Brands
Ogilvy India teams with Zoya Akhtar for Ceat Tyres skid challenge campaign
Every little counts as precision grip steals the show in high-octane campaign
MUMBAI: Ogilvy India has rolled out a high-octane campaign for Ceat Tyres, built around the insight that on every road, even the smallest difference in performance can make all the difference. Conceptualised under the thought Every Little Counts, the campaign demonstrates how precision engineering can transform driving confidence.
Performance, as the campaign shows, isn’t just about big moments. It’s stopping half a metre earlier, manoeuvring half a second quicker, slipping slightly less, or gripping just outside the road. Ceat Tyres are designed with this philosophy at their core.
The campaign film takes an unexpected storytelling turn, featuring acclaimed filmmaker Zoya Akhtar attempting a perfect car skid for a movie scene. As she battles dry asphalt, rain-soaked roads, and loose gravel, the tyres refuse to betray her, delivering unwavering grip no matter how many retakes she demands. Instead of dramatizing loss of control, the film celebrates precision, safety, and reliability.
Directed by Shashanka Chaturvedi, aka Bob, from Good Morning Films, the shoot spans the cinematic landscapes of Baku, Azerbaijan, adding scale and drama to the performance-led narrative.
Speaking on the campaign, Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak said, “With Ceat Tyres, we wanted to go beyond conventional tyre ads. When a tyre is built for grip, even a filmmaker chasing the perfect skid won’t get one. This campaign celebrates engineering excellence in a story everyone can relate to and enjoy.”
Buzz built before the launch with teaser clips showing Zoya visibly frustrated on set, sparking online speculation and chatter on platforms like Pinkvilla and Reddit. The full reveal came when Zoya shared the campaign on Instagram, captioning it: “I wanted a perfect skid — but got perfect grip instead.” Audiences loved it, driving engagement and reinforcing Ceat’s message of performance and precision.
Through this campaign, Ceat Tyres and Ogilvy India underscore the brand’s commitment to engineering innovation while delivering storytelling that is entertaining, insightful, and memorable.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
