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✦How Pepsi Lost Control Of Its Own Line, And Won✦How A Campaign Is Tested Before It Runs✦Publishers Are Making The Ads Now Too✦Zoya Casts Anoushka Shankar In Her Again High Jewellery Campaign✦Jenika Ventures Offers Free Office Space Or Plot With A Property Purchase✦Flite Brings Back Ali Fazal And Sanya Malhotra For Festive Buckle Campaign✦Sony Pictures Television Hires Lauren Glaubach To Lead Digital Distribution✦Kamdhenu Group Appoints The Brand Bee As Digital Marketing Agency✦Google Rolls Out Gemini Tools For Small Business Owners✦Instagram Returns With Second Edition Of Rings Awards For Creators✦Spotify Removes 50 Million AI Tracks From Recommendations✦Puja Singh Joins Accor As Marketing Communications Manager For India And South Asia✦How Pepsi Lost Control Of Its Own Line, And Won✦How A Campaign Is Tested Before It Runs✦Publishers Are Making The Ads Now Too✦Zoya Casts Anoushka Shankar In Her Again High Jewellery Campaign✦Jenika Ventures Offers Free Office Space Or Plot With A Property Purchase✦Flite Brings Back Ali Fazal And Sanya Malhotra For Festive Buckle Campaign✦Sony Pictures Television Hires Lauren Glaubach To Lead Digital Distribution✦Kamdhenu Group Appoints The Brand Bee As Digital Marketing Agency✦Google Rolls Out Gemini Tools For Small Business Owners✦Instagram Returns With Second Edition Of Rings Awards For Creators✦Spotify Removes 50 Million AI Tracks From Recommendations✦Puja Singh Joins Accor As Marketing Communications Manager For India And South Asia

Ad Tribe — daily news on India’s advertising industry

Halftone collage of a bottle cap and a megaphone on purple, for the Pepsi line that escaped into ordinary Indian speech
Campaigns That Built India

How Pepsi Lost Control Of Its Own Line, And Won

A brand line is working when people repeat it. It has arrived when they use it about something that has nothing to do with the brand.

A magnifying glass held over a strip of film, both as halftone cutouts, on a black ground
Creative Room

How A Campaign Is Tested Before It Runs

A flat vector character handing a finished poster across a counter to another character holding coins
The Ai Shift

Publishers Are Making The Ads Now Too

The Latest
Campaigns

Zoya Casts Anoushka Shankar In Her Again High Jewellery Campaign

Brands

Jenika Ventures Offers Free Office Space Or Plot With A Property Purchase

Campaigns

Flite Brings Back Ali Fazal And Sanya Malhotra For Festive Buckle Campaign

People

Sony Pictures Television Hires Lauren Glaubach To Lead Digital Distribution

News

Kamdhenu Group Appoints The Brand Bee As Digital Marketing Agency

Ad Tech

Google Rolls Out Gemini Tools For Small Business Owners

Ad Tech

Instagram Returns With Second Edition Of Rings Awards For Creators

Ad Tech

Spotify Removes 50 Million AI Tracks From Recommendations

PeopleAll →
Lauren Glaubach, hired by Sony Pictures Television to lead distribution across digital and social platforms

Sony Pictures Television Hires Lauren Glaubach To Lead Digital Distribution

Puja Singh, who has joined Accor as marketing communications manager for India and South Asia

Puja Singh Joins Accor As Marketing Communications Manager For India And South Asia

Karun Arora, who has joined Hyundai Motor India as associate vice president and vertical head for brand and MarTech

Karun Arora Joins Hyundai Motor India As Brand And MarTech Head

Garima Mishra on the HP Telecom India announcement card naming her chief executive officer from 21 October

HP Telecom India Appoints Garima Mishra As Chief Executive Officer

Dinesh Singh, named chief technology and information officer at NDTV Group after 27 years at the network

Dinesh Singh Named Chief Technology And Information Officer At NDTV Group

Shivani Pal, who has joined Equirus to lead public relations and strategic communications for the group

Shivani Pal Joins Equirus To Lead PR And Strategic Communications

FeatureWork LifeAll →
A seated silhouette in charcoal with a second, smaller outline of the same figure drawn in pencil a short distance away
Work Life

When Your Job Stops Being Your Identity

Advertising asks people to be the work. It is a brilliant arrangement until something ends, and then it is only an arrangement.

