Ad Campaigns
‘Stop playing with planet earth….’ – CELL 18’s new TVC
“It has to be spread out, the skin of this planet, Has to be ironed, the sea in its whiteness;
And the hands keep on moving, smoothing the holy surfaces.”-Pablo Neruda
But why then is its skin withering day by day?Why is the crease not fading away?
Why are those hands not smoothing planet Earth? Why are the holy surfaces gathering anger and wrath?
Stop playing with planet earth….
Stop it. And this is what Cell 18‘s new public service ad (PSA) fights to state. Want a proof – look out for the punch line: Stop playing with planet earth.
In the film we see two boys playing table tennis ruthlessly, retaliating to each other‘s serve more insensitively and brutally, both fuming with anger. Then suddenly we see the ball transforming into earth and the film ends with a super – stop playing with planet earth.
Review: A clever idea and a classy execution. Conceptualized and directed by Network18 network creative director Zubin Driver, this PSA is undoubtedly class apart. Also, by building and executing its theme around a game like table tennis, Cell 18 has only enhanced the provoking spirit of the ad.
“We chose table tennis because one, it‘s a much understated sport and also we realized that no other sport would reveal the passion as well as this one did,” says Driver.
Another aspect of the ad which demands recognition is the music. Its that first thing of TVC that can take anyone‘s breath away. Its absolutely mesmerising, beautifully captivating.
The music is charming, tribal, mystical and primitive…just like our planet earth. But along with that there is also a gush of power flowing through it.
On a whole, the ad remains absolutely true to its spirit. It is not only original in idea but also in its execution.
Ad Pick believes that Cell 18‘s new TVC is immensely cerebral and sets one thinking. Also it does not leave behind an inch of confusion behind. A crystal clear ad with crystal clear thought.
An absolute unpretentious approach to the message… and a direct delivery of thought to the target group.
Three cheers to all.
Agency: Cell 18
Production house: Cell 18
Running time: 30 seconds
ITV rating: * * * * *
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
