iWorld
“Our Erase Valentine’s Day campaign secured a reach of 108 million along with 300Mn impressions”: Mondelez’s Nitin Saini
Mumbai: Cadbury 5 Star’s ‘Erase Valentine’s Day’ campaign has achieved remarkable success this Valentine’s Day, featuring a daring mission to eliminate the mushy celebrations within a single minute. The brand introduced a time-travel vessel set to cross the international date line on 14 February, spearheaded by content creators Tanmay Bhat and Samay Raina from the control room in Mumbai.
The exciting journey was streamed live on YouTube, inviting viewers to witness the volunteers navigate through the Samoan seas and erase Valentine’s Day from existence. As the vessel approached the date line, Bhatt and Raina led a countdown, marking the successful completion of the mission. The campaign resonated deeply with the brand’s core target group i.e the Gen Z demographic.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with Mondelez India’s CMO Nitin Saini where he shared the idea and the kind of strategy that was used to implement this campaign.
Edited excerpts
On the idea of using Cadbury 5Star to erase Valentine’s Day come about
Cadbury 5 Star, through its brand communication over the years, has become synonymous with easy going indulgence and the philosophy of Do Nothing. The brand, through all its campaigns has taken a counter-culture stance. It has stood as a playful reminder that in today’s world defined by ‘hustle’ culture, it is important to “chill” and savour the free moments.
Even for the occasion of Valentine’s Day, Cadbury 5Star has consistently supported individuals/singles who feel disenchanted with the ‘Day of Love’ and prefer to spend the occasion doing nothing. The decision to launch the Valentine’s Day campaigns every year for Cadbury 5 Star was driven by comprehensive market research, which underscored the enduring significance of chocolates during this occasion. The brand has consistently used Valentine’s Day as an occasion to drive relevance and engagement through clutter-breaking campaigns and limited-edition packs. By showcasing the idea of ‘doing nothing’ as a valid and enjoyable option through campaigns like ‘Erase Valentine’s Day’, we provide support to those seeking an alternative Valentine’s Day experience.
Building on the success of last year’s endeavor to help escape the mush, the brand along with its volunteers introduced the world’s first ever ‘time travel vessel’, a ship named F.N.S. Cringe Vinash, with a mission to Erase Valentine’s Day. The ship was sent to cross the International Date Line between American Samoa and Samoa at exactly 11:59 pm on 14 February 2024 (American Samoa Time), thereby crossing the 24-hour threshold and setting foot into 15 February, 12:00 am – the local time on the other side of the International Date Line thus, skipping 24 hours of Valentine’s Day in a single minute. To add a layer of laughter and entertainment, we got Tanmay Bhat and Samay Raina to helm the mission in the control room in Mumbai. This live event was a rollercoaster of laughs and personal stories, as we witnessed the brave volunteers cross the International Date Line— erasing Valentine’s Day for all those who want to skip the day. Viewers even got in on the action, voting for the cringiest things they have witnessed, while the volunteers on the ship dialed in the stream via a live video call and spoke about their own personal anecdotes adding an extra layer of hilarity to the mix.
On sharing insights into the creative process behind developing the storyline for this campaign
The concept for this year’s Cadbury 5 Star campaign stemmed from a quest to take unconventional celebrations to new heights and embrace the counter-culture. The objective was to challenge the standard norms of Valentine’s Day by offering an escape from the day entirely for singles who feel disenchanted with the ‘Day of Love’ and prefer to spend the occasion doing nothing. Collaborating with Ogilvy and bringing legendary space scientist Nambi Narayanan on board, we devised a creative narrative involving a ‘time travel vessel’ to skip 24 hours of Valentine’s Day in a single minute. Every ‘Do Nothing’ campaign on 5 Star has been loved by audiences and this year’s campaign has received a lot of love as well.
On the decision to involve Tanmay Bhat and Samay Raina as hosts for the commentary booth
The vibrant energy and cheeky humor of Tanmay and Samay which was perfectly tethered by their comedic camaraderie fit in well with the playful spirit of our brand. By involving Tanmay and Samay as hosts for the commentary booth, we wanted to infuse our campaign with an extra layer of entertainment and laughter, ensuring that viewers have a memorable and enjoyable experience as they witness this groundbreaking mission unfold.
On the challenges did the whole team faced during its journey through time
During the live stream on February 14th (India time), the ship’s captain mentioned to the hosts – Tanmay Bhat and Samay Raina that they were running 60 seconds behind schedule due to strong currents from the West near Samoa, requiring efforts to stabilize the vessel. Nevertheless, the ship successfully crossed the 24-hour threshold, arriving on February 15th, 12:00 am thus erasing Valentine’s Day as planned.
On Cadbury planning to measure the success of this marketing campaign
We evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by monitoring various key metrics. These include metrics related to consumer engagement, such as reach, engagement, and ad viewing duration on digital platforms. Overall, our campaign was received very well with 99% positive sentiments from audiences. Across social media platforms, our Erase Valentine’s Day campaign secured a reach of 108 million along with 300Mn impressions. Further, as on Google, the campaign garnered a 174MM reach, 866 MM impressions and 114 MM+ views.
The YouTube livestream with Tanmay and Samay on 14th February was received extremely well, reaching over 65 Million people. The live stream garnered more than 1.6 million views, 35k+ concurrent viewers, and over 15,000 comments— with 70% of the viewers being within our core target group of 18-34 year old individuals.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
