Brands
The ABBY’s joins hands with prestigious global award program, The One Show
Mumbai: South Asia’s pre-eminent awards for Creativity, Media and Communication, ABBY’s has joined hands with The One Show, the globally prestigious award program in advertising, design and digital marketing worldwide, thereby sharing the stage with other global and regional award platforms.
The association seeks to create a new gold standard in recognising and awarding the region’s best creativity by bringing global standards of judging, jury selection and transparency to the established Indian Awards brand.
The One Club for Creativity CEO Kevin Swanepoel said, the One Show is committed to raising the bar on creative judging standards all over the world. “With India already a rising new global creative powerhouse, the Abby Awards will further add shine to a very respected domestic creative program,” he said.
The One Show’s Gold Pencil, which is regarded as one of the top prizes in the international creative industry for over 40 years, has a rich legacy of honouring some of the most ground-breaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity across the globe.
This year’s Abby’s will be a part of the Goafest in partnership with the AAAI and will mark the thirteenth Abby Award after a break of the last two years due to the pandemic.
Elaborating on the association, The Ad Club president Partha Sinha said, “Abby’s has been India’s mainstay for 56 years when it comes to recognising creativity & innovation across the communication industry. We wanted to add more heft and give Abby’s a place on the global stage it so well deserves. The association with ‘The One Show’ will enhance our judging standards to match global best practices, help in the selection of juries and raise levels of transparency in the entire awarding process”.
The Abby Awards will represent the South Asia region that includes India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan and has been doing so since 2004. In keeping with contemporary trends, the Abby’s will include categories such as Direct, Design, Digital, Mobile, Technology, Still Craft, Digital Craft, Radio Craft, Video Craft, Brand Activation & Promotion, Branded Content & Entertainment, PR, Broadcaster and Publisher.
The Awards Governing Committee for ABBY’s Awards includes eminent industry names such as Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua, (AGC Chairman), Goafest Organising Committee chairman & Another Idea founder Jaideep Gandhi, Times of India president Partha Sinha, IPG Mediabrands CEO-India Shashi Sinha, Publicis Groupe CEO South Asia Anupriya Acharya, Madison Communications chairman and managing director Sam Balsara, GroupM Media (India) CEO-South Asia Prasanth Kumar and FCB Group India Group Chairman & CEO Rohit Ohri, among others.
The list of international judges will be announced by One Show after the process of selection of both Indian and international jury will get initiated.
Brands
Zomato film highlights bias faced by women delivery partners
International Women’s Day campaign shines light on everyday stereotypes
MUMBAI: A food delivery may arrive in minutes, but the journey behind it can still carry a few outdated assumptions. This International Women’s Day, Zomato has released a new brand film that shines a light on the subtle but familiar biases faced by women delivery partners during their daily shifts. The campaign nudges viewers to rethink a simple idea that still surprises many people: a delivery partner’s ability has nothing to do with gender.
Instead of focusing on training for delivery partners, the film flips the perspective and gently turns the mirror towards society. Through a series of everyday moments, from collecting orders at restaurants to arriving at a customer’s doorstep, women delivery partners encounter reactions that many recognise all too well. Curious glances, surprised expressions and questions that hint at disbelief follow them along the route.
In a playful cinematic twist, the delivery partners break the fourth wall to address these reactions directly, offering light-hearted responses that quietly challenge the stereotypes.
The campaign also reflects a broader shift in India’s gig economy. As of February 2026, Zomato has more than 3,500 monthly active women delivery partners who collectively deliver over five lakh orders every month.
Eternal chief sustainability officer anjalli ravi kumar said building an inclusive platform economy requires both opportunity and acceptance. She said that as more women step into roles across urban last-mile logistics, the ecosystem around them must evolve to ensure they can work with confidence and dignity.
She added that enabling women to participate safely and comfortably in such roles is essential if India is to move closer to the goal of 70 per cent female workforce participation by 2047 under the broader vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Alongside the campaign, Zomato has been strengthening safety measures for women delivery partners. The company offers a 24 by 7 SOS emergency support system available in more than 800 cities, connecting partners to ambulance services, police and an internal response team when needed.
Women delivery partners also have the option to avoid certain delivery locations between 7 pm and 5 am if they feel unsafe. In addition, city-specific WhatsApp support groups in the top seven cities help women partners communicate easily, raise concerns and seek peer support.
For deliveries to hotels, lodges or guest houses, women partners can complete the order at the reception instead of going up to individual rooms. The delivery partner app also allows them to flag difficult or unsafe areas as black zones. More than 300 such zones have already been identified and temporarily marked unserviceable.
Through the film and these initiatives, Zomato hopes to spark a broader conversation about inclusion in the gig economy, one delivery at a time.
