MAM
Scarecrow creats Rupa’s new ad to promote voting
MUMBAI: Indifference towards voting has been an unresolved issue in India and the election statistics over the years prove the same. Taking forward the former tagline of Frontline – Sabse Aage (Ahead of everyone) – inner wear brand Rupa took the opportunity to bring in a new dimension in its positioning. Through its new campaign, the brand not only wants to strengthen its market positioning, but also hopes to throw light on a larger social cause.
Rupa has adopted a new tagline – ‘Raho duniya se ek kadam aage‘ (Stay a step ahead of the world) – in a bid to take the brand thought one step further while the TVC tackles ways to boost the voting percentage and promote the turnout in elections in the country.
The sound track of the TVC is crafted from the originally composed Bengali patriotic song ‘Ekla Cholo Re‘ written by Rabindranath Tagore. The soundtrack of the TVC has been recomposed by Rooshin Dalal and the film has been directed by Gajraj Rao from Code Red Films. The thought behind the song was to press the listener to continue one‘s journey alone, even if there is no one to support.
The new version is sung by the actor, music director, lyricist, singer and scriptwriter – Piyush Mishra.
Rupa director Mukesh Agarwal said, “Frontline is our flagship brand, and we were very keen to take its communication a step further. The story not only helps us reinforce the core brand thought but, for the first time, also helps us connect with the society and give out a meaningful message.
Scarecrow Communications founder director Manish Bhatt said, “Apathy towards voting has been a chronic problem. If you look at India‘s election statistics post independence, almost half of the country never turns out to vote. We saw a poignant issue, which Frontline as a brand could associate with and give a new dimension to its communication. “
Scarecrow Communications founder director Arunava (Joy) Sengupta said, “Previously, Sabse Aage, was the positioning of Frontline. While the previous films used humour as the plank, with this film we have tried to bring the positioning to life and give the Frontline man a definitive personality. The new tagline – ‘Raho duniya se ek kadam aage‘, sums it up perfectly.”
Scarecrow Communications executive creative director Kapil Tammal said, “We‘ve tried our best to keep the action very real. Exaggeration helps in humour, but not in courage. We did an intensive recce to choose the right locations and camera angles to stage the intense drama.”
Scarecrow Communications creative director Sarvesh Raikar said, “The sound was a critical and tough part of the film. Both the composer and singer, Piyush Mishra, have done a fantastic job of weaving together the grunge (necessary to the drama) and the quintessential melody of the song, seamlessly.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