Does Every Big Idea Need A Campaign?

The campaign was a delivery mechanism built for a world of fixed slots. The idea does not necessarily need the container any more.

What Happens When Nobody Has Time To Teach

Teaching is the first thing a busy department stops doing, and the only thing whose absence takes three years to show up.

When Should You Leave Your First Agency?

The common advice is two years. The useful test has nothing to do with the calendar and everything to do with what stopped happening.

FeatureBrand BuildersAll →
Watercolour and ink portrait of Dr Prathap C. Reddy, founder chairman of Apollo Hospitals
Brand Builders

Prathap Reddy, Who Made a Hospital Something You Choose

The hardest brand shift is not persuading people to prefer you. It is teaching them that they get to choose.

02
Watercolour and ink portrait of Ramoji Rao, founder of the Eenadu group

Ramoji Rao, Who Built an Audience Before a Market

03
Watercolour and ink portrait of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of Biocon

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Whose Customer Was Never the Public

04
Watercolour and ink portrait of Kochouseph Chittilappilly, founder of V-Guard Industries

Kochouseph Chittilappilly, Who Sold a Fix for a Local Fault

05
Watercolour and ink portrait of Girish Mathrubootham, founder of Freshworks

Girish Mathrubootham, Who Marketed Software Like a Product

06
Watercolour and ink portrait of P.C. Musthafa, founder of iD Fresh Food

P.C. Musthafa, Who Branded Something Nobody Branded

07
Watercolour and ink portrait of T.S. Kalyanaraman, founder of Kalyan Jewellers

T.S. Kalyanaraman, Who Bought Trust With a Face

CampaignsAll →
Anoushka Shankar in an Indian spice market in the Zoya Her Again high jewellery campaign film
Campaigns

Zoya Casts Anoushka Shankar In Her Again High Jewellery Campaign

A spice market, a memory, and an audience advertising usually skips.

Ali Fazal in the Flite festive campaign film for the Buckle Collection, shot inside a footwear store
Campaigns

Flite Brings Back Ali Fazal And Sanya Malhotra For Festive Buckle Campaign

Shahid Kapoor in the Axis Bank and Visa festive campaign film for Dil Se Open Celebrations 2026
Campaigns

Axis Bank And Visa Launch Festive Campaign With Shahid Kapoor

A stern professor and Food Pharmer face each other in split screen in the Flipkart campaign film for OWN protein
Campaigns

Flipkart Launches OWN Protein Campaign With Food Pharmer And 22feet

Aikyatha Launches Suswaram With M S Subbulakshmi's Great-Granddaughters

Scapia Launches Travel Unreasonably Campaign With Seven Films

Tata Play Launches Smart App Film With Rajkummar Rao In A Dual Role

Poonawalla Fincorp Launches Sapno Ka Celebration Festive Campaign

FeatureSocial-FirstAll →
Half a torn portrait stays inside an empty phone outline while the other half drifts away on mustard
Social First

When A Creator Leaves The Platform That Made Them

Eight small torn portraits scattered across a purple ground with a single contract sheet among them
Social First

The Brand's Own Creator Roster

A magnifying glass rests over one eye of a torn halftone portrait on a flat green ground
Social First

How Brands Vet A Creator's Old Posts

A large halftone portrait sits inside a bold outlined advertising frame that crops part of the face away, on electric blue
Social First

When A Brand Runs Ads From A Creator's Handle

The post performs, so the brand pays to show it to people who never followed anyone. The creator's face is now media.

Why Watch Time Is Replacing Reach In Creator Deals

What A Creator Owes A Brand When A Post Goes Wrong

Why Short Drama Became A Brand Format

Why Brands Are Paying For Comments, Not Just Posts

BrandsAll →
The Jenika Ventures Billionaires Property Festival creative setting out its buy one get one free property offer
Brands

Jenika Ventures Offers Free Office Space Or Plot With A Property Purchase

Thirty-six days, and a second asset attached to the first.

