MAM
US Polo Assn announces Arjun Rampal as its India brand ambassador
Mumbai: US Polo Assn, the official brand of the United States Polo Association (USPA) retailed in India by Arvind Fashions Ltd has announced Bollywood star Arjun Rampal as the India brand ambassador for its new ‘Play Together’ campaign. This announcement comes ahead of the brand creating a new store identity for all the upcoming stores as a part of its expansion plans.
As part of the expansion plan, the brand will release the new ‘Play Together’ campaign featuring Rampal and will also unveil the new brand look across its 392 stores in India, said the brand in a statement. “The new stores will have an ‘all-white’ interior with the US Polo Assn brand colours. The signature red, blue & white stripes will welcome customers at the entrance,” it added.
“Being associated with an iconic brand like USPA is a great feeling and becoming the first Indian brand ambassador is truly an honour,” said Arjun Rampal. “The new campaign focuses on twinning which is a fun and fashion-forward concept that captures the pure, emotional bond fathers share with their children. As a father this is what drew me to the brand.”
The ‘Play Together’ campaign is conceptualised by WYP Creatives, produced by Karma Productions and shot by Bosco Christopher Bhandarkar and Rid Burman. The brand campaign will be out on all major print and digital platforms from 8 December, said the statement.
“Through our new campaign with Arjun, we are focussed on expanding the brand reach to the offline and online customer base,” stated US Polo Assn – Arvind Fashions Ltd CEO Amitabh Suri. “‘Play together’ captures the emotional & playful bond a father and child share by twinning their look. This thought is also reflected in the clothes and accessories we offer for both men and children.”
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
