MxMIndia

Tag: Zoya Akhtar

  • Campaign conceptualised by Ogilvy India

    Zoya Akhtar & Cadbury partner for V-Day

    This Valentine’s Day, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk from Mondelez India, plays cupid once again to highlight some “unforgettable” love stories around us.

    The brand has joined forces with filmmaker Zoya Akhtar who brings in her expertise to help couples craft their cherished moments into beautiful memoirs.

    Speaking about this, Nitin Saini, VP- Marketing, Mondelez India, said: ” Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk continues to reign as the ultimate curator of Valentine’s Day celebrations. We believe the priceless romantic moments are not always the expensive ones, therefore with this campaign, we wanted to celebrate the everyday magic of a deeper and meaningful love and create a platform for couples to express their unique stories in a truly personal and heartwarming way. The idea was to create an experience that couples could revel in by watching a movie on them, by them and gush over the cute moments that are a testament of their love. The collaboration with Zoya Akhtar adds an extra layer of creativity, ensuring this campaign will be an unforgettable celebration of the diverse and beautiful stories that make each love story unique. Combined with the power of technology, this collaboration will bring love stories to life that is bound to touch hearts.”

    Added Kainaz Karmakar and Harshad Rajadhyaksha, CCOs, Ogilvy India: “Where there’s love, there’s a story. And there can’t be a better gift than your story made into your own AI movie. When Akshay Seth came to us with the ‘Story of Us’ we instantly loved it, but the execution was a challenge. It involved a partnership between Cadbury Silk x Zoya Akhtar x AI x Disney+Hotstar x Millions of personal stories! Since this is the first time customized AI video generation at scale is being attempted, it took a lot for all the moving parts to come together but they finally have. The interface, with Zoya Akhtar as your guide nudges you to dig into your story and pull out the best nuggets. Then AI will turn that into a mini movie featuring Avatars of the two of you. The best stories will feature as an anthology on the streaming platform Disney+Hotstar.”

     

  • Business Today holds Most Powerful Women in Business awards for 2023

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prabha Narasimhan, MD & CEO, Colgate-Palmolive India, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce India, Falguni Nayar, Founder & CEO, Nykaa, Nandini Piramal, Chairperson, Piramal Pharma Ltd, Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life Insurance, and Zoya Akhtar, Director & Co-Founder, Tiger Baby, were among the women achievers awarded by Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch at the 20th edition of Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in Business event in Mumbai on Friday.

     

    Six women, who are seven-time winners entered Business Today’s MPW Hall of Fame, making way for new entrants to come in next year. The list of achievers has seven debutantes, four comebacks, and 40 repeat winners from last year. This year’s list also has five global winners – Indians who have made the country proud with their achievements on the world stage.

     

    A special issue of Business Today magazine was unveiled  at the event. Speaking on the occasion, Buch, the first woman chairperson of SEBI, said simply parachuting someone at the top and doing nothing at the bottom will not to work for India. “Don’t do tokenism by putting more women on the board. Let’s see the disclosure on what percentage of your manpower cost goes to women. It will take care of everything,” she said about Indian organisations.

     

    While delivering the vote of thanks, Kalli Purie, Vice-Chairperson, India Today Group, said: “The rise of women power is not just in urban centres and in gatherings such as this, but it has percolated down to rural areas. To me, this churn is the most exciting and interesting that these women are independent, fierce and ambitious. I am really excited at the juncture of history we are in at the moment. What better place to discuss this than at the 20th edition of Business Today’s Most Powerful Women in Business list which honours 56 leaders from across so many fields.”

     

    The evening started with a panel discussion titled ‘A View From The Corner Office’ comprising Ameera Shah, MD, Metropolis Healthcare, Upasana Taku, Co-Founder & COO, MobiKwik, Vinati Saraf Mutreja, MD & CEO, Vinati Organics Ltd, Prabha Narasimhan, MD & CEO, Colgate Palmolive India, and Devita Saraf, Chairperson & CEO, Vu Group. They discussed the challenges and opportunities for women in the world of work.