02
Yami Gautam in the Nayyi Navelli association film beside the Illusion Aligners case, in the brand campaign creative

Illusion Aligners Partners With Yami Gautam Film Nayyi Navelli

03
Nitanshi Goel with the Mamonde skincare range, named the Korean brand's first brand ambassador in India

Mamonde Names Nitanshi Goel As First India Brand Ambassador

04
A halftone paper cutout of a mandarin-collar kurta on a hanger beside a marigold garland, for the KORA by NM signing

KORA By NM Names Aditya Roy Kapur As Brand Face

05
A halftone paper cutout of a cricket bat and a folded T-shirt, for SUVI naming Suryansh Shedge as brand ambassador

SUVI Names Cricketer Suryansh Shedge As Brand Ambassador

06
Sharvari in a Reva campaign image, after the certified natural diamond jewellery brand from PNGS named her its first brand ambassador

Reva by PNGS Names Sharvari Its First Brand Ambassador

07
Suniel Shetty fronting the Marzi by Primus campaign, after the lifestyle platform for adults over 50 named him its brand ambassador

Marzi by Primus Signs Suniel Shetty As Brand Ambassador

Newsletter

The Buzz, in your inbox.

Ad world news, campaigns and moves, a few times a week. No noise.

FeatureIndian Ad LegendsAll →
A graphite pencil portrait of Prasoon Joshi, the poet who gave brands their voice
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of Prasoon Joshi, the Poet Who Gave Brands a Soul

Read the story of Prasoon Joshi, one of Indian advertising's most influential figures, known for McCann, Coca-Cola's Thanda Matlab campaign and a rare career that spans advertising, poetry and film.

A graphite pencil portrait of Arun Nanda, the adman who built Rediffusion
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of Arun Nanda, the Adman Who Built Rediffusion

A graphite pencil portrait of Mohammed Khan, the adman who built Enterprise
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of Mohammed Khan, the Gentleman Who Built Three Iconic Agencies

Graphite pencil portrait of K.V. Sridhar, the Leo Burnett creative chief known across Indian advertising as Pops.
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of K.V. Sridhar, the Artist the Industry Calls Pops

The Story of Prasoon Pandey, the Director Who Filmed India's Most Loved Ads

The Story of Prahlad Kakkar, the Man Who Made Ad Films Fun

The Story of R. Balki, the Adman Who Turned Ideas Into Films

The Story of Swati Bhattacharya, the Voice That Changed How India Talks About Women

NewsAll →
01

Kamdhenu Group Appoints The Brand Bee As Digital Marketing Agency

02

PR Companion Wins PR Mandate For Charger On Wheels

03

Jio-bp And Kia India Integrate Public EV Charging Networks

04

TIPS Music Q2 Revenue Rises 35 Per Cent To Rs 120.1 Crore

05

Warner Music India Acquires Gemini Music Catalogue In South India Push

06

Netflix Replaces Content Chief Bela Bajaria With Peter Rice

07

Verve Media Wins Social Media Mandate For Academy Of Strength

08

JioHotstar And The Peacock Hub Partner For Koffee With Karan's Final Season

FeatureCreative RoomAll →
A heavy padlock and a film camera as halftone cutouts, locked together against a black ground
Creative Room

What A Pre-Production Meeting Actually Decides

Photographs spill out of an open filing cabinet drawer and climb diagonally across a black ground
Creative Room

How A Brand Archive Gets Used In New Work

A blank desk nameplate stands squarely in the centre of a black frame edged with teal and coral
Creative Room

How A Campaign Survives A Change Of Marketing Head

A magnifying glass held over a strip of film, both as halftone cutouts, on a black ground
Creative Room

How A Campaign Is Tested Before It Runs

Research is the most resented meeting in advertising and the one most likely to be blamed for a result it did not cause.

How Regional Ad Lines Are Written, Not Translated

How A Campaign Gets Pulled After It Launches

What A Creative Director Does On A Shoot Day

How Agencies Decide What To Enter For Awards

Ad TechAll →
A halftone paper cutout of a small shopfront with an awning beside a sparkle, for Google's Gemini small business tools
Ad Tech

Google Rolls Out Gemini Tools For Small Business Owners

A halftone paper cutout of an upright ring and a blank smartphone, for the second edition of the Instagram Rings Awards
Ad Tech

Instagram Returns With Second Edition Of Rings Awards For Creators

A halftone paper cutout of a stack of identical cassette tapes beside a sieve, for Spotify filtering AI tracks
Ad Tech

Spotify Removes 50 Million AI Tracks From Recommendations

A halftone paper cutout of a door standing ajar beside a telephone handset, for WhatsApp guest calling without an account
Ad Tech

WhatsApp Introduces Guest Calling For People Without Accounts

FeatureCampaigns That Built IndiaAll →
Halftone collage of a bottle cap and a megaphone on purple, for the Pepsi line that escaped into ordinary Indian speech
Campaigns That Built India

How Pepsi Lost Control Of Its Own Line, And Won

A brand line is working when people repeat it. It has arrived when they use it about something that has nothing to do with the brand.

