Throwback: When Lalitaji shielded Surf from redundancy

The commercial was meant to be advertised on cinema screens. In the words of veteran ad man K S Chakravarthy, the 1984 Summer Olympics caught the eyes of Lintas’s client. Since airtime was already bought by the client, Surf’s Lalitaji debuted on the television screens in 1984, for Lintas didn’t have a backup commercial in hand. (Stills from the ads)

The 1984 commercial of Surf reinstated the brand’s position in the detergent market, which was threatened by Nirma. A large part of that credit goes to Lalitaji, an iconic character of Indian advertising, whose clutter cutter persona justified the price point of the brand due to the greater satisfaction derived by its use.

Big Tech’s ad business can be a monopolist threat: Standing Committee on Finance

The report said, “It should provide advertisers information on a daily basis, regarding price paid by the advertiser and the remuneration received by the publisher. It should provide advertisers and publishers with access to the performance measuring tools of the gatekeeper and the data necessary for advertisers and publishers to carry out their own independent verification of the advertisements inventory, including aggregated and non-aggregated data." (Representative Image: Aman Pal via Unsplash)

The committee also recommended that the government should consider and introduce a Digital Competition Act to ensure a fair, transparent and contestable digital ecosystem.

From waking up customers to delivering books in record time — How Indians used Dunzo in 2022

According to Dunzo, the sexual wellness category grew 2.5x, with condoms and lubes leading the category. Mumbai residents ordered three times the number of condoms and lubricants as Delhi residents. (Representatuve Image: @DunzoIt)

Dunzo, which offers a quick-commerce service called Dunzo Daily, stated that although lockdowns were done away by early 2022, ordering daily essentials online was the “single largest pandemic-triggered trend that is here to stay.”

Regional Report: What do Indians think about dating apps and designer clothes?

When the participants were asked their opinion on divorce, 67 percent of Punjab respondents and 51 percent of Tamil Nadu agreed divorce is a better option than continuing in an unhappy marriage. (Representational Image: Christopher Alvarenga via Unplash)

Thirty-eight percent of respondents in West Bengal agree dating apps are a better option for finding one’s partner. 52 percent in Punjab said they’d opt to be single, rather than compromise on the kind of person they want to be with.

Puma’s Shreya Sachdev on Anushka Sharma launch campaign, leveraging Virat-Anushka as power couple and more

Shrey Sachdev says, "While we officially on-boarded Anushka this week, the PUMA and Anushka partnership goes way back. Anushka loves PUMA and has worn it time and again over the years, and PUMA too has always resonated with what Anushka stands for. As the brand, PUMA built Propah Lady - a platform that celebrates fierce and unapologetic women. Anushka is the perfect embodiment of Propah Lady. She is known for charting her own path across spheres in life and without worrying about what the world thinks."

Sachdev, head of marketing, PUMA Group talks about the campaign planning, leveraging Virat-Anushka and whether such marketing gimmicks backfire.

Suman Sinha Dies: Remembering PepsiCo legend Suman Sinha, “the original cola warrior”

Known for building PepsiCo India and Indianizing the global company offering, Sinha was also known for his networking capabilities and keeping a pulse of the market. Industry remembers him as hard but people oriented manager. (Representational image via Unsplash)

Suman Sinha was the second chairman of PepsiCo India. He served the company for about a decade having joined the company in 1993.

Tata Motors to name its new electric fleet brand ‘.EV’

Under this new sub-brand, the company’s electric vehicles will also provide the .EV badging on the vehicle. Apart from this, Tata Motors also intends to shift from using a blue-coloured exterior that differentiates its EVs from its other offerings.

Tata Motors also intends to shift from using a blue-coloured exterior that differentiates its EVs from other its other offerings.

Why every business needs a digital marketing agenda

Gone are the days when branding was about wooing consumers on TV or Out Of Home media, with one-way communication, and then deploying demand generation tactics at points of purchase to drive sales. Both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) buyers today want to actively learn about product categories and evaluate choices; they expect brands to engage with them and help them make informed decisions. (Representational image via Unsplash)

In an exclusive year-end article for Storyboard18, Infosys’s global CMO Sumit Virmani spotlights the necessity of future-proofing brands with holistic digital strategies.