MxMIndia

Tag: DDB

  • To strengthen its leadership positioning in chicken

    McDonald’s announces NTR Jr as its brand ambassador

    By Our Staff

     

    McDonald’s India (West and South) announces NTR Jr as its brand ambassador. The brand launches a new TVC conceptualized by DDB Mudra, under the theme #DontExplainJustShare.

     

    The brand has reimagined the offering of its marquee chicken range – McSpicy Fried Chicken by introducing the ‘McSpicy Chicken Sharers’ in first-time ever sharing buckets. The brand film highlights this proposition of ‘just sharing’ the McSpicy Chicken with everyone.

     

    Arvind R.P., Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s India (West and South), said: “We are ecstatic to have NTR Jr join the McDonald’s India family as our brand ambassador. His incredible on-screen presence, charismatic personality, and relatability among the youth and families complement our vibrant brand and this new offering very well. We look forward to captivating our fans with our latest campaign that spotlights the joy of sharing our delicious McSpicy Fried Chicken with friends and family.”

     

    Rahul Mathew’s, Chief Creative officer and Executive Director, DDB added: “In NTR Jr we have an icon who has changed how the world sees Indian cinema. And with McSpicy Chicken Sharers we’ve changed the way the consumer looks at fried chicken. We wanted to make sure that NTR Jr’s inimitable style comes through in our communication.”

     

  • To nurture and empower a community of women leaders in the company

    DDB Mudra launches gender equity in leadership project

    By Our Staff

     

    In a bid to create a more gender-balanced company, the DDB Mudra Group has launched ‘The Phyllis India Project’, a year-long mentorship programmed to enable and encourage women to thrive in leadership roles and drive professional growth.

     

    Said Aditya Kanthy, CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group: “Gender gaps influence the society, culture, economy and the way in which we shape our world for the next generation. Supporting the advancement of women and non-binary individuals by addressing the challenges they face is a global priority for the Group, and we in India have taken it very seriously. It’s inspiring to watch the participants of the Phyllis program grow personally and professionally, take on new roles, and steer the company towards a future with unbound potential. Leaders like Mehak Jaini who now heads Strategy at 22feet Tribal WW, and Sharon Misra who is now leading Exxon Mobil’s business, are great examples of how the program enables and empowers women to lead the biggest businesses in the market. Our notable alumni from this global programme include Shagun Seda, Marketing Director at Netflix, and Sonal Jhuj who leads Global Brand Strategy at Lego Global.”

     

    Added Rita Verma, Executive Vice President and Head-HR, DDB Mudra Group. “At DDB, we know that better product and cultures emerge from diverse and inclusive teams. That’s why initiatives like The Phyllis Project are at the heart of our people strategy. We hope to learn and strengthen our current efforts from the UNWEP network, which is yet another step in making a deeper, meaningful impact. This impact drives culture, company policies, business, and gender parity at work and at home.”

     

  • Ahuja will be based out of the Mumbai office and will report to Joint CEO Hareesh Tibrewala

    Mohit Ahuja to head brand strategy & client services at Mirum

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mohit Ahuja

    Mirum has brought onboard Mohit Ahuja as the Director of Brand Strategy and Client Services. This position sees Ahuja with responsibility of managing brand planning and client servicing divisions at Mirum. Ahuja comes with two decades of extensive agency experience across the likes McCann, Ogilvy, DDB and latest being an eight-year stint with 82.5 Communications (earlier Soho Square) as Senior Vice-President.

     

    Ahuja will be based out of the Mumbai office and will report to Joint. CEO Hareesh Tibrewala.

     

    Hareesh Tibrewala

    Said Tibrewala: “Mohit is a great addition to the Mirum family. With his two decades of agency stints, he brings a lot of rich advertising and marketing experience to the table. We have very talented client servicing and brand planning teams at Mirum, and we are sure Mohit will provide direction and able leadership to them.”

     

    Added Ahuja: “I am thrilled to be a part of Mirum. The agency is growing, has big ambitions and I am looking forward to being part of this journey.”

     

     

  • He also hinted at boycotting Cannes next year if a proper investigation was not undertaken by the organizers of Cannes for this year's jury decisions

    I’m not sure if DDB will participate in Cannes next year: Amir Kassaei

    By A Correspondent

     

    DDB Worldwide Chief Creative Officer Amir Kassaei has indicted some Cannes Lions 2012 jurors of bias. Mr Kassaei alleged that judges of certain global holdings had been ordered to vote for work from their respective groups. In a video interview to Campaign Brief, Mr Kassaei said that the integrity of Cannes was at stake and the authority as well as the value of the festival was being undermined. In the same interview, he also hinted at boycotting Cannes next year if a proper investigation was not undertaken by the organizers of Cannes for this year’s jury decisions.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t27gPMSJND0[/youtube]

    Mr Kassaei said: “We (DDB) as the most awarded network in the history of Cannes will go into a very tough discussion about next year because we cannot accept that the people are willingly voting against the best work in the jury.”

