MAM
Indian advertising legend Larry Grant passes away
MUMBAI: The Indian advertising industry has lost another stalwart with the demise of advertising guru Larry Grant. Grant, CEO of the Pune-based Larry Grant Communications, had donned several hats during his 35 year career – advertising professional, author, columnist, consultant and member of industry bodies and committees.
Grant completed his education in Mussoorie, Dehra Dun, at the Air Force College. He was the former director, training and projects at J Walter Thompson. He has also worked with O&M, HTA, Contract Advertising (creative director), Shining of Paris, Paris and Singapore, again Contract Advertising (director – training and projects).
Grant was the chairman of the key committee of the 13th Asian Advertising Congress. He was on the executive committee of the Advertising Agencies Association of India. He was the founder and chairman, training and professional development committee and a coordinator for Staca (Standing Committee on Advertising). For three terms, he was a member of the executive committee for the Communication Arts Guild (Cag).
Grant has written books – including the first one on the subject of advertising for the Mumbai University’s Commerce (B. Com) course. He has also written “Creative Manual” for Advertising Agencies Association of India; and “How to start a business of your own choice” on direct marketing.
Grant was the former advertising and marketing columnist for renowned publications such as The Times of India and Maharashtra Herald, Pune. He was the editor for The Freemason. His website www.larrygrant.com offers the latest on advertising.
Grant always believed in spending time with the younger generation of advertising professionals and students. He has been visiting faculty at Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune University (Dept of Marketing), Chetna Institute of Management Studies, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, National Institute of Business Studies, Pune, KC College of Management Studies and Sir JJ College of Commerce.
But, Grant will still be remembered for the path-breaking campaign for Liberty shirts – which changed the face of retail advertising communication – Bajaj Auto and the government’s Family Planning campaign.
Long live Larry Grant! Long live Indian advertising!
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
