The controversy over whether TV ads cause obesity in children is mounting again as Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin unveil plans for a Valentine's Day forum to look at voluntary steps that might lessen the risk.
Flavours clearly seem to be the focus area for Coca-Cola India this season. Even as the company prepares to introduce its juice brand Minute Maid this quarter, the cola major is also in the process of relaunching its orange drink Fanta in a stronger formulation.
Infosys has topped the ACNielsen Corporate Image Monitor survey for the fourth year running. Two other IT giants, Wipro and TCS, have been featured among the top ten ‘most favourable companies’ along with Infosys, while information technology as an industry has retained its position as the most reputable sector.
Branded entertainment has picked up in a big way in the country, with specialised agencies dedicatedly working on associating brands with films. Almost every brand is joining this bandwagon and milking the cash cow – Bollywood films. The latest in line is the multi-starrer Salaam-E-Ishq, which also boasts of a multi-brand association.
Come February and National Geographic Channel will pack a punch with its new series ‘Fists of Fury’. The series will take viewers on a journey into the extraordinary world of martial arts. It will feature death defying action, lightening moves, the science behind martial arts.
Indian and international bigwigs of the retail world converged in Mumbai for the Images Fashion Forum, which was held on January 23-24. The Forum provides a platform for the fashion and retail industry to meet and discuss the needs of the emerging global Indian looking for a global shopping experience at home.
Speaking at the second part of the series on ‘International Indians’ Subha Barry, Managing Director and Head of Multicultural Careers, Merrill Lynch highlighted the challenges of today’s multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-racial work environment. The series was presented by the International Advertising Association, India Chapter and NDTV Profit and hosted by Raj Nayak, CEO, NDTV Media and Vice President of IAA, India Chapter.
Discovery Channel will provide an unparalleled view of awe-inspiring landscapes and incredible footage of rarely spotted creatures that lived in these habitats in an 11-part series, Planet Earth, starting February 1. The project took over five years in making.
Anup Chandrasekharan has just quit Derana channel as CEO to return to India. Derana is Sri Lanka’s newest terrestrial television station. He is joining Zee Kannada as Business Head from February 15, 2007.
Brand Curry has been appointed as the communication consultant for Bhopal-based Ramani Ice-Cream Company Pvt Ltd. The agency will be looking after the communication strategy of the company’s ice-cream and bakery products branded as Top ’N Town.
Chennai-based Brand Portrait Consulting has appointed Rajesh Ananthasubramanian as CEO for their operations in the US and Canada. Prior to joining Brand Portrait Consulting, he was CEO of India Plaza, an online Indian shopping portal.
Portland India, a player in the OOH medium, has been doing some innovative work in this space. Some of their recent work for brands like Bharti Airtel and Big 92.7 FM has been particularly eye-catching. In an exclusive chat, Arminio Ribeiro, President, Portland India shares his views on the industry and the recent work done by the agency.
Jai De Costa, formerly of Tata Sky Ltd, has been appointed President of Mudra’s division, Kidstuff Promos and Events. De Costa will work closely with Kidstuff’s Founder and CEO, Pankaj Wadhwa, who will continue to play a strategic role and assume larger responsibilities within the Group.
Bates Enterprise has finally found itself a Mumbai Head in Sandeep Pathak. He comes from Leo Burnett, where he was Brand Partner. Pathak is currently serving his notice period at Leo Burnett and would assume his new assignment at Bates Enterprise on March 1, 2007.
There seems to be no let-up in the controversies facing the ongoing India-West Indies cricket series. Barely had the dust settled in the telecast row between Nimbus and DD, a campaign to promote the series – ‘It’s tough to be West Indian in India’ – is now being slammed as ‘offensive’ and ‘racist’.
TRAI has released a consultation paper on revenue sharing formula for service providers in CAS notified areas. The issues raised in the consultation paper arise from the order of TDSAT on January 8, 2007 on an appeal filed by Siti Cable Network Ltd challenging the standard interconnection agreement between multi system operators (MSOs) and cable operators for CAS areas.
Following High Court’s directive on January 23, allowing DD to telecast the ongoing India-West Indies series with a seven-minute delay, Prasar Bharati has moved the High Court with a petition before a two-judge bench to allow it to telecast the matches live instead of the seven-minute delay.