MAM
Bobby Pawar: Post JWT
MUMBAI: He may be out of JWT India, but he definitely is not down and out. We are referring to former JWT India managing partner and chief creative director Bobby Pawar who put in his papers after Vijay Simha Vellanki, creative director at Blue Hive, a WPP unit dedicated to managing the Ford business, was asked to resign for creating a few posters with which got the client auto company Ford all choked up after some consumers got upset with the so-called sexist depiction in the ads.
Pawar earlier today put out a post on facebook which said: “My friends, I am touched by your concern and affection. I am the luckiest man in the world, despite what the tabloids might say. I cannot repay your spontaneous outburst of support, so as my meagre offering I give you this for your viewing pleasure, a Santa Claus made with condoms. Oops, will that get me in trouble gain?”
Pawar has not been reachable since he jettisoned from the agency he joined around 15 months ago. He had issued a comment, saying he was resigning because “as a leader, this incident happened on my watch. I have to take moral responsibility for it.”
But he has been active on facebook since, posting pictures of his family as they take some time out in Srinagar.
And an avalanche of support has poured in for him.
Said Scarecrow Communications branch head and executive creative director Anindya Banerjee, “Still trying to figure out the ‘sexist‘ portion in the ads. Looks like a mystery that‘s not going to be answered.”
Added Pinstorm Technologies boss Mahesh Murthy, “While the JWT India scam ad for Ford was dumb, sacking the ECD Bobby Pawar for it is dumber. Smacks of testicular deficiency all around I think. Stand up for your creatives, @Colwyn Harris. Don‘t sell them out at the first sign of trouble. Now who with a brain and a backbone will work for you?”
Said Bang Bang film founder and managing director Roopak Saluja, “At the end of the day, that‘s all that matters, Bobby. And you know the whole industry knows what this is all about. A $2Billion ad budget is a tough thing to be weighed against. Yet you walk away with an unscathed rep…Godspeed!”
Said media veteran Bhaskar Das (currently with Zee News) : “It‘s so true, Bobby. You will rock always.”
On 23 March, Pawar had an interaction with former McCann and Ogilvy & Mather professional Rob Ichelson which went as follows:
Rob: “Hi BubbaHave you read Kenney‘s Book”
Bobby: “No Rob would like to. What‘s it called?”
Rob: “Truth in Advertising”
Bobby: @Rob. “Is there any truth to it?”
He could not have been more prophetic.
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
