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✦Himalaya BabyCare Pitches Extra Moisturising Baby Soap For Winter✦ESBEE Signs Sharad Kelkar For 'Spaces That Breathe' Campaign✦KL Rahul Invests In PlayBlue, Joins As Brand Ambassador✦Adobe MAX 2026 Sneaks: 10 AI Research Projects For Video, Sound And Images✦Is It Fine To Say No To A Brief?✦Wobble Signs Suryakumar Yadav As Brand Ambassador For Speed 5G✦Anil Poonia Joins Invesco Mutual Fund As Brand, Communication And PR Lead✦Lufthansa Group Appoints Omnicom Media As Global Media Agency✦9Yards Communications Names Fadi Zeidan Head Of Media✦OpenAI Names Aleph Exclusive ChatGPT Ads Reseller In 44 Markets✦AAAI Sets Up Council For AI, With LS Digital's Prasad Shejale As Chair✦AU Small Finance Bank Takes Naming Rights To Mumbai's Bandra Colony Metro✦Himalaya BabyCare Pitches Extra Moisturising Baby Soap For Winter✦ESBEE Signs Sharad Kelkar For 'Spaces That Breathe' Campaign✦KL Rahul Invests In PlayBlue, Joins As Brand Ambassador✦Adobe MAX 2026 Sneaks: 10 AI Research Projects For Video, Sound And Images✦Is It Fine To Say No To A Brief?✦Wobble Signs Suryakumar Yadav As Brand Ambassador For Speed 5G✦Anil Poonia Joins Invesco Mutual Fund As Brand, Communication And PR Lead✦Lufthansa Group Appoints Omnicom Media As Global Media Agency✦9Yards Communications Names Fadi Zeidan Head Of Media✦OpenAI Names Aleph Exclusive ChatGPT Ads Reseller In 44 Markets✦AAAI Sets Up Council For AI, With LS Digital's Prasad Shejale As Chair✦AU Small Finance Bank Takes Naming Rights To Mumbai's Bandra Colony Metro

Ad Tribe — daily news on India’s advertising industry

A smiling baby covered in soap suds during bath time, from the Himalaya BabyCare campaign film
Campaigns

Himalaya BabyCare Pitches Extra Moisturising Baby Soap For Winter

A 30-second film positions the soap as cleansing plus moisture for babies with dry, sensitive skin, built on an Aloe-Milk Moisture Complex.

Sharad Kelkar reading a book in a garden hammock, from ESBEE's Spaces That Breathe brand film
Campaigns

ESBEE Signs Sharad Kelkar For 'Spaces That Breathe' Campaign

KL Rahul holding a blue PlayBlue cap with two members of the PlayBlue team
Brands

KL Rahul Invests In PlayBlue, Joins As Brand Ambassador

The Latest
News

Adobe MAX 2026 Sneaks: 10 AI Research Projects For Video, Sound And Images

Work Life

Is It Fine To Say No To A Brief?

Brands

Wobble Signs Suryakumar Yadav As Brand Ambassador For Speed 5G

People

Anil Poonia Joins Invesco Mutual Fund As Brand, Communication And PR Lead

News

Lufthansa Group Appoints Omnicom Media As Global Media Agency

People

9Yards Communications Names Fadi Zeidan Head Of Media

Ad Tech

OpenAI Names Aleph Exclusive ChatGPT Ads Reseller In 44 Markets

News

AAAI Sets Up Council For AI, With LS Digital's Prasad Shejale As Chair

PeopleAll →
Anil Poonia, lead for brand, communication and PR at Invesco Asset Management India

Anil Poonia Joins Invesco Mutual Fund As Brand, Communication And PR Lead

Fadi Zeidan, head of media at 9Yards Communications

9Yards Communications Names Fadi Zeidan Head Of Media

Shuchi Suri, chief sales and marketing officer for Mahindra's automotive business

Mahindra Names Shuchi Suri Chief Sales And Marketing Officer, Automotive

Shilpa Marodia, the new marketing director for India and South Asia at Lenovo

Lenovo Names Shilpa Marodia Marketing Director For India And South Asia

Shivam Arora, senior vice president and head of marketing for Jeevansathi at Info Edge

Shivam Arora Joins Info Edge As Head Of Marketing For Jeevansathi

Carey Loh, the new chief executive officer of Havas Media Network Singapore

Havas Media Network Names Carey Loh Singapore CEO

FeatureWork LifeAll →
Dozens of small paper cards scattered across cream, with one hand lifting a single card out and a pencil loop marking the gap
Work Life

Is It Fine To Say No To A Brief?