     

    It continued with  discussions with Ashima Goyal, Member, RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee, Padmaja Chunduru, MD & CEO, National Securities Depository Ltd, Rekha M. Menon, Former Chairperson & Senior Managing Director, Accenture in India, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce India, Zia Mody, Co–Founder & Managing Partner, AZB & Partners and Kalpana Morparia, Former Chairman, J. P. Morgan, South and Southeast Asia, and other senior business leaders. Nandini Piramal, Chairperson, Piramal Pharma, spoke on ‘Journey Through Leadership & Innovation’, and Zoya Akhtar, filmmaker & co-founder, Tiger Baby, spoke on ‘Creativity Through The Female Lens’.

     

     

  • The Instagram handle curates the best entries received across social media

    Budweiser 0.0 launches #RuleTheNew with Zoya Akhtar & Jay Oza

    By A Correspondent

     

    Budweiser 0.0 has attempted to unify creator communities and individuals across the country in its latest initiative called ‘Rule the New’. The Instagram handle curates the best entries received across social media. These hacks have been shortlisted by the brand in association with Zoya Akhtar and Jay Oza.

     

    Commenting on the initiative, Alexander Lambrecht, VP Marketing – South Asia, AB InBev said: “Even as the lockdown continues to ease, individual caution is vital to collectively combat our current challenging circumstances. Budweiser has always played a role in energizing the community, bringing people together to share great times. As we adapt to our new reality, we strive to continue doing the same – offering support and uniting our communities in meaningful ways – while underscoring utmost caution and safety. The ‘Rule The New’ initiative ensures that our partners and patrons are aware of, and well-equipped, with hacks to effectively conquer the new normal safely. We are delighted with the overwhelming response garnered till date, and the absolute creativity of each hack only re-instills our belief that together we will emerge triumphant.”

     

     

  • Sony Pictures launches Sony Le Plex HD for discerning English movie-watching audiences (+Video interview with EVP & Business Head Saurabh Yagnik)

    Sony gives a ‘Plex’ experience

     

    By Anuka Roy

     

    Video Interview by Santosh Jangid

    On Tuesday August 23, Sony Le Plex HD, a Hollywood movie channel from Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited, was launched. The channel will cater to audiences who seek entertainment not just from mainstream Hollywood movies but beyond.

     

    The channel has programming properties like Le Premiere, wherein one can enjoy a premiere every week. One can watch 52 premieres in the 52 weeks of the year.

     

    With a plethora of English movie channels in existence and some networks offering multiple channels, what was the reason behind launching it now? Said Saurabh Yagnik, EVP and Business Head, English Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India: “We feel the business proposition and the time is right. It is good that competition is also launched. I do not think we make our moves purely by competitive.”

     

    “In terms of marketing it is about, the focus is on bringing alive the product. But we are not just about great movies; we are about the total experience which we call the Le Plex experience. The Le Plex proposition leverages highly on bringing alive the plex elements in the programme of the channel and we believe that brands cannot be driven by product alone, you need to have a community that backs it together and that is what differentiates the brand. The whole focus will be on creating community which helps build this brand,” said Yagnik about the marketing strategy.

     

    The channel will showcase movies in different slots. In its Le Premiere slot, the channel will showcase Indian television premieres of movies like Spotlight (Academy Award winner for – Best Motion Picture and Best Original Screenplay for 2016), Ex Machina, Foxcatcher and Straight Outta Compton, amongst others. The Magicians slot will showcase the movies and the magic that happens behind the camera of critically acclaimed movies such as The Inglourious Basterds, Schindler’s List, Taxi Driver, Gladiator, Philadelphia and many more. Speaking about how they chose the content and the concept of putting movies in different slots, Yagnik said, “There were a lot of focus groups that we did across key markets. We did a qualitative and quantitative work. We looked at various other data points. Then we based our strategy on that.”

