MAM
JWT rolls out ad campaign for TOI‘s recently launched Kerala edition
MUMBAI: The Times of India is getting aggressive in Kerala, the new state where the English newspaper is going all out to conquer. Having launched multiple editions in the state, it has come up with an ad campaign that celebrates the competitive spirit of the modern Malayalee.
The ad campaign, created by JWT, captures ‘A Day in the Life of Kerala‘. The latest film will largely be broadcast online, in cinema halls and on all the local news channels. It is targeted at every Malayalee who can read English and is a potential reader of The Times of India in Kerala.
“The film is a satire that celebrates the competitive spirit of the modern Malayalee, in the typical Times of India point of view. ‘A Day in the Life of Kerala‘ is an authentic news commentary on the state of Kerala today, where competition breeds chaos between communism and capitalism,” said JWT NCD Senthil Kumar who is also the writer and creative director of this campaign.
The Times of India plans to come out with more campaigns that would stress on the traits of the state.
“The newspaper giant has rolled out only one ad film that captures ‘A Day in the Life of Kerala‘. Going forward there could be others that bring alive a completely different perspective on the state,” said Kumar.
The client‘s brief was to take the high decibel ‘God‘s Own Delivery Boys‘ launch campaign forward with a film that brings to life the state of Kerala today and celebrates the competitive spirit of the modern Malayalee.
The TVC begins with a political stand-off between left party and right party on two boats that crash into each other and soon the river is blocked from bank to bank, creating a bottleneck in the backwaters.
Competition breeds chaos but triggers a bridge between the two sides, as some locals use the stranded chain of boats like a bridge over the backwaters to give the message “It happens only in Kerala.”
According to Kumar, the response has been phenomenal so far with the anthemic local folk musical track by the legendary ‘Kalabhavan Mani‘ receiving a standing ovation in several cinema halls and online forums.
“We are hoping that the popularity of this campaign ensures local brand equity for The Times of India and amplifies its readership across the state. While the campaign has already made the local headlines, we would be happy if The Times of India becomes the largest read English daily in Kerala soon,” Kumar concluded.
The launch campaign was largely directed towards recruiting new readers in Kerala. It was spread across outdoor, print and live events that highlighted the concept of ‘God‘s Own Delivery boys‘ across 10 different cities where the Times Kerala edition is printed. As part of the launch, hundreds of elephant delivery boys and warriors of the ancient Kalaripayattu form were engaged and a floating tea shop which is a popular apsect of Kerala culture was invented as well.
The effort was supported by a radio campaign and a music video by Malayalam Rock Band ‘Avial‘ along with several local musicians, bands and dancers who performed in the week long Times Kerala festival.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
