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✦Harshil Mathur, Who Built a Brand for People Who Read Documentation✦Why Nano Influencers Outperform Their Follower Count✦How Onida’s Devil Sold Envy To A Country That Had To Wait✦Where Retail Media Goes After Sponsored Listings✦The Story of Prasoon Joshi, the Poet Who Gave Brands a Soul✦How Legal Review Changes a Creative Idea✦What Advertising Inside AI Assistants Will Actually Look Like✦Ghazal Alagh, Who Built the Product Behind the Promise✦How D2C Changed What A Brand Launch Looks Like✦Can AI Advertising Build Emotional Memory Or Only Attention✦How Nirma’s Jingle Undercut Surf And Rewrote The Detergent Market✦How Brands Decide Which Language To Post In✦Harshil Mathur, Who Built a Brand for People Who Read Documentation✦Why Nano Influencers Outperform Their Follower Count✦How Onida’s Devil Sold Envy To A Country That Had To Wait✦Where Retail Media Goes After Sponsored Listings✦The Story of Prasoon Joshi, the Poet Who Gave Brands a Soul✦How Legal Review Changes a Creative Idea✦What Advertising Inside AI Assistants Will Actually Look Like✦Ghazal Alagh, Who Built the Product Behind the Promise✦How D2C Changed What A Brand Launch Looks Like✦Can AI Advertising Build Emotional Memory Or Only Attention✦How Nirma’s Jingle Undercut Surf And Rewrote The Detergent Market✦How Brands Decide Which Language To Post In

Ad Tribe — daily news on India’s advertising industry

Watercolour and ink portrait of Harshil Mathur, co-founder of Razorpay
Brand Builders

Harshil Mathur, Who Built a Brand for People Who Read Documentation

In B2B payments the person who chooses you is usually the one who has to make it work. Razorpay marketed to them directly.

A halftone hand holding one small photograph while much larger empty frames hang behind it, on a saturated hot pink ground
Social First

Why Nano Influencers Outperform Their Follower Count

Halftone collage of a boxy television set and a pair of horns on charcoal, for the Onida devil campaign
Campaigns That Built India

How Onida’s Devil Sold Envy To A Country That Had To Wait

The Latest
The Ai Shift

Where Retail Media Goes After Sponsored Listings

Indian Ad Legends

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

Creative Room

How Legal Review Changes a Creative Idea

The Ai Shift

What Advertising Inside AI Assistants Will Actually Look Like

Brand Builders

Ghazal Alagh, Who Built the Product Behind the Promise

Tribe Ticks

How D2C Changed What A Brand Launch Looks Like

The Ai Shift

Can AI Advertising Build Emotional Memory Or Only Attention

Campaigns That Built India

How Nirma’s Jingle Undercut Surf And Rewrote The Detergent Market

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PeopleAll →
Mayank Kumar, joining IndiGo as head of content and creative after nine years at MakeMyTrip and a year at MobiKwik

Mayank Kumar Joins IndiGo As Head Of Content And Creative

Jayadeep Reddy, appointed national head of digital platforms and consumer AI at Bajaj Finserv after six years in its health business

Jayadeep Reddy Named National Head Of Digital Platforms And Consumer AI At Bajaj Finserv

Hema V R, taking an expanded mandate as chief channel officer across Zee Marathi, Marathi ZEE5, Zee Talkies and Zee Yuva

Hema V R Takes Charge Of Zee's Whole Marathi Entertainment Business

Bibi Hilton, appointed UK chair of brand impact and EMEA managing director of brand at FleishmanHillard

Bibi Hilton Named UK Chair Of Brand Impact At FleishmanHillard

Abhik Banerjee, joining Wavemaker India to lead its West region after serving as chief operating officer at Madison Media

Abhik Banerjee Joins Wavemaker India To Lead The West Region

Devanshi Shah, appointed head of marketing at Beyond Snack after four years building the Epigamia brand

Devanshi Shah Named Head Of Marketing At Beyond Snack

FeatureWork LifeAll →
A trophy silhouette on a plinth casting a shadow far longer and heavier than the trophy itself
Work Life

What Is The Real Cost Of Chasing Awards?

The entry fee is the cheapest part. What it costs is measured in whose work gets the good brief.

Are Agencies Losing Institutional Memory?

Every agency has a story about the idea that failed in 2014. The trouble starts when nobody left can tell it.

Will AI Make It Harder To Get Your First Agency Job?

The tasks juniors used to learn on are the tasks the tools do first. Nobody has said what juniors learn on now.

Why Agency Culture Breaks During Pitches

Everything an agency says about how it treats people is written for ordinary weeks. Pitches are not ordinary weeks.

FeatureBrand BuildersAll →
Watercolour and ink portrait of Harshil Mathur, co-founder of Razorpay
Brand Builders

Harshil Mathur, Who Built a Brand for People Who Read Documentation

In B2B payments the person who chooses you is usually the one who has to make it work. Razorpay marketed to them directly.

