MAM
Ajay Kakar takes over as country head of Ogilvy PR
NEW DELHI: Ajay Kakar has been appointed as the country head of Ogilvy Public Relations. Kakar, who will also continue to be the executive director and head of finance practice, O&M India, was previously involved with one of the core practices of Ogilvy PR.
He succeeds Mahnaz Curmally, who retired after being involved with Ogilvy PR for a decade. “I have just taken over as the country head of Ogilvy PR, though I was partnering the consultancy for the last few months. I was previously involved with one of five core practices of Ogilvy PR, in corporate and finance. Now I would be responsible for the entire operations, which would be an additional responsibility,” said Kakar.
Ogilvy PR Worldwide chief executive Asia Pacific, Mathew Anderson said, “Ajay brings rare experience; he is a valued counselor to top executives, he understands PR within a broad framework of communications and he is a caring leader of people. His decision to take on the leadership of PR reflects how PR will develop as a specialist function.”
“In addition to our offices in India, we have an office in Colombo. Ajay’s main focus will be on India,” answered Anderson, in reply to operations in southern part of Asia.
On the Indian operations, he added, “In terms of potential, India will benefit enormously from more systematic linkages to our centres of excellence around the region and world. Combining unique aspects of India, with the latest thinking in such areas as brand protection, senior executive coaching, CSR and public affairs will make India one of the
world’s most interesting markets for PR.”
Anderson feels that there is also a substantial market for working with headquarters of multinationals outside India and helping them with the lifecycle of communications needs as their commitments to India grows.
“On the domestic side, one factor we have been paying attention to is the fact that the cost of capital for Indian companies has dropped significantly. This will propel more investment in production and in expansion outside of India. Both of these factors will create demand for higher end corporate positioning,” concluded Anderson.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
