MAM
Ugandan govt to sponsor CNN show ‘Inside Africa’
MUMBAI: The government of Uganda through its Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry has struck a deal with CNN believed to be worth $1 million. Uganda will sponsor the current affairs programme Inside Africa.
Ugandan State Minister for Tourism, Trade and Antiquities Jovino Akaki and officials from CNN signed the agreement in Kampala a few days ago. Uganda will sponsor Inside Africa which runs every Saturday, for six months. Spots promoting tourism under the tagline Uganda: A Gift of Nature will run in the half hour show, which is repeated every Sunday.
Media reports indicate that The Uganda Wildlife Authority had invited journalists from different local media houses to Murchison Falls National Park in a bid to promote positive reporting on tourism.
Ugandan State Minister for Tourism, Trade and Antiquities Jovino Akaki has blamed journalists for only focussing on the negative aspects of the country while ignoring the positive elements. Reporting on Uganda is said to have centred around war, disease, corruption and questionable democratisation. The ads will seek to paint a brighter picture.
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.