Agencies are built to say yes. Knowing when a refusal is the more professional answer is a separate skill.

How To Handle Your First Client Presentation

Your hands will shake for the first two minutes. What happens in the next twenty is mostly preparation.

Should You Take A Pay Cut To Join A Better Agency?

The offer letter says less. The portfolio, five years from now, might say a lot more. Or it might not.

English Fluency vs Creative Thinking in Agency Hiring

An interview held in one language tests that language first. The thinking comes second, if it is reached at all.

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 →
A smiling baby covered in soap suds during bath time, from the Himalaya BabyCare campaign film
Campaigns

Himalaya BabyCare Pitches Extra Moisturising Baby Soap For Winter

A 30-second film positions the soap as cleansing plus moisture for babies with dry, sensitive skin, built on an Aloe-Milk Moisture Complex.

Sharad Kelkar reading a book in a garden hammock, from ESBEE's Spaces That Breathe brand film
Campaigns

ESBEE Signs Sharad Kelkar For 'Spaces That Breathe' Campaign

Young people painting a giant Ravan effigy in a courtyard, a scene from Campa Cola's Tayyari Big, Tyohaar Bada Big campaign film
Campaigns

Campa Cola's Tayyari Big, Tyohaar Bada Big, A New Festive Campaign

An astronaut floats through space carrying AJIO parcels towards a festive Diwali doorway, in AJIO's Ghar Wapsi Deals key visual
Campaigns

AJIO's Ghar Wapsi Deals Arrive With A Mystery Astronaut

iThrive's Diwali Campaign Asks Families To Add Health To Festive Preparations

Tata Mutual Fund Takes SIP Investor Education To 325 Cinema Screens

Godrej Properties' Khushiyon Ki Chaabi Diwali Film Celebrates Home

FRND's Ghar Jaisi Diwali Is For Those Celebrating Away From Home

FeatureSocial-FirstAll →
Nine identical faces in a tidy grid, one crowned with a giant gift bow, showing how giveaway contests reward sameness over fans
Social First

The Problem With Giveaway Contests On Instagram

Two offset halves of a face peering out through a torn hole in a gift box, showing what a barter deal really asks of a creator
Social First

Why Barter Deals With Creators Backfire

A studio microphone standing in front of a face sliced at the mouth, suggesting why brands now buy time inside video podcasts
Social First

Why Brands Are Sponsoring Video Podcasts

Three overlapping torn faces piled behind an oversized foam finger, suggesting how fan pages cheer louder than any brand page
Social First

Why Fan Pages Can Matter More Than Brand Pages

Somewhere there is an account run by a stranger that loves your product more openly than your own feed ever could.

What Creator Exclusivity Really Costs A Brand

Why Brands Love The Instagram Collab Post

Why The Carousel Post Came Back

What A Creator's Media Kit Leaves Out

BrandsAll →
KL Rahul holding a blue PlayBlue cap with two members of the PlayBlue team
Brands

KL Rahul Invests In PlayBlue, Joins As Brand Ambassador

The sports retail venture opens a 20,000 sq ft flagship in Bengaluru's Koramangala and launches its app on 14 November.

02
Suryakumar Yadav holding up a maroon Wobble Speed 5G smartphone

Wobble Signs Suryakumar Yadav As Brand Ambassador For Speed 5G

03
AU Small Finance Bank advertising on the platform screen doors at AU Bank Bandra Colony station on Mumbai Metro 3

AU Small Finance Bank Takes Naming Rights To Mumbai's Bandra Colony Metro

04
Shah Rukh Khan lounges in a red cinema recliner, from Cinépolis India's co-branded promo for his film King

Cinépolis India And Red Chillies Tie Up For Shah Rukh Khan's King

05
NICMAR's new logo on white, for the construction and infrastructure institution's Landor-designed brand identity

NICMAR Unveils New Brand Identity By Landor

06
A yellow FirstClub Beauty bag on a podium, from the launch of FirstClub's ingredient-filtered beauty and personal care range

FirstClub Enters Beauty And Personal Care, Bans 100+ Ingredients

07
Arjun Kapoor raises his wrist to show an orange watch, as London Fog Watches names him its face and co-creative director