02
Halftone collage of a folded suit length and a paper boat on crimson, for the Raymond positioning built on a kind of man

How Raymond Sold Cloth By Describing A Kind Of Man

03
Halftone collage of a school satchel and a small jar on olive green, for the Vicks film about a mother and daughter

How Vicks Put A Legal Argument Inside A Film About A Mother

04
Halftone collage of a handset and a village loudspeaker on cobalt blue, for the Idea campaign that solved social problems with phones

How Idea Made A Phone Network Argue About India

05
Halftone collage of a muddy footprint and a folded shirt on mustard, for the Surf Excel argument that stains are worth it

How Surf Excel Argued That The Stain Was The Point

06
Halftone collage of a small dog and a signal mast on magenta, for the Hutch network campaign that became Vodafone's

How Hutch's Pug Explained A Mobile Network To India

07
Halftone collage of a noodle block and a small clock on burnt orange, for Maggi's two-minute claim in India

How Maggi Sold A Category India Did Not Have

FeatureBrand ComebacksAll →
A vintage halftone collage of a generic glass bottle, lightning forms and retro street fragments on saturated red
Brand Comebacks

Thums Up: The Cola Indians Refused To Give Up

A cola invented to fill a gap left by a departing giant, then sold to that same giant on its return. It survived anyway.

A collage of archival street photographs, bottles and a folded paper boat on turquoise
Brand Comebacks

Paper Boat: Reviving Indian Nostalgia in a Bottle

A collage of a Nokia candybar handset beside a modern smartphone, with a hand reaching for it
Brand Comebacks

Nokia India: A Nostalgia-Led Mobile Comeback

A collage of a vintage wooden television set beside a modern flat screen on a magenta ground
Brand Comebacks

BPL: Reviving a Legacy Electronics Brand in a New Market

Old Monk: The Brand That Stayed Alive Without Advertising

Royal Enfield: From Fading Motorcycle Brand to Global Cult

Tanishq: From Market Skepticism to India's Most Trusted Jeweller

Maggi: The Ultimate Trust-Rebuild After the 2015 Crisis

Tribe TicksAll →
A torn band of empty stadium seating cuts diagonally corner to corner across a flat green ground
Tribe Ticks

Why Sports Beyond Cricket Finally Found Sponsors

A panel of switches and dials crops edge to edge with no background showing at all
Tribe Ticks

What A Media Agency Actually Does Now

A stopwatch face cropped by two edges of the frame at close range on a flat olive ground
Tribe Ticks

What Happened To The Thirty Second Film

A grid of empty picture frames covers a deep pink ground with one of them tilted out of line
Tribe Ticks

What Happened To The Brand Ambassador

Most Read
01

R.S. Sodhi, the Man Who Turned Amul's Trust Into Market Share

02

Jessica Shoemaker Joins Netflix As Global Director Of Product Marketing

03

The Bull That Bowed: Inside Alpha Bull Rum's Open Letter To Old Monk

04

The Anatomy of a Great Brand Reply

05

Pizza Hut India Joins Forces with MoEngage to Power Customer Engagement

06

Amigos Foods Joins Hands with Orion Digital to Power Its Online Growth

Brand Builders, episode 01: Verghese Kurien
Ad Tribe Podcast

Brand Builders

Episode 01  ·  Verghese Kurien13 min

An engineer who did not want the job, did not like milk, and built the most trusted consumer brand in the country by giving it away to the farmers who supplied it.

Read the written version
An independent industry studyTell us what you are actually seeing in the industry right now. Five minutes, confidential unless you choose to be quoted.Take the survey
EventsAll →
Ad Tribe Awards - South
03DEC

Ad Tribe Awards - South

The inaugural edition, for agencies, brands and work led from South India. 12 agency awards, 20 brand awards, 22 work awards, and no category obliged to produce a winner.

Hyderabad, India

The Next 50
03DEC

The Next 50

Fifty individuals under 30 whose work, thinking and contribution are already making India's agency industry better. Agency-led nomination, transparent scoring, no public voting.

Hyderabad, India