02
Watercolour and ink portrait of Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth

Ghazal Alagh, Who Built the Product Behind the Promise

03
Watercolour and ink portrait of Varun Alagh, co-founder of Mamaearth

Varun Alagh, Who Turned a Parenting Problem Into Mamaearth

04
Watercolour and ink portrait of Peyush Bansal, founder of Lenskart

Peyush Bansal, Who Rebuilt the Eyewear Business From the Factory Up

05
Watercolour and ink portrait of Sameer Mehta, co-founder of boAt

Sameer Mehta, the Quieter Half of boAt

06
Watercolour and ink portrait of Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt

Aman Gupta, Who Made the Founder the Advertisement

07
Watercolour and ink portrait of Kunal Shah, founder of CRED

Kunal Shah, Who Made Exclusivity the Product

CampaignsAll →
A frame from the Complan film India Ka Complan Boy featuring cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who debuted for India at fifteen
Campaigns

Complan Makes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Its India Ka Complan Boy

The Complan Boy was always a character. Zydus Wellness has replaced him with a fifteen-year-old who broke Sachin Tendulkar's record.

A frame from the Nestasia festive film Designs So Good It Makes You Look, in which guests at a dinner turn over the tableware to find the brand name
Campaigns

Nestasia Turns A Guest Checking The Bottom Of A Bowl Into A Compliment

A dental crown and a family portrait frame rendered as halftone paper cutouts, for the Laxmi Dental Illusion Zirconia campaign with Madhuri Dixit
Campaigns

Laxmi Dental Launches Illusion Zirconia Campaign With Madhuri Dixit

A laptop showing a completed payment of Rs 80,000 in airpay's first brand film, Invisible, marking the company's 14th year
Campaigns

airpay Marks 14 Years With A First Brand Film Built On Being Forgotten

YiPPee Puts 25 Young Players Across The Board From Magnus Carlsen

Hafele India Puts Sachin Tendulkar Back In The Kitchen For Its Second Film

Duolingo Turns Ullu Da Pattha Into A Compliment For Punjabi Learners

SpeakX Signs MS Dhoni To Tell India Muh Khol, English Bol

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FeatureSocial-FirstAll →
A halftone mouth in profile with several differently shaped cut-paper speech bubbles emerging, on a saturated amber ground
Social First

How Brands Decide Which Language To Post In

A halftone shopping basket balanced on a wobbling stack of cut-paper charts, on a saturated lime ground
Social First

Is Social Commerce Actually Working In India?

A halftone crowd of small figures with one stepping forward carrying an oversized megaphone, on a saturated teal ground
Social First

Why Employees Are Becoming A Brand’s Most Credible Creators

A halftone hand holding one small photograph while much larger empty frames hang behind it, on a saturated hot pink ground
Social First

Why Nano Influencers Outperform Their Follower Count

A thousand people who know you is a different asset from a million who follow you, and the media plan rarely knows how to price it.

What Brands Should Do In The First Hour Of A Social Crisis

Culture Moves at Gen Z Speed, Can Brands Keep Up?

Why Dark Social Is India’s Biggest Measurement Blind Spot

Why Authenticity Is the Hardest Metric in Social-First Advertising

BrandsAll →
Halftone paper cutout of a burger and a map pin, marking Burger King opening its 600th India restaurant in GTB Nagar, Delhi
Brands

Burger King Opens Its 600th India Restaurant In The City Where It Started

Twelve years, six hundred restaurants, and a milestone opening a short drive from the first one.

02
A camera aperture ring and a silicon chip rendered as halftone paper cutouts, for Apple unveiling the iPhone 18 Pro with a variable aperture camera and 2nm A20 Pro chip

Apple Unveils iPhone 18 Pro With Variable Aperture And 2nm A20 Pro Chip

03
A takeaway box and a rising bar chart rendered as halftone paper cutouts, for Swiggy's budget food delivery app Toing reaching 33 million weekly active users

Swiggy's Toing Reaches 33 Million Weekly Users In Its First Year

04
Sheetal Devi in India colours at a Hyundai World Archery Para Series backdrop, in the photograph issued with her Hyundai Motor India brand ambassador announcement

Hyundai Motor India Signs Para Archer Sheetal Devi As Brand Ambassador

05
A bottle of hair oil and a rising bar chart as halftone cutouts, for Bajaj Consumer Care crossing Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in FY2025-26

Bajaj Consumer Care Crosses Rs 1000 Crore On Almond Drops And Wider Reach

06
A tub of popcorn and a paintbrush as halftone cutouts, for Pollinate Labs winning the strategic rebranding mandate for gourmet snacking brand 4700BC

Pollinate Labs Wins The Rebranding Mandate For 4700BC After Marico Deal

07
A smartphone and a slender wand as halftone cutouts, for realme announcing a Harry Potter edition of the realme 16 Pro 5G

realme Announces A Harry Potter Edition Of The realme 16 Pro 5G

Newsletter

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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