London Fog Watches Signs Arjun Kapoor As Face And Co-Creative Director

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

Adobe MAX 2026 Sneaks: 10 AI Research Projects For Video, Sound And Images

02

Lufthansa Group Appoints Omnicom Media As Global Media Agency

03

AAAI Sets Up Council For AI, With LS Digital's Prasad Shejale As Chair

04

Adobe And Google Expand AI Partnership Across Gemini, Workspace And Firefly

05

Pernod Ricard Picks Initiative For Media Across India And APAC

06

Adobe And Disney Sign Multi-Year AI Alliance

07

Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Files IPO Papers With SEBI

08

Nikon India Appoints 80dB Communications For PR Mandate

FeatureCreative RoomAll →
On a torn strip of rooftops, a vintage film camera rests beneath a gold sun, the moment a recce turns a script into a place
Creative Room

How Location Scouting Works For An Ad Film

Rows of identical clothes hangers with one coral kurta standing out among them, for how wardrobe defines a character on screen
Creative Room

How Wardrobe Is Chosen For An Ad Film

Tweezers lowering a single coriander leaf onto a steaming bowl of curry, a close look at the patience food styling demands
Creative Room

How Food Styling Works On An Ad Shoot

Along a torn gold beam running corner to corner sit a glass bottle, a softbox and a reflector card, the kit that lights product shots
Creative Room

How Product Shots Are Lit On A Tabletop Shoot

A bottle on a table is the hardest thing to film well. Every highlight on it was placed there by hand.

What An Art Department Builds For A Shoot

What A Production House Bid Actually Contains

How A Key Visual Gets Built

What Happens At The First Cut Review

Ad TechAll →
The ChatGPT Ads logo beside the Aleph logo, separated by a vertical line
Ad Tech

OpenAI Names Aleph Exclusive ChatGPT Ads Reseller In 44 Markets

The black X logo on a white background
Ad Tech

X Launches In-App Video Clipping, And Both Creators Get Paid

OpenAI's launch graphic for Businesses in ChatGPT, with a verified badge, a shopping cart, a shop front and shopping bags on a blue sky
Ad Tech

OpenAI Launches Businesses In ChatGPT, With Brand-Run AI Agents

Ogilvy's ECHO launch artwork: a stylised figure in a red studio ringed by film cameras, with the ECHO wordmark and Ogilvy and CAA logos
Ad Tech

Ogilvy Launches ECHO, A Consent-First AI Platform For Celebrity Ads

FeatureCampaigns That Built IndiaAll →
Halftone collage of a fuel cap and a coin on coral, for the Hero Honda claim that made mileage the reason to buy
Campaigns That Built India

How Hero Honda Sold A Motorcycle On Arithmetic

Motorcycle advertising everywhere else sells escape. In India it sold a number, and the number won for twenty years.

02
Halftone collage of a soap bar and a pair of cupped hands on forest green, for the Lifebuoy positioning built on protection

How Lifebuoy Sold Soap As A Household Duty

03
Halftone collage of a bottle cap and a megaphone on purple, for the Pepsi line that escaped into ordinary Indian speech

How Pepsi Lost Control Of Its Own Line, And Won

04
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

05
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

06
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

07
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

FeatureBrand ComebacksAll →
A generic vintage scooter torn into strips along a diagonal on mustard, tracing Vespa's route out of India and back
Brand Comebacks

Vespa: How An Italian Scooter Found Its Way Back To India

It arrived under licence, returned through a joint venture, left after a dispute, and came back a third time on nobody's terms but its own.

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 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

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

Tribe TicksAll →
A rolling suitcase framed by an oval aircraft window on tangerine, for the captive, affluent audience airport media sells
Tribe Ticks

How Indian Brands Buy Airport Advertising

A delivery bag with a small sample sachet tucked inside, resting on a torn paper strip on raspberry pink beneath a teal arrow
Tribe Ticks

How Product Sampling Works As A Media Channel

Nine old television sets in a loose grid on terracotta, one of them turned teal, for how broadcasters sell ad time in seconds
Tribe Ticks

How Television Ad Time Is Sold In India

A television remote and a plain unlabelled glass bottle as white-bordered halftone cutouts on warm orange, with teal circles
Tribe Ticks

What Product Placement Became In Indian Streaming

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

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Jessica Shoemaker Joins Netflix As Global Director Of Product Marketing

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

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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
29JAN

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