MAM
DDB MudraMax wins media mandate for Garuda Polyflex Food
MUMBAI: DDB MudraMax has won the media mandate for Garuda Polyflex Food, which operates under the brand name ‘Gone Mad’.
The account, won after a multi-agency pitch, will be handled out of the DDB MudraMax Bengaluru office.
Garuda Polyflex Food MD V Jayachandran said, “We, at Garuda Polyflex Food are very happy to have DDBMudraMax as our media partner. They bring with them, significant expertise of having managed media for reputed organisations in India. They also bring the attitude in line with our brand “Gone Mad”, which makes them a perfect fit for us. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”
DDB MudraMax AVP and head south Anilkumar Sathiraju said, “We are very excited to work on this brand called Gone Mad. It’s one of its kind and we’ve got some exciting work coming up very soon. Some of the brands coming soon from the house of Garuda Food is something that you need to wait and watch out.
Garuda Food is a $500 million, 22 year old food & beverage company. It is a part of Tudung Group which deals in Agribusiness and FMCG distribution. It has 13 production facilities in Indonesia, China and India with over 20,000 employees.
Garuda Food offers a range of snacks, confectioneries, biscuits, tea and coffee based beverages, flavoured milk, jelly drink and fruit flavoured drinks. In the year 2011, Garuda Food entered into a joint venture with Polyflex Group to form Garuda Polyflex Food Pvt Ltd to enter the Indian market.
ITV News
Schbang puts India on Cairns map with twin finalist teams
Four young creatives make Asia-Pacific shortlist, take on UN brief in a live showdown
MUMBAI: A Mumbai-born agency with no global network backing is punching above its weight. Schbang has landed two teams in the finals of Cairns Hatchlings 2026, sending four young creatives to compete at the Cairns Crocodiles festival in Australia this May.
The Asia-Pacific competition, a proving ground for emerging creative talent, has shortlisted 30 teams from across Australia, Japan and India. Two of those teams come from Schbang alone, a rare feat for a homegrown independent.
The finalists include Priyanka Gohil and Aman Aragonda in the digital category, and Beverly Coutinho and Sneiden D’souza in publishing. They will face a high-stakes, live brief from the United Nations Foundation, unveiled on stage by CMO David Ohana, with just 24 hours to respond. Flights and accommodation for all 60 finalists will be covered by the festival.
For decades, the global creative spotlight has centred on Cannes. But Cairns Crocodiles, now in its second year, is fast redrawing that map. This time, India is not just watching, it is competing at the table.
“What makes this moment remarkable isn’t just that Schbang has two teams in the finals,” the company said. “It’s that four young creatives from India earned their place at Asia-Pacific’s biggest creative table, backed not by a legacy global network, but by an agency that was born in Mumbai just a decade ago.”
Dipshika Ravi, national creative director at Schbang, said, “We are thrilled and excited to see our young Schbangers representing us at prestigious global events such as the Cairns Crocodile Awards. This completely aligns with Schbang’s goal of taking India to the global stage.”
She added, “When I saw the ideas, I knew they had merit and the potential to take them places. I am glad that not one, but four people from Schbang will get to experience the adrenaline-pumping energy of the industry, connect with great minds, and showcase their talent to the world while working on the 48-hour brief. Kudos to them, and here’s wishing them all the very best.”
The finalists, for their part, are already eyeing the global stage. “We believed in our work and seeing it stand tall on its own has been incredible,” said Gohil and Aragonda. “Representing India at a stage this big, on a brief from the United Nations Foundation, is something we never imagined when we started our careers. We’re ready for Cairns.”
Coutinho and D’souza struck a similar note: “Publishing is often overlooked for the role it plays in big brand campaigns, shaping how stories are understood and remembered. With our idea leading the way, the opportunity to fly to Australia and work on a live UN brief in 24 hours, that’s the kind of creative pressure we thrive on. Here we come, with one eye on the brief, and one on the crocs.”
Schbang, founded in 2015, has grown into a 1,200-strong creative, media and technology outfit with offices from Mumbai to London and Amsterdam, working with brands from Jio and Britannia to Philips and ASUS.
From a Mumbai startup to a double finalist on Asia-Pacific’s biggest emerging stage, the signal is unmistakable. The centre of gravity in global creativity is shifting, and this time, India is not on the sidelines.
