Author: Aashrey Baliga

Havas Group Chairman and CEO, Yannik Bollore on the future of media and entertainment

"In terms of manufacturers and demographics, we are keeping India in mind because it is going to be the country with the largest population. So, India is a place for huge opportunities among all the regions." - Yannick Bollore, Chairman and CEO, Havas Group. (Image via Twitter - @HavasGroup)

Havas Group’s Chairman and CEO, Yannick Bollore talks about the future of the Group, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and the impact of negative macroeconomics on business and more.

HUL’s Vim Black ad: A well-intentioned satire to break gender stereotypes goes wrong. Here’s why.

Dishwashing in India as a chore is traditionally seen as a woman’s responsibility and has been distributed unevenly between family members. The lockdowns enforced a unique behaviour shift, where the men came to the sink and social media went abuzz with men at the sink. The aim of this campaign is to rekindle a perspective change in a non-preachy, quirky way so that chores at home can truly become democratised.

Vim Black as a product offering doesn’t actually exist. It was Hindustan Unilever’s attempt to get men to change their perspectives on household chores. But it backfired.

Move over OTT, gaming is the new advertising hotspot for brands

Moving on from taxes and revenues, the report also said that India’s online gamers are expected to grow at a CAGR of 5 percent and reach 53.8 crore by FY28. (Representational image via Unsplash)

Brands like Gillette, H&M, ICICI, Beardo, EaseMyTrip, Hyundai and mCaffine partnered with gaming brands to reach out to their target audience.

Hindustan Unilever’s latest Vim ad accidentally promotes the gender-divide stereotype

Vim Black that specifically caters to men, is advocating that men too can now wash dishes at home and brag all about it since changing the colour of the product makes it a 'manly' offering.

In an attempt to normalise household chores for all, Hindustan Unilever managed to trigger all netizens with an ad for their updated dishwashing liquid ‘Vim Black’ featuring Milind Soman.

Hindustan Unilever enters Health & Wellbeing category with investment in OZiva and Wellbeing Nutrition

HUL will acquire 51% equity stake through a combination of primary infusion and secondary buyouts. The balance 49% will be acquired at the end of 36 months based on pre-agreed valuation criteria. The current OZiva team led by Ms. Aarti Gill and Mr. Mihir Gadani will continue to operate all functions of the business. HUL will have representation on the Board and will provide necessary capabilities and support to scale up. (Representational image via Unsplash)

Health and wellbeing is a fast growing category in the country. Plant-based products are gaining more and more popularity as people are becoming more aware and health conscious. HUL has just forayed into this category with strategic investments in Zywie Ventures Private Limited (OZiva) and Nutritionalab Private Limited (Wellbeing Nutrition).

ONDC and impact on Marketers: E-commerce sector in India is about to be revolutionised

On the back of this extensive Network, the brand aims to cater to several pin codes across 20+ states in India in the coming months. (Representational image via Unsplash)

ONDC is an autonomous open network ecosystem that will act as a catalyst that connects buyers and sellers across categories, giving the access to e-commerce facilities.

Google Year In Search 2022: IPL, Brahmastra and KGF 2, Droupadi Murmu, Rishi Sunak, NFT, Metaverse among top searches in India

India dominated sports trends worldwide, securing all top 5 slots in the global trending matches list. Football saw similar excitement, with searches for the ongoing FIFA World Cup peaking this year and making it to the trending searches of the year, along with the Indian Super League.

Women’s sports moments also found a place in the top search trends.

The great Indian wedding season: Uber taps into the reality behind wedding reels

Uber has partnered with two couples whose wedding plans are always the talk of the town - Jasmin Bhasin & Aly Goni and Krishna Mukherjee & Chirag Batliwalla. Starring in their respective films, these reality-packed reels show the couples adding booking an Uber Rentals to their to-do list, so that “shaadi ke chakkar mein city ke jitney chakkar lagein” they don’t have to worry about driving or parking. It is pertinent to note here that both films have been received with a lot of delight and positivity from fans of the two couples, who love the real chemistry between the couples on reel.

Uber’s latest campaign is a topical take that uses the Indian wedding season to make a pitch, encouraging soon-to-wed couples to take a Rental Health Day together