     

    Mr Kassaei’s accusations follow claims by WPP’s Chief Executive Sir Martin Sorrell that Cannes judges could have been pressured into block voting, which has damaged his agencies chances of winning. Sir Martin Sorrell was quoted in The Guardian saying he had heard rumours of certain jury members being pressured into voting for selected entries and dismissing quality pieces of work from the judging process without due cause.

     

    The jury in question was chaired by Mainardo de Nardis, the Chief Executive of OMD Worldwide and Manning Gottleib OMD, Omnicom-owned media buying agency won the Grand Prix award for a Google Campaign.

     

    Reacting to Sir Martin Sorrell’s allegations that Omnicom somehow rigged the Media Lions award in favour of Manning Gottlieb OMD’s work for Google, Mr Kassaei said that WPP executives were ordered to discriminate against Omnicom agencies’ work in the jury voting: “I have since been notified by no fewer than 12 jury members that people from other holding companies this week are being briefed to kill Omnicom, especially BBDO, DDB and TBWA, this is a fact.”

     

    He added, “What differentiates Omnicom from WPP is the creativity and innovation. I would respect them if they did the better work. Just look at the objective facts, in the media category, WPP is doing better than Omnicom, so accusing us that we’re playing silly games is not right.”

     

    Furthermore, Mr Kassaei said: “The problem we have at the moment is that Cannes used to be the World Cup of advertising because of the qualification and the result of the juries, and at the moment I don’t have a feeling we are at the World Cup of advertising because a lot of people are playing politics instead of judging the best work of all.”

     

    In an interview to Afaqs on the judging of Media Lions, Dominic Proctor, President, WPP’s media holding company, Group M, said: “I’ve heard a lot of whisperings in bars and restaurants that there did seem to be some kind of strange voting…I heard rumours that certain blocs of votes were being encouraged. If that’s the case then it would be a worry because if Cannes wants to be taken seriously as a media and a creative platform, then we need to make sure that the process is not in any sense corrupted.”

     

  • It’s official! Omnicom to pick up majority stake in Mudra

    Omnicom Group Inc announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Mudra Group. As part of the agreement, Omnicom will extend its partnership with the Reliance ADA Group.

    Mudra will significantly expand Omnicom’s service capabilities and presence in India. The Mudra Group comprises: branding and communications agency Mudra India; marketing and advertising agency DDB Mudra; integrated engagement and experiential agency Mudra Max; and Ignite Mudra, an agency that caters to entrepreneurs. Mudra has 26 offices across the country and an extensive field activation network.

    In conjunction with the strategic partnership, Reliance Group Chairman Mr Anil Ambani will join the Omnicom International Advisory Committee. “This acquisition is an important step in achieving Omnicom’s strategy to extend and deepen our presence in rapidly growing markets,” said John Wren, President and CEO of Omnicom Group in a communique. “Our vision is to be a source of innovation in every market we serve. Mudra is widely acknowledged as an outstanding company with impressive creative product and expertise in a broad range of disciplines. Mudra’s innovation and depth of talent will strengthen our business capabilities not only in India but around the world.”

    “DDB has been an excellent partner over the years. We have benefited immensely from the collaboration and transfer of knowledge from around the globe. We are proud to belong to such a storied network,” Mudra Group CEO Madhukar Kamath said. “Omnicom and DDB have clearly been the inspiration for Mudra Group’s transformative growth over the last five years. My colleagues and I look forward to the next decade of explosive growth in the Indian market.”

    DDB Worldwide President and CEO Chuck Brymer noted, “This acquisition will further unite two companies that have long held the same values, creative goals and ambitions. Under Madhukar’s leadership, Mudra is the original challenger brand of the Indian communications industry, and it shares DDB’s culture of creative excellence. Together, we will create even greater growth for our clients in this rapidly changing, technologically driven region.”

    DDB and Mudra Group’s shared history is rooted in a relationship that began in 1988 and has grown tremendously since the formation of DDB Mudra in 2007, which established DDB India, Tribal DDB, Rapp and DDB Health & Lifestyle in the Indian market.

    John Zeigler, CEO, DDB Asia Pacific, added, “Mudra has an impressive history as both creative leaders and strong believers in integrated solutions making them one of the most innovative companies in India.”

    Omnicom Group EVP and CFO Randall Weisenburger also noted, “In addition to significantly expanding our service capabilities in the region, this partnership will bring with it an exceptional Shared Services and Operations Center in Ahmedabad that will help Omnicom more efficiently expand its other operations in India. Additionally, Mudra recently moved into a new headquarters facility in Mumbai called Mudra House, a sustainable building and one of the few in India to be awarded LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification. Mudra House is widely acclaimed for its conservation features and state of the art technology.”