MAM
TNS launches fundraising initiative for Unicef
MUMBAI: TNS has announced its commitment to raise $387,000 by the end of 2007 to fund a pre-school educational project in Cambodia, supported by Unicef, the United Nation’s Children’s Fund.
The TNS fundraising initiative, entitled ‘Imagine…’ has seen TNS pledge $50,000 to date, with a further $80,000 promised by the end of 2005, $132,000 in 2006 and $125,000 in 2007, to be raised globally with the support of TNS employees.
The fundraising initiatives will kick off with ‘Walk to Work’ day on 9 September, where 15 TNS offices around the world, including London, San Francisco, Barcelona and Kuala Lumpur, will be raising money by walking into work, in recognition of the hardships that many Cambodian school children face in travelling to school.
TNS began it’s support for Unicef when they made an initial donation of $250,000 to Unicef at the beginning of 2005, $200,000 of which was sent immediately and has been used for education and child protection projects in the tsunami-affected regions of Sri Lanka and Indonesia. At the time, the group also indicated its interest in supporting a longer-term development project with Unicef and $50,000 was set aside to start this up.
The Preschool Education Project in Cambodia aims to expand access to pre-schools for 14,500 children aged 3-5 years and reduce dropout and repetition rates. According to recent research, 14 per cent of children in Cambodia drop out of school in their first year and only 50 per cent complete their primary school education. Studies have proved that by introducing children to education through preschools they are prepared for the challenges that full time education brings. TNS will support Unicef’s work in six provinces to build 120 new community preschool shelters and train approximately 950 community preschool teachers on child development and child centred teaching.
TNS chief executive officer Mike Kirkham said, “We operate in 70 countries and were keen to partner with a global charitable organisation, so that our employees around the world could identify with the project and raise funds to support it. We believe that these preschools will make a real difference to the lives of those children who attend them.”
“Our partnership with Unicef will also make a real difference to TNS by giving our employees the opportunity to be involved in such a worthwhile international fundraising initiative. The widespread positive response to the announcement of our relationship with Unicef indicates how proud our staff feel about TNS’ participation in this fundraising work,” he added.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
