MAM
McDonald’s to release global TV ad in India by September end
NEW DELHI: As a part of its global initiative, McDonald’s India is gearing up to launch its new `I am loving it’ television commercial towards the end of September.
Though the company hasn’t announced any official date, the campaign is expected to break only after 25 September, going by what company executives in India opine.
“We can’t disclose anything at the moment. We are still working out a date to interact with media. That (media briefing) should be between 22 and 25 September. The interaction with media will be done three-four days before the formal launch of the campaign,” said a senior executive of McDonald India, who is part of the marketing team.
The ups and downs of everyday life are depicted in fun and relevant ways in McDonald’s new “i’m lovin’ it” campaign
To be launched in more than 100 countries, the campaign has been first released in Germany. The US launch is scheduled for 29 September.
According to information available with indiantelevision.com, partly provided by the company and its advertising agency Mudra Communications, the campaign will be “localised” (for India), but to what extent is not known.
“Yes, there will be inputs from the (Indian ad) agency. But what portion of global campaign would be retained cannot be shared at the moment,” a McDonald source said.
According to the industry estimates, McDonald’s advertising spend is estimated to be Rs 150 million a year.
It is still not clear the medium that would be used by McDonald in India predominately to carry across the message, as company executives are absolutely tightlipped about giving out any details.
The “i’m lovin’ it” commercials reflect the lifestyles and attitudes of today’s consumers
According to a Reuters report originating out of Chicago, the key to this campaign are five new cutting-edge, high-energy television commercials that reflect the lifestyles and attitudes of today’s customers and culture.
“We will communicate a consistent brand message while at the same time capturing the spirit, music and flavor of each local country,” Reuters quoted Larry Light, McDonald’s executive vice-president and global chief marketing officer, as saying.
Timberlake, reviews the vocals he recorded for the “i’m lovin’ it” commercials
Pop star Justin Timberlake who recently won the 2003 triple-MTV Video Music Award winner has been roped in by McDonalds for its “I’m lovin’ it” campaign because of his éclat reputation with the youth. Timberlake, a former member of the popular US band ‘N Sync who launched a solo career late last year, will record the vocals for several of McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” commercials according to a company statement.
The five new commercials have been shot in 12 languages and a variety of locations, including the Czech Republic, Brazil, South Africa and Malaysia. They depict what consumers from around the world feel about the brand and the way McDonald’s fits into their lives. The spots include three brand versions (young adult, families and general), one featuring McDonald’s World Famous Fries and one starring Ronald McDonald.
In the Indian context, the advertising professionals here feel that the competitors need to work on the timing of new campaigns and, if possible, should egg themselves on to target Indian consumers in a better manner through its offerings and communication strategies.
“Consumer don’t differentiate in terms of global or local campaigns. The idea is to be better than your competitors. Yes, the timing is important and sooner or later, one should come out with a better work to combat the competition,” says Lowe’s national creative director R Balakrishnan.
Maximise managing director Bashab Sarkar says, “For a category (fast food segment), which hasn’t got any history of reaction and counter-reaction, there shouldn’t be any immediate action. Also, against a global campaign, it is not advisable to react immediately.”
On the fast food category, Balakrishnan says, “Fast food as a category is completely different because one can’t replace Indian food altogether. Though fast food chains have started serving the Indian palate with so many variants, I would say it will take a long time for such brands to match their performance in the West.”
Balakrishnan further adds, “Also, more than anything else, you need to serve a quality product. If tomorrow Starbuck comes to India, it will have to match Barista in terms of offering and experience. That way McDonald’s positioning is different from Domino’s and Pizza Hut. So, such chains are still growing and not only communication, but overall offering needs to be analyzed.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
