MAM
Media Magazine names GroupM’s Prasanth Kumar as best media planner/buyer in Asia
MUMBAI: For GroupM India it was a great way to end 2005. GroupM Bangalore investment director Prasanth Kumar has bagged the ‘best media planner/buyer in Asia’ award, given by the Hong Kong-based Media Magazine at a function held on 14 December.
The Media Magazine awards recognises outstanding work in media planning/ buying, creative, one-to-one, marketing, account/ business developments and many more, across the Asia Pacific region.
Prasanth Kumar has been with GroupM since 2004. Kumar was earlier with TME, Mumbai. He is a key member of GroupM investment team, headed by Lakshmi Narasimhan.
Kumar oversees buying for key GroupM clients in the south, including Britannia, Titan, Himalaya, Ford, IBM etc.
Among the big media innovations he has helped pull off are the Lenovo computer branding in KBC2, and the Titan-MTV partnership deal that helped launch the Titan-MTV Masala watch collection.
He won an award for the best use of analytics in media negotiations, for the Britannia case study that he presented in GroupM’s regional buying conference in Bangkok earlier this year.
According to a media release, senior managers at GroupM India were delighted with Prasanth’s win, as it was a double treat, coming along with Mindshare winning the agency network of the year in Asia Pacific.
GroupM South Asia CEO Ashutosh Srivastava says, ” The award for Prasanth is a fantastic recognition for India based media talent”.
GroupM India investments head Lakshmi Narasimhan says, “Prasanth typifies the best of GroupM trading with his high energy, never-say-die spirit and rigorous approach. The team at GroupM trading is ecstatic because this is the first time a buyer has been a winner in this category.”
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
