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Truemeds ropes in Paresh Rawal to promote affordable substitute medicines
Branded substitutes cut chronic medicine costs by up to 51 per cent.
MUMBAI: When it comes to medicines, many families quietly swallow the cost before they swallow the pill. Indian e pharmacy platform Truemeds has partnered with veteran actor and Padma Shri awardee Paresh Rawal for a new awareness campaign highlighting affordable substitute medicines for people managing chronic conditions. The campaign focuses on a growing concern for many households, the rising cost of long term medication. Through its platform, Truemeds offers branded substitute medicines that are positioned as scientifically matched alternatives to commonly prescribed drugs, often available at significantly lower prices.
Rawal, known for portraying grounded, everyday characters on screen, has been chosen as the face of the campaign for his long standing relatability with Indian audiences. According to the company, his persona reflects the platform’s aim to promote practical and informed healthcare decisions.
The campaign features two brand films built around familiar everyday situations.
The first film centres on a father who postpones his own medical treatment in order to prioritise his daughter’s needs, a scenario meant to reflect the quiet sacrifices families often make when healthcare costs become overwhelming. The narrative positions substitute medicines as what the brand calls “Samajhdar Medicines”, encouraging consumers to explore cost effective alternatives without compromising on quality.
The second film draws on a common behavioural insight: people frequently look for small savings in everyday purchases but assume that medicine prices are fixed. Truemeds challenges that perception, highlighting how branded substitute medicines sourced from the top 1 percent of pharmaceutical manufacturers in India can reduce monthly medicine bills by up to 51 percent.
Truemeds co founder and chief executive officer Akshat Nayyar said the platform was created to address the financial strain that recurring medical expenses place on households.
“For many families, medicine costs quietly become a monthly stress, often forcing people to delay or skip their own treatment. Through Truemeds, we want people to know that quality medicines can be available at the lowest prices, and that choosing smart substitute options can make long term care more manageable,” he said.
Rawal echoed the sentiment, noting that long term treatments often create a steady financial burden for families.
“If there are reliable options that cost less and do not compromise on quality, people deserve to know about them. That is what I liked about Truemeds. It helps families manage healthcare without constant financial worry,” he said.
Unlike platforms that primarily emphasise rapid delivery, Truemeds positions itself around cost effectiveness and informed decision making. Users can upload prescriptions or search medicines online, after which trained health advisors or doctors recommend scientifically matched substitute medicines and explain their suitability.
With a nationwide presence, the company says it aims to tackle one of India’s largest out of pocket healthcare expenses by helping households manage recurring medicine costs more sustainably. The partnership with Rawal is intended to strengthen that message and build trust around the idea that affordability and quality in healthcare do not have to be mutually exclusive.
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Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
