MAM
Sachin, Fardeen & Kareena together in new Pepsi ad
NEW DELHI: With the India v/s New Zealand Series a fortnight away and an exciting One-Day triangular with Australia on the cards, Pepsi today unveiled its new cricket and festive season TV campaign.
The first ad in the campaign breaks with a 35-seconder and is centered around the most popular cricketing icon of the country – Sachin Tendulkar with two top Bollywood heartthrobs – Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Conceptualised by Pepsi’s ad agency JWT, the ad has been directed by ad man Sunhill Sippy.
Pepsi Foods Pvt. Ltd. Executive Director (Marketing) Shashi Kalathil said, “Its wonderful to see Sachin and two of our hottest stars finding a perfectly chilled Pepsi completely irresistible, even if it is not their own. The new commercial seeks to combine imagery from the successful “What’s there” summer campaign with a more topical cricketing angle very much in the “Yeh Dil Maange More” brand construct.
Pepsi’s new ad campaign comes close on the heels of a highly successful “episodic” summer campaign, which featured Kareena Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan. The campaign was a runaway success and scored phenomenally.
An official release says that the new festive season campaign shot inside a lift has the three stars eyeing a chilled Pepsi on a waiter’s tray when luckily for someone the lights in the lift go off for a second. The suspense reaches its peak when the lights come on and a stunned waiter is left with an empty Pepsi bottle on his tray.
It remains to be seen which of the three get their hands on the Pepsi in the end.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
