MAM
Hakuhodo Percept creates a TVC to launch Sony’s Sonic laptops
MUMBAI: As the old forms of communication give way to the new innovative machines, Hakuhodo Percept has launched Sony‘s new range of Sonic laptops with in-built subwoofers through a TVC for the Indian market. The film went on air on July 2.
British musician Shlomo and his vocal project ‘Shlomo and the Lip Factory‘ have been used in this TVC. They are seen performing on ‘Moves like Jagger‘ by Maroon 5. Different shots of the group are shown through the Sonic range of laptops. This was done keeping in mind the taste and culture of the current generation. The brand has also initiated what is billed as India‘s first online ‘Beatboxing competition‘ where contestants need to share links of their beatboxing videos on Sony‘s Youtube channel to win a Vaio laptop from the Sonic series.
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Commenting on the TVC, Hakuhodo Percept executive creative directors, Shobhit Mathur and Sabuj Sen Gupta said, “Typically, laptops don‘t give you great sound forcing you to use additional speakers for better sound experience. But all that is about to change as Sony Vaio brings to you a laptop with an in-built subwoofer! Not only will you be able to hear great bass and thump, you will also be able to hear every sound with great clarity and distinction. It‘s a yet another first from Vaio. For us, it all started here. So to corroborate this brief, we devised a campaign with a fusion of A cappella and beat boxing.”
“Our aim was to own the domain of voice & sound. Hence we tied-up with an internationally acclaimed human beat boxer, Shlomo and his latest vocal project ‘Shlomo and the Lip Factory‘ to perform the chartbuster ‘Moves like Jagger‘. We got seven beat boxers, including Shlomo, to recreate the song using only their voices. What‘s interesting is that each one of them has performed their part through a different Vaio thereby creating a never-heard-before orchestra of laptops”, they added.
On the TVC, Sony India, marketing communication head, Ryusuke Fukushima said, “The new television commercial for Vaio aims to highlight the in-built subwoofers of the new Vaio series. After doing our research, we realised that users mostly complain about the quality of sound in their laptops and to redress this issue, Sony announced its new Vaio series with enhanced listening experience.” He added, “To bring out the sound proposition clearly in the TVC, we tied up with internationally acclaimed human beatboxer, Shlomo and his latest vocal project ‘Shlomo and the Lip Factory‘. As part of the campaign, we will also be rolling out print and online advertisements, outdoor and shop-front enhancement and PR activities.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
