Ad Campaigns
DS Group’s Pulse Candy shines a light on local heroes this World Compliment Day
Mumbai: In celebration of World Compliment Day, Pass Pass Pulse, a prominent hard-boiled candy brand from the DS Group, a multi-business corporation, and FMCG conglomerate, commemorated the occasion with a heartfelt campaign that paid tribute to the local heroes within the society. The ‘Pulse of Compliments’ campaign, this year, adopted a people-centric approach by extending compliments to individuals whose selfless actions serve as the foundation of communities.
DS Group’s Pass Pass Pulse, in collaboration with White Rivers Media, is currently showcasing billboards that feature The Late Trilochan Singh Ji (Founder, Veerji Ka Dera), Raji Ashok Ji (Chennai’s beloved ‘Auto Akka’), Aditya Kumar Ji (aka ‘Cycle Wale Guruji’), Anoop Khanna Ji (Founder, Dadi Ki Rasoi), Prince Mehra Ji (aka ‘Birdman’), and Ravi Shankar Ji (Founder, Roti Bank) in their respective cities of Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Noida, Chandigarh, and Bihar. Although these names may not be universally recognized, the deeds of these individuals eloquently convey the essence of humanity. Through this distinctive campaign, the brand offers a heartfelt tribute to the indomitable spirit of these exceptional souls who went above and beyond for the greater good of society.
Commenting on this collaboration, DS Group GM, marketing, DS Foods Arvind Kumar expressed, “Having celebrated World Compliment Day four years in a row, this time, Pass Pass Pulse approached it differently by directing focus towards individuals who exemplify selflessness. By harnessing the unique power of compliments, we aim to acknowledge the exceptional contributions of these remarkable individuals. It brings us immense joy to see them receiving the recognition they truly deserve.”
White Rivers Media co-founder and CCO Mitesh Kothari stated, “Our partnership with Pulse for World Compliment Day transcends traditional advertising. It’s about celebrating welfare heroes and promoting social change through advertising, igniting appreciation for acts of kindness that extend beyond city limits.”
The campaign was further amplified across social media platforms through compliment card templates on Instagram stories, encouraging users to participate and be the ‘Pulse of Compliments’ by tagging loved ones on their stories whom they wished to compliment. This user-generated content became an integral part of the campaign’s integrated approach, transforming it from a fleeting moment of recognition into a catalyst for change that ignited a ripple of compliments across digital communities.
Renowned brands like boAt, Magicpin, Ixigo, Dominos, Spicejet Airlines, Book My Show, CultFit, Meesho and Infinix India joined in to extend the Pulse of Compliments to these heroes, deepening the warmth of appreciation, and paying tribute to their exceptional contributions to our society.
If you happen to be in any of the cities mentioned, be sure to keep a lookout for these heartfelt billboards of our heroes. Let’s come together to honor their remarkable efforts by pausing to appreciate them. By keeping the compliments flowing, let’s continue to nurture a culture of positivity and kindness.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
