MAM
Nick US’ campaign encourages kids to be active, healthy
MUMBAI: This summer, Nickelodeon encourages American kids to get up and be active with an on-air campaign on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.
The campaign features interactive interstitial programming and brand new spots that incorporate healthy messaging. The campaign will culminate on 1 October 2005 with Nickelodeon’s second-annual Worldwide Day of Play.
This is part of the network’s “Let’s Just Play” initiative. Nick will go off air for three hours to empower kids around the world to learn about active, positive lifestyles and make better, healthier choices.
Nickelodeon will introduce a series of on-air spots that emphasize the importance of play, as part of the network’s ongoing Let’s Just Play pro-social initiative, which encourages kids to lead active, healthy lives. The first of the spots is entitled Bring Back Play. It highlights the importance of play in kids’ lives and how play can help kids’ bodies, minds and compositions.
Subsequent spots, which will roll out in July and August, emphasise different ways to be active, different reasons to play and how to be an advocate for play. All feature original music, developed exclusively for the Let’s Just Play campaign. The spots will air several times per week on Nickelodeon US from now through August.
Nick Jr. will host Power Play Summer, the network’s new summer packaging, hosted by hit show LazyTown’s enthusiastic, pink-haired heroine, Stephanie. The packaging includes interstitial programming with themes like Love to Dance, Love to Get Up and Go and Love to Move. the interstitials incorporate the message to kids to ‘Get Up, Get Out, and Go Play.’ In the segments, Stephanie, joined by her LazyTown friends Sportacus, Ziggy and Pixel; Nick Jr. host Piper; and real kids, encourages viewers to move the Nick Jr. Power Play Meter.
This is an on-screen meter that measures the activity level of preschoolers at home. By playing along with activities like jumping jacks and learning the ‘bing bang’ dance from the show, Stephanie engages the audience by asking questions and requesting viewers to participate in her activities. The Power Play Meter is also featured in the lower-left corner during regular Nick Jr. programming to continuously encourage kids to keep the activity going while watching TV.
Currently in its third year Let’s Just Play is Nickelodeon’s pro-social commitment to encourage kids to participate in active, healthy, and playful lifestyles – a much needed antidote to reports of the rise in childhood obesity, the concerns about reduction of PE in schools and in after-school programs, and the over-scheduled and sedentary lifestyles of kids today.
In addition to using the power of Nickelodeon’s air, online sites, and celebrity support, the channel devotes significant year-round resources to building a grassroots infrastructure that supports physical play opportunities in communities everywhere. Let’s Just Play was recently awarded four Cable Television Public Affairs Association Beacon Awards, which recognise excellence in the US public affairs industry.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
