MAM
Mudra South nominated for Times Asia Pacific Advertising Awards and New York Festivals
MUMBAI: Mudra South has been nominated for the Times Asia Pacific Advertising Awards and also the New York Festivals.
Interestingly, Times Asia Pacific Advertising Awards short-listed only three entries from India and interestingly all the three are from Mudra South.
The 16th Times Asia Pacific Advertising Awards to be held in Taiwan early next year received 345 entries this year. The Mudra South campaigns short-listed are Nutrine Kokanaka (Coconut) and Blossoms (House of Used Books), in print and Monster (Get out!) in television.
At the New York festivals’ 2006, the agency has been shortlisted in the Television, Cinema and Radio Advertising Awards competition. The short listed entry was for Monster (Get out!) campaign for two categories- Business Services/Equipment and E-Commerce Service.
Mudra CEO and managing director Madhukar Kamath said, “Jagdish and Radha (S Radhakrishnan) have placed great emphasis on good work for Mudra South and the results are evident. It’s nice to know that the work is being recognized by the international advertising community.”
Mudra South executive creative director Jagdish Acharya said, “I am delighted to know that Mudra was the only agency from India to get short listed at the Times Asia-Pacific award. Moreover, in New York Festivals, our entry is the only one to have actually got nominated in the respective categories. We have been doing good work across brands and it is certainly nice to see some of these pick up awards as well.”
Times Asia Pacific Advertising Awards short-listed entries from various countries such as Taiwan (168), Japan (60), China (55), Hong Kong (26), Korea (18), Indonesia (10), India (3), Malaysia (2), Philippines (2) and Thailand (1).
The Times Asia-Pacific Advertising Awards was first held in 1990 by the China Times Group and was aimed at broadening Taiwan’s ad horizons and fulfilling a corporate vision while encouraging professional exchanges within the Asia-Pacific region.
The New York Festivals awards ceremony will be held on 26 January, 2006 in the Millennium Broadway Hotel in Manhattan.
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
