MAM
rmg David to drop ‘rmg’ at the ‘Topless double decker bus ride’
MUMBAI: Ever thought that a bus conductor would drop in at your office to invite you for a party and hand you over the invite, which looked like the big momma of an ordinary bus ticket? No, right? Neither did we. But that’s exactly what happened today.
And that’s the “David-thing” the gang at rmg David have thought up.
The agency, which is about to re-launch itself, is planning to drop ‘rmg’ from it’s name and will henceforth be called ‘David.’ This whole out-of-the box exercise was undertaken to invite people for the announcement party.
The party, which is being called the “Topless Double Decker Bus Ride” will be held on 17 October. What’s more, media professionals will be taken for a ride on a “Topless Double Decker” around Mumbai’s Marine Drive, while the agency will (as the invite mentions) “talk and serve delicious food with cool drinks followed by dinner.”
Now to go back to the “supposed” bus conductor, who came with the invite (We later learned that he was a client servicing guy from rmg David. He had us fooled for a minute, all thanks to the brilliant get up with the non-shaven look). Attired in full uniform coupled with the aluminum ticket holder, he removes one big ticket from there, punches it on the area where ’17’ is typed and hands it over. Then he rattles off a couple of lines in Hindi asking us to be there at a particular time.
The bus ticket invite for rmg David’s Topless Double Decker Bus Ride
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the inception of this idea, rmg David country head and national creative director Josy Paul says, “Everyone throws parties at ballrooms in five star hotels. There’s nothing new about that. We constantly ask ourselves this — ‘What is the David thing we are going to do today?’ and this idea seemed to be a logical extension to that. There will be a whole lot of action and excitement on the bus party.”
Reluctant to speak more on the name change and the formalities attached to it, Paul says that since the brand name ‘rmg’ belongs to the JWT group, they wanted to move away from it and have a distinct identity of their own. “There are a lot of things attached to the name change and we will be unveiling them at the party,” he says.
Being in the mad ad world, one always has to stay ahead in the race and make their creative juices overflow. Earlier this year, when erstwhile Everest Integrated Communications was planning to re-launch itself as Everest Brand Solutions, the agency had sent out a telegram informing about the ‘critical condition’ of Everest Integrated Communications followed by a letter from the the registrar of birth and death informing about the sad demise of the agency. Printed behind this was the venue of the condolence meeting, which was to be held at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai.
MAM
India wins big at the 2025 Global Best of the Best Effie Awards
The Womb and McCann India take home Global Grand Effies, putting Indian advertising on the world map
MUMBAI: Indian advertising just had its moment. At the 2025 Global Best of the Best Effie Awards, the most rigorous test of marketing effectiveness on the planet, two Indian agencies beat out campaigns from over 130 markets to claim Global Grand Effies, the sport’s equivalent of a world championship medal.
The Womb won for Piramal Finance with a campaign called “NEEYAT: India’s Real Credit Score,” a purpose-led push that took direct aim at systemic bias in the credit sector and reframed how creditworthiness is measured. McCann India won for ESAF Small Finance Bank with “Saving Her Savings,” a campaign centred on financial inclusion for marginalised women. Both wins came from a shortlist of 47 contenders, all of whom had already won gold or grand prizes in their home markets. Only 11 Global Grand Effies were handed out across seven markets. India got two.
The highest honour of the night, the Iridium Effie, awarded to the single most effective marketing campaign in the world, went to eos Products and Mischief @ No Fixed Address for “Women’s Shave.” Remarkably, it was their second consecutive year taking the top prize.
Other global winners included Oreo and Mondelez International for “Oreo Codes” in commerce and shopper marketing, Flamin’ Hot and PepsiCo for “Poker Face” in experiential marketing, and ALDI Australia for “Shop ALDI First” in retail.
The Best of the Best is no ordinary awards show. Entry is restricted to campaigns that have already won a gold or grand Effie at a national level, making it, in effect, a champions’ league of marketing effectiveness. Indian agencies are no longer just brilliant at cracking local markets. They are now setting the global standard.
The world’s best advertisers had better start paying attention.