Dream Theatre Takes The Baahubali Licensing And Brand Partnerships Mandate

02

Nike Hands Its India E-Commerce Media Mandate To Madison Hiveminds

03

Mutant Wins PR Mandate For Singapore's Beyond The Label

04

Dangal TV, Flipkart And Starcom Make Rimjhim Shoppable

05

Shriram General Insurance Will Sell Through SK Finance And Its 700 Branches

06

Ola Electric Revenue Halves In FY26 While Margins And Cash Improve

07

Sleepwell And Kurl-on Hand The Brand Bee Their Integrated MENA Mandate

08

Grapes Worldwide And Alice And Albert Build A Cross-Border Partner Network

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FeatureCreative RoomAll →
Halftone collage of a stack of storyboard frames fanned out at an angle, for how animatics are built
Creative Room

How Storyboards Become Animatics

Halftone collage of an empty chair under a single spotlight, for how casting shapes a campaign
Creative Room

How Casting Decides What an Idea Feels Like

Halftone collage of a reel-to-reel tape machine at large scale, for how sound and music are chosen
Creative Room

How Sound and Music Are Chosen for an Ad Film

Halftone collage of a red pen resting on a heavily marked page, for how legal review changes creative work
Creative Room

How Legal Review Changes a Creative Idea

The idea survived the client. Then somebody asked whether you can prove it, and the line disappeared.

How Campaigns Get Their Names

How Pressure Shapes Better Campaign Thinking

Where Rejected Ideas Go and Why They Still Matter

How Editors Find the Strongest Story Inside an Ad Film

Ad TechAll →
Halftone paper cutout of a silicon chip and a memory module, marking the OpenAI and Samsung Electronics collaboration on next-generation AI chips
Ad Tech

OpenAI And Samsung Move From Memory Supply To Building Chips Together

A sound wave and a signed contract rendered as halftone paper cutouts, for Suno launching its v6 AI music models with Warner Music Group and BMG
Ad Tech

Suno Launches v6 Models With Warner Music Group And BMG

A jewellery display stand and a data node diagram rendered as halftone paper cutouts, for the Zithara.AI and Tyaani Jewellery customer engagement partnership
Ad Tech

Zithara.AI Partners Tyaani Jewellery On AI Native CRM

A deodorant spray can and a notification bell rendered as halftone paper cutouts, for the Hamilton Sciences and WebEngage customer engagement partnership
Ad Tech

Hamilton Sciences Picks WebEngage For Denver, ENVY And Vanesa

FeatureCampaigns That Built IndiaAll →
Halftone collage of a boxy television set and a pair of horns on charcoal, for the Onida devil campaign
Campaigns That Built India

How Onida’s Devil Sold Envy To A Country That Had To Wait

Every other television brand was explaining its picture quality. Onida skipped the product and sold what owning one did to the people next door.

02
Halftone collage of a detergent sachet and a bicycle on charcoal, for the Nirma washing powder story

How Nirma’s Jingle Undercut Surf And Rewrote The Detergent Market

03
Halftone collage of a detergent carton and a shopping basket on charcoal, for the Surf Lalitaji campaign

How Surf’s Lalitaji Made Thrift The Smart Woman’s Argument

04
Halftone collage of a bar of soap and a falling stream of water on charcoal, for the Liril waterfall campaign

How Liril’s Waterfall Changed What Indian Advertising Could Show

05
Halftone collage of an ornate chandelier of bare bulbs glowing in darkness, marking the Happydent Palace commercial

How Happydent's Palace Lit a Kingdom With Teeth

06
Halftone collage of a chilled glass soft-drink bottle beaded with condensation, marking the Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola campaign

How Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola Annexed a Hindi Word

07
Halftone collage of two pairs of hands overlapping on a shared umbrella handle, marking SBI Life's Main Se Hum campaign

How SBI Life's Main Se Hum Made Insurance Sound Like Growing Up

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FeatureBrand ComebacksAll →
A halftone collage of cut gemstones and gold rings on a magenta ground
Brand Comebacks

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

Indians once distrusted branded gold. How Tanishq turned the category's deepest objection, purity, into its promise and became the trusted default.

A halftone bowl of steaming noodles beside a green tick on a red ground
Brand Comebacks

Maggi: The Ultimate Trust-Rebuild After the 2015 Crisis

Children drinking orange squash beside a jug, glasses and orange slices under a sunburst
Brand Comebacks

Rasna: A Childhood Summer Brand Fights to Stay Relevant

A halftone moped beside gears and a lightning bolt on a pale green ground
Brand Comebacks

Kinetic Luna: From Middle-Class Icon to Electric Comeback

Tata Sierra: The Return of an Iconic SUV Nameplate

BSA: A British-Indian Motorcycle Heritage Returns

Yezdi: The Nostalgia-Led Motorcycle Revival

Jawa: How a Legendary Motorcycle Brand Came Back

Tribe TicksAll →
Halftone collage of a ribbon and scissors on a torn horizon band, for how D2C changed brand launches
Tribe Ticks

How D2C Changed What A Brand Launch Looks Like

Halftone collage of an empty pedestal in deep negative space, for why brands stopped making mascots
Tribe Ticks

Why Indian Advertising Stopped Making Mascots

Halftone collage of a building seen through a torn hole in paper, for the rise of in-house agencies
Tribe Ticks

The Rise Of The In-House Agency In India

Halftone collage of many small screens scattered across the frame, each a different shape, for vernacular OTT
Tribe Ticks

How Vernacular OTT Built A New Mass Audience

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

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