unique audience and are driving initiatives and association which help them dive right into the fan sentiment and integrate/embed themselves amidst this tribe and get the rub off and preference of this audience.
PREMIER LEAGUE FANS GATHER FOR A SCREENING IN A CLUB
For instance, Hero Motocorp associated with the Premier League broadcast on Star Sports last year in a Twitter contest towards the fag end of the tournament. Fans were asked to send their #HeroFanMoment with the hashtag #Raiseyourgame to support their respective teams.
Net result: the contest generated 6.9 million impressions, with Star Sports reaching out to 2.59 million unique accounts. The original announcement of the contest alone generated 3.53 million impressions and 125,725 engagements, and took the initiative amongst the top 10 trends in India for an hour and a half on the short messaging engagement platform.
Then, lubricants major Gulf Oil is a votary of the Premier League, especially in the current circumstances. According to the company’s CEO & managing director Ravi Chawla, the English Premier League is one of the most awaited seasons for football enthusiasts. Amidst the gloom around Covid, these sporting events are bringing back much-needed excitement among the consumers. Although the fans may not be able to watch the action in the stadium, we feel that a combination of the digital adoption behaviour and aspiration to continue to see their favourite players on the field will keep the fans glued more than ever. Keeping with the enthusiasm, Gulf Oil released a global film #GulfGetMovingAgain with Manchester United illustrating a new world emerging post lockdown to communicate a strong message that – "The world may have changed but our dreams haven’t”. It garnered an engagement of 4.5 million plus Manchester United fans.”
“…given that EPL is an extended format, it will have relevant brand associations. Brands are evaluating all opportunities very keenly right now,” expounds Havas Media India managing director Mohit Joshi. “The football fan base has only been increasing in India over the years and that is clear from the buzz around the sport. In this Covid year, viewers have been deprived of live sports. As a result, the season will do extremely well. More than viewership, it is the social buzz that one can already feel around it.”
With that kind of positive sentiment, don’t be surprised if during this season, brands rain heavily on the Premier League, rather than just the just the normal summer showers.
Bangalore: Kingfisher, the King of Good Times has taken Instagram by storm with their newly conceptualized and personalized GIFs. This activityhas enabled the consumers to romanticize with the Kingfisher bottles using their names. Understanding the alco-bev industry’s limitation onpersonalization, Kingfisher has made this customization possible in the virtual world and easily accessible for millennials with their cool and slick GIFs on Instagram.
The campaign is a fun and quirky way to customize a Kingfisher bottle through simple steps. First, the user simply needs to click a picture on their Instagram story, then search for the first three letters of their name along with fisher, and the custom GIF appears. This GIF can be positioned anywhere on the picture, bringing out the creative instincts of all Kingfisher fans. Central to the campaign idea that makes it scalable, is the usage of 3 letters of the name, as against using the full name. For example- Panfisher for Pankaj, Ankfisher for Ankit, Neefisher for Neelima and so on.
#myFisher campaign was launched recently, and has thus far engaged with over 10M fans.
Kingfisher has always understood the pulse of the consumers and this has been proven either through the launch of newer products in the market or engaging campaigns like Instant Beer Powder prank. They have been successful in maintaining a dynamic conversation with the consumers by acknowledging the trends and being an advocate of good times.
MUMBAI: April fool’s day gives everyone a chance to enjoy some hearty laughs and pranks at the expense of friends, colleagues or families. This is the day when you trust no one and nothing. But sometimes, the trickery is so fine that it takes forever for one to realise that they have been fooled. This 1 April, a number of brands played their best cards. Here are some of the best specimens we saw on our social media handles.
Kingfisher
Kingfisher announced the launch of a new product – Kingfisher’s Instant Beer mix, a revolutionary product which would change the beer industry. People were asked to register for free samples, which they did in abundant numbers. As per the brand, people also made WhatsApp groups discussing the product, hence making it a trending topic on the messaging app too.
Netflix India
Netflix India’s April fool’s prank started 14 days in advance as it started sharing cryptic messages that seemed to be pointing towards the much awaited season 2 of the popular original series Sacred Games.
Calendar nikaal. Tareekh likh le. 14 din mein kuch bada hone wala hai.
Ride-hailing platform Ola came up with an interesting solution to the one big problem that the generation, which is ‘always on the go’ faces, the lack of public toilets. It announced Ola Restroom facilities on its social media handles attracting a lot of eyeballs. However, after telling people that it was indeed an April Fool’s prank, they also shared that from now onwards, people can opt to donate Re 1 to Gramalya and help it build toilet across India.
India’s premium smartphone brand One Plus released a small teaser of its Warp Car, an electric supercar printed using SLS 3D and ABS 3D printing that can also can be customised. The car doesn’t have a steering wheel and relies on smartphone control. It also asked people to participate on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #WarpCar to win one.
Get your hands on the fastest-charging electric car in the world. Available April 31. #WarpCar
Pepsi used its influencer network to position its ‘Har Ghoont Mein Swag’ motto via a unique prank where a group of friends tricked a guy into a fake meet and greet with Bollywood actress Disha Patani. The video of the prank got viral as it was also shared on Disha Patani’s official Instagram handle.
7 UP took its April Fool’s prank to the streets of Chennai as it teamed up with popular Tamil actor Sathish Muthukrishnan who posed as a local taxi driver in the city and drove around town, pranking unassuming passengers.
MUMBAI: Alcobev brand, Kingfisher, has introduced the ‘Indian Prank League’ as part of its IPL campaign “Divided by teams, united by Kingfisher”.
The Indian Pranks League celebrates the teams and their spirit of the good times with a series of video commercials featuring players from Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are seen pulling pranks off at their team mates. The campaign brings a fresh take to brand activations this IPL season.
As the nation tunes in to watch and support their favourite cricketers, Kingfisher rings in the good times with its campaign, bringing a sense of fun and youthfulness to this matchup of tough competitors. This year the teams and fans unite over a series of hilarious pranks.
United Breweries chief marketing officer Samar Singh Sheikhawat says, “For years, Kingfisher has been a catalyst in bringing rival teams together with a fun element off the fields to establish the brands campaign line for the IPL – Divided by teams, united by Kingfisher. We also give fans access to the players with our on-ground promotions getting them closer to their sports idols. This year around, the campaign focuses on showing fans the humorous personalities of the teams where they pull pranks on each other in good sporting spirit.”
As a part of the campaign, KIXP batsman Chris Gayle pranked his team-mate KL Rahul on his 26th birthday.
Commenting on the campaign and his recent birthday celebrations, Kings XI Punjab batsman and wicket keeper KL Rahul mentions, “Pulling pranks is one of the most fun element about being part of a team, I have pulled a couple of pranks on my fellow teammates as well. The new campaign reflects the spirit of camaraderie and the good times, exactly how we keep it on the grounds during our practice sessions, we all are always seen having a jovial time. My top Indian Prank league moment this season was on my birthday, pulled off by my fellow teammates. Its small moments like these which creates memories and keeps the spirit of good time going.”
J Walter Thompson Bangalore SVP and managing partner Kishore Tadepalli adds, “Despite the rivalry between teams, the players are thick friends with each other. They constantly pull each other’s legs, crack jokes and have a laugh off the field. Kingfisher brings the camaraderie alive for the sports fans and gives them a sneak peak to their lives beyond cricket.”
The ads will be showcased across mediums through the season, targeted towards cricket fans but can also be viewed on Kingfisher’s YouTube channel.
Kingfisher will also bring fans closer to their cricketing gods with engaging activities through the season across various platforms is to enable Kingfisher to reach out to millions of consumers across the country, ensuring it is the brand of choice right through the summer.