     

    Writer and Director Zoya Akhtar is the Community Ambassador for the channel. Available in High Definition (HD), Sony Le Plex HD launched yesterday (Aug 23) across direct-to-home (DTH) and digital cable platforms. The channel will be promoted across various channels of Sony Pictures Networks, DTH platform, coupled with print, a digital and social media presence to engage with audiences at different touchpoints.

     

  • Three of the directors who collaborated on Bombay Talkies discuss the movie and shared their experiences with Komal Nahta, on Etc channel today at 8.30pm

    Directors discuss Bombay Talkies and 100 years of cinema

    By A Correspondent

     

    The directorial cast of Bombay Talkies made an appearance on the show Etc Bollywood Business with trade expert Komal Nahta. The team shared their experiences about each of their short films in the upcoming Bombay Talkies, which is slated to release today.

     

    The trio – Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, and Karan Johar – talk about the evolution of Bollywood over the past hundred years, the oldest movies that the directors have seen, the longest kiss on celluloid and the journey of each of their careers in Bollywood.

     

    This episode of Bollywood Business will be aired exclusively on Etc on May 3 at 8.30pm with a repeat telecast at 11.30pm on the same night.

     

  • Clarion call for media to help change perceptions as the 1st Intnl Day of the Girl Child is observed + Jaldi 5 with Dr AL Sharada, director, Population First

    Arise, awake… and care for the girl child!

     

    By Fatema Rajkotwala

     

    Jaldi 5 with Dr A L Sharada: More ads must say: Yes, she can
     

    Population First has been at the forefront of the initiative on the way the girl child has been projected in the media. Dr A L Sharada, Director, Population First, spoke to MxMIndia on the girl child and the media and how we can prevent the celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child from being mere tokenism.

     

    01.  It’s good to see that the first ever International Day of the Girl Child is being celebrated. How do we prevent it from being mere tokenism?

    I welcome the UN, as a global body declaring October11, as the International Day of the Girl Child. This gives us an opportunity to take stock of the work that we have done so far, look further into what needs to be done and how we could take the issue at hand, forward. However the fear that it may turn out to be yet another gesture of tokenism is a valid one. The only way we can stop it from becoming yet another international day celebrated as a formality every year, is through concerted efforts to work on some of the major issues regarding the girl child.

     

    There are many issues concerning girls such as child marriages, low enrolment in schools and neglect of their health and nutrition needs. We need to advocate and lobby for more focused policies and programmes to improve the status of the girl child. We need to use the opportunity provided by the International Day of the Girl Child, every year to reflect upon achievements, fine tune our policies and redesign our programme, if required.

     

    Do you see that Population First’s efforts have had an impact on the media?

     

    I see lot of positivity and openness from the media towards these issues and a willingness to approach them differently. In the current media scenario, many of these issues are being addressed but more need attention. We, at Population First believe that we have to start a dialogue with all stakeholders, media being a primary stakeholder. We, as a nation have internalised, and have deeply ingrained patriarchal values to an extent that unless someone points it out, at times we are unaware of a possible patriarchal tone in our public communications. We need to initiate dialogues with all groups of society, so that together we can build a more gender-sensitive society.

     

    02, In your experience interacting with marketers and advertising agency professionals, do you think they are sincere in their attempts to appreciate the responsibility towards the girl child in a society like ours?

    Our experience with the advertising professionals has been very positive. We found them to be open-minded, willing to look at our standpoints and revise their current approach. From the time we began interacting with professionals in the advertising industry in 2008 up to today, we find a much greater presence of girls in advertising and many advertisements that are now projecting positive and non-stereotypical images of girls.

     

    03.  Do you think self-regulation bodies like ASCI, Advertising Club and AAAI should also take it upon themselves to promote the cause?

    Yes, definitely. It is important that activists working on gender issues and the regulatory bodies of media and advertising work together to ensure that the media does not project demeaning and negative images of girls. It is also imperative that  media does not consciously or otherwise, support or promote negative social attitudes and practices such as eve-teasing, commodification, objectification of women and violence.

