MAM
Lowe Lintas’ Balki shows how to do an advertising award
MUMBAI: Trust the man with the beard to do it differently. 10 years ago, the creative guru and the current Lowe Lintas chairman & chief creative officer R. Balki took a decision to put a full stop to his agency‘s participation in the advertising industry awards. But even he knows creatives have this innate desire to be patted on their backs for good creatives and advertising that they have slogged to create over zillions of cups of chai, ciggies and sometimes rum and coke or single malt scotch.
Hence, to keep those in his agency in good cheer he created his own internal awards gig calling it
‘The True Show‘ way back in 2003. And the agency has been putting it together randomly once every few years; whenever it thinks the time is right. The first was in 2003, the next in 2005, the third in 2008 and finally the last one which was held last night at the Shangri La Hotel in Central Mumbai.
At the fourth True Show, Balki made an appearance with his lovely and talented wife Gauri Shinde accompanying him as he entered the venue. And he quickly got down to the business for the evening.
R Balki chairman and CCO of Lowe Lintas strikes a pose
He was pretty blunt when he spoke: “I don‘t give a damn for awards shows. Awards are just an excuse to drink and have fun and they change no one‘s lives. True Show is not about awarding our self it‘s about awarding good work.”
And indeed it was time to down a pint or two. Instead of the usual trophies, Balki handed out bottles of wine to each of the winners onstage. He even went as far as forcing them to down a few shots before letting them go. Post their pumping their fists in the air, they returned their bottles back, for each to be handed over to the next winner.
Balki obviously was in good spirits and hence it was strange to see some vets like DDB Mudra chairman & CCO Sonal Dabral shying away from receiving their bottle of wine. Ditto with ‘Vicky Donor‘ director Shoojit Sircar, who was recognised for his film for Gujarat Tourism with Amitabh Bachchan. Both had to be pushed by their former colleagues on to the stage. They were not from Lowe, but from other agencies, and there only to have a good time.
Prasoon Joshi and R Balki – ‘The True Showmen‘
Of course, old friends like Bang-Bang Films‘ Roopak Saluja, BBDO India‘s Josy Paul, Lodestar‘s Shashi Sinha, Axis Bank‘s Shikha Sharma, Leo Burnett‘s K.V. Sridhar, McCann Erickson‘s Prasoon Joshi, O&M‘s Madhukar Sabnavis and Abhijit Avasthi, Taproot‘s Agnello Dias, Draft FCBUka‘s KC Chakravarthy ‘Chax‘ were all there to take part in the party. And clients like Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, HUL‘s Nitin Paranjpe, among others.
Rajeev Bajaj and K V Sridhar in conversation
Leo Burnett India CCO K.V. Sridhar was full of praise for Balki‘s effort. Speaking to indiantelevision.com he said: “True Show is true to the personality of Lintas and Balki. At the end of the day, it is all about celebrating good work. Unless you care about the work done by you the world will not.”
Way to go Balki!
Here‘s a list of those who got a chance to take home a bottle wine and were forced to down shots by Balki:-
| True Craft Awards |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Show Talent | Anupam & Urfee | |||||
| True Show Best Editor | Ad: Axis Bank – Shekhar | |||||
| Work that we truly envy | Ogilvy and Mather – The Hindu | |||||
| Work that we truly envy for craft |
Shoojit Sircar for directing the TVCs for Gujarat Tourism |
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| Work that we truly envy | Ad: Big Bazaar – Mudra | |||||
| True Simplicity | Ad: Havells Idli – Sriram Iyer & Team | |||||
| True Activation Idea | Ad: Tata Tea Jaago re campaign, Chotti Shuruvat | |||||
| Best Continuing campaign |
Ad: Surf Excel |
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| True Brand Portfolio |
Ad: Tanishq |
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| Blockbuster of the year | Ad: Idea Honey Bunny campaign | |||||
| True Idea |
|
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| Truly Special Award | Ad: Lifebuoy Gondappa |
MAM
Hyphen launches sunscreen campaign featuring Kriti Sanon as SPF Police
Campaign drives SPF habit; Blinkit tie-up enables instant sunscreen delivery.
MUMBAI: No SPF, no mercy Kriti Sanon is out patrolling your skincare routine. Hyphen has rolled out a new campaign film starring its Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer Kriti Sanon, who steps into a playful alter ego as the brand’s “SPF Police”, turning sunscreen reminders into a full-blown public service announcement with a wink. The campaign kicked off with a cheeky social media tease suggesting Sanon had “stepped down” from her role, sparking chatter online before the brand revealed the twist: she hasn’t gone anywhere, she has simply taken on an additional avatar, one dedicated to ensuring people do not skip sunscreen.
The film leans into humour to drive home a serious point. In a slice-of-life setting, Sanon intercepts a gym-goer about to step out without sunscreen, promptly handing over Hyphen’s ‘All I Need Sunscreen’, which arrives instantly via Blinkit. The message is clear: forgetting SPF is no longer a valid excuse when it can be delivered in minutes.
Beyond the laughs, the campaign taps into a well-known gap in everyday skincare habits. Sunscreen, despite being one of the most recommended steps, is often the most ignored. By gamifying the reminder through an “SPF Police” persona, Hyphen aims to turn a routine into a reflex.
The multi-stage rollout from intrigue-led teasers to the final film has been designed to spark conversation while embedding the brand into daily behaviour. It also spotlights Hyphen’s quick commerce partnership with Blinkit, positioning accessibility as a key enabler of consistency.
Sanon, who remains closely involved in product development and brand strategy, noted that the idea stemmed from a simple insight: skincare works best when it is easy, habitual and hard to ignore. The campaign reflects that philosophy equal parts science, storytelling and a nudge you cannot quite escape.
The film is now live across Hyphen and Blinkit’s digital platforms, with further activations expected to extend the campaign’s reach and perhaps keep the SPF Police on duty a little longer.