     

    04.  What are your views on gender biases in today’s advertising?

    In 2008, during our analysis of advertisements showing girl children, we found that girls had a lesser presence and were often presented in a stereotypical fashion, for example mostly endorsing products that have been promoted by their mothers too. It was also observed that an ideal family is always shown as mother-father with one daughter and one son, or two sons. Rarely did we find ads showing two daughters. While a lot has changed in the last few years, in terms of projection of girls in advertisements, it is still rare to find an advertisement where two daughters are shown in a family setting. This, I believe, promotes the perception that a son is a must in the family. In a context where the country’s sex ratio is declining, this is a very disturbing trend.

     

    Television serials, television and print media content also further aggravate this image of women. What are your views here?

     

    Yes, it is true that the portrayal of women in print and electronic media is regressive and voyeuristic in flavour and we have to work on changing this. This is why we have instituted Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity. We have received 1500 entries this year and the quality of the content is improving. There is a lot of potential for change. The most pertinent example here is that of the popular show, Satyamev Jayate, which has suddenly got numerous issues into our drawing rooms. It shows the effect of one strong programme with a potent combination of Aamir Khan, an industry giant like Reliance and a media tool like Star TV. This shows that there is potential to bring social change. New media and its various options are also democratizing the way news now reaches out and has gained momentum with youth across the country as tools for creating public opinion. It is an exciting time to be, in terms of working with media on social issues

     

    05.  One view of marketers is that they need to sell to consumers, given the prevailing behavioural patterns, and that they are not in a position to correct these attitudes. How do we bring about a change in this view?

    I would like to highlight two ads here. For instance, an HDFC investment plan ad shows a father investing for his daughter’s education instead of a more common notion, such as saving for her marriage. This is a positive and refreshing approach to the product and in no way undermines the value of the product. The other ad I would like to mention is the Tata Nano ad where a small girl hugs the car, and the father gives her the car keys. This shows that the father is proud of his daughter. Giving visibility to girls in ads, is by itself crucial. We need to see more such instances where girls have to be shown in a capable light and in diverse concepts while selling a product. After all, communication is all about conveying the message effectively, is it not?

    (Interviewed by Fatema Rajkotwala)

     

    Last December, the United Nations declared that it would annually observe the International Day of the Girl Child, starting from October 11, 2012. Supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with Whisper, leading non-government social welfare organization Population First will celebrate the first International Day of the Girl Child today (October 11) at Mumbai’s Y B Chavan Centre (*see disclosure below).

     

    The first ever International Day of the Girl Child is marked to help prioritize girls’ rights as the salient issue in the coming decades. ‘Laadli‘ is Population First’s Girl Child campaign against sex selection and falling sex ratio. It focuses on creating a positive image of the Girl Child in society.

     

    Veteran adperson Bobby Sista is Executive Trustee, of Population First. Mr Sista spoke to MxMIndia about the positive response from the advertising world towards the issue, “The response from the advertising world has been encouraging. We, at Population First are absolutely delighted that at last a global body has recognised that the girl child is a special category that needs special, global attention. One of our primary focuses is to eradicate the horrible practice of pre-birth sex selection. I have been highlighting and propagating the economic value of the woman as a homemaker in our society and her contribution to the country’s GDP. A woman is at least four times better at being a manager, or doing any job today. Why always talk about the girl child in a suppressed context? What is it that a woman cannot do today, that a man can do?”

     

    Dr A L Sharada, Director, Population First spoke about the need for activists and media bodies to work together to bring about social change, “It is important that activists working on gender issues and the regulatory bodies of media and advertising work together to ensure that the media does not project demeaning and negative images of girls. There is a lot of potential for change. New media and its various options are also democratizing the way news now reaches out and has gained momentum with youth across the country as tools for creating public opinion. It is an exciting time to be, in terms of working with media on social issues.”

     

    Part of the multi-stage campaign, ‘Question Everything’ was a two-day workshop on Creative Thinking, Communication and Gender. Organized by ‘Laadli’ Changemakers Club of Population First, the workshop engaged students from Mass Media colleges across Mumbai, with an aim to involve the youth in a dialogue on gender issues, with a focus on enhancing the image of the girl child. Highly experienced advertising and media professionals such as Gautam Rakshit, Gopi Kukde, K V Sridhar (eka Pops), Dolly Thakore and Zoya Akhtar shared their expertise and guidance with students. The event will see the launch of 1MM, one-minute movies made by college students questioning gender inequality and injustice.

     

    Says Mr Sridhar, National Creative Director, Leo Burnett , “We have realised that at times, lack of knowledge and sensitivity tend to be the reason for negative content. But when you’re creating something, you have a white paper in front of you, you can create anything. We need to influence content creators first, then clients, then people themselves to come out of years of reinforced images of family planning. When you sensitise teens and youngsters, power to impact is higher. The new mantra for communication in the digital era is- Play, Buy and then Share. Young minds involved in making a one minute movie raise issues without fear to express and once you get involved, you think about it, play it with experience, then you buy into the philosophy, then you share it. Youth sharing via mass media tool such as Facebook or Twitter have a far reaching impact. This is a process that has been initiated. That is how social revolutions were made, religions and value were spread.”

     

    Part of the event’s agenda is to recognise young women achievers such as the female fire-fighters of the Mumbai Fire Brigade. The event will also felicitate celebrity parents and daughters who have made a mark for themselves in media, corporate and political circles.

     

    Population First has also introduced the Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity to encourage and recognise media content that has positive social messages for the girl child.

     

    Disclosure: MxMIndia has published for Population First a special volume on the First International Day of the Girl Child that will be released at an event in Mumbai this evening (October 11). Also, we strongly believe in the cause and feel that media and entertainment can play a key role in changing gender perceptions. – Ed.

     

     

     

  • In a bid to support the cause of breast cancer awareness, Ogaan Cancer Foundation has created a new campaign with filmmaker, Zoya Akthar

    Ogaan Cancer Foundation creates a breast cancer awareness campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a bid to support the cause of breast cancer awareness, Ogaan Cancer Foundation has created a new campaign with filmmaker, Zoya Akthar, who has directed, scripted and conceptualized a Public Service Announcement (PSA) titled “Because My World Is Not The Same”. The PSA has ‘men’ talking about the ‘women’ in their lives and what they mean to them. The PSA gives all a unique opportunity to journey into the rarely-seen softer and emotional sides of Bollywood’s prominent actors.

     

    The campaign stars Abhay Deol, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, Ranbir Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor get candid pledging their support to the cause along with Zoya. In the PSA, the actors talk about the women in their lives and sensitizing the viewers’ about women-related ailments like breast cancer. The campaign aims at being timeless in its overall look, and feel yet creating awareness about Breast Cancer in an outspoken manner.

     

    According to statistics, it is believed that ‘fear’ is the number one obstacle that keeps women from taking precautionary measures; and the presence of male celebrities will remind and urge women to take care of their health. Additionally, to spread the message that early detection is the strongest weapon in the fight against breast cancer.

     

    Commenting on this latest campaign, Preeta Sukhtankar, Director, Elle Breast Cancer Campaign said: “Breast Cancer is a disease that affects many women and when diagnosed at an early stage is curable. We wanted to spread awareness of this very message. Zoya, an influential ‘woman’ and a skilled communicator, is not only an admired film director but is also a friend of the cause. She has beautifully brought out not only the message, but captured a myriad of emotions from normally contained superstars though this PSA.”

     

    On the public awareness campaign, Zoya Akhtar said: “Yes breast cancer afflicts women, but it’s not something I see as women’s issue. Cancer affects more than the patient, it affects every family member and loved one. It has no gender and therefore we need to take the message out to not just women but men as well. We need to open up dialogue and make it relevant and all right for men to ask the women in their lives if they have been checked recently.”

     

    The campaign will be on-air in the coming few days.

    Link: www.ebcc.in/film