MAM
Cadbury Celebrations launches its special campaign #MyFirstRakhi
MUMBAI: This Raksha Bandhan, Cadbury Celebrations-the much-loved chocolate brand has decided to celebrate the festival by making a meaningful difference to a child’s life through its special campaign – #MyFirstRakhi.
Many children with physical disability in the country miss celebrating this festival, among other crucial life experiences. To truly bring a meaningful difference to the lives of these children and help them celebrate this moment of joy in the most fulfilling way possible, Cadbury Celebrations has partnered with Social Hardware- an organisation working towards providing assistive devices and rehabilitation services to underserved communities- to develop a unique sensor-based prosthetic arm that will let these children feel the sense of touch, an integral part of growing up.
Building on the same sentiment is the campaign film that beautifully captures the story of a sister and her physically disabled older brother, Shubham who yearns to experience the feeling of a Rakhi tied around his wrist. The feeling is brought to life as the brother’s wish is fulfilled with a low-cost sensor enabled prosthetic hand advised by his doctor. The story sees a sweet ending as the older brother enthusiastically prepares to experience his first Rakhi, tied onto his wrist by his equally excited little sister. The brother, for the very first time in his life, is able to actually feel the sensation of the thread symbolising the bond they share, through his sensor-enabled prosthetic arm.
While these children often opt for prosthetic hands to help them build their lives, the journey for them is a long one, where as the child grows up, the prosthetic arms recommended change, based on various factors. They typically start with basic prosthetic arms which lack the sense of touch, a very important sensation in their formative years. The chocolate brand has pledged to provide these low-cost sensor-based hands to many children across the country by continuing to partner with Social Hardware in the coming year.
Mondelez India senior director – marketing, Anil Viswanathan said, “For years now Mondelez India has been an innate part of festivals and occasions like Raksha Bandhan, and has redefined the joy of gifting and shared moments with Cadbury Celebrations. Through #MyFirstRakhi, we wanted to make a meaningful difference to the lives of these kids who don’t get to experience festivals like we do. To celebrate Rakhi you need to feel the touch of its threads and hence we provided a solution to give them a sense of touch. With the focus on spreading happiness and banking on the proposition of ‘Kuch Achha Ho Jaaye, Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’, the campaign promises a new start for children who have missed experiencing the joy of celebrating this festival in its truest sense.”
Commenting on the campaign, Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak, said, “Raksha Bandhan is a very special festival celebrated across the country. With #MyFirstRakhi we are helping ensure that every brother who has so far missed experiencing the joy of celebrating this festival, can now feel the bonds of this beautiful relationship on his hand.”
The campaign will be led with a digital film and further amplified through social activations along with innovative OOH advertising.
MAM
Brands push beyond compliance as trust takes centre stage
ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026 spotlights shift from legal checks to credibility.
MUMBAI: In a world where a disclaimer can be legally sound yet socially suspect, brands are learning that compliance may tick boxes but trust wins markets. At the inaugural ASCI AdTrust Summit 2026, a panel on “Beyond Compliance: The New Currency of Trust” unpacked a growing industry reality: the gap between what the law permits and what consumers accept is widening and fast.
Moderated by Meenakshi Ramkumar of National Law School of India University, the discussion brought together leaders across law, marketing and academia to examine how brands must evolve in a digital ecosystem increasingly shaped by scrutiny, scepticism and speed.
Ramkumar set the tone by highlighting a critical shift, advertising today operates in the same digital space that fuels misinformation, scams and fake news, making credibility harder to establish. “The challenge is not just about what brands do, but the broader context of low institutional trust,” she noted, adding that when violations go unchecked, trust erodes not just in brands but in the regulatory system itself.
This vacuum, she said, has given rise to consumer activism from boycotts to social media backlash as a parallel accountability mechanism.
For Amit Bhasin, Chief Legal Officer at Marico, the distinction was clear, legal compliance is non negotiable, but insufficient. “Compliance is the minimum threshold. The real challenge is staying aligned with changing consumer expectations,” he said.
He pointed to how advertising narratives have evolved from traditional depictions of gender roles to more shared responsibilities reflecting a broader societal shift. “Earlier, it was fine to show one person doing the household work. Today, that may not land well. Consumers expect brands to reflect reality,” Bhasin observed.
He also highlighted internal debates where campaigns that may be legally permissible are still rejected for being culturally insensitive, noting that responsible advertising often requires asking uncomfortable questions before the public does.
If compliance is the baseline, reputation is the battlefield.
Bhasin noted that reputational risk has become a far greater concern than legal exposure, particularly in an era where campaigns can be dissected within hours online. “Earlier, a controversial ad might invite a newspaper editorial. Today, within hours, you’re at the centre of a storm,” he said.
Brands, he added, now evaluate campaigns through a dual lens legal viability and reputational vulnerability with the latter often proving more decisive.
From a healthcare perspective, Satish Sahoo of Cipla Health underscored the complexity of operating within fragmented yet stringent regulatory frameworks, spanning drugs, food, cosmetics and Ayush. “Anything under a drug licence is the most tightly regulated,” he said, adding that this necessitates proactive, not reactive, compliance.
He shared an example from the oral rehydration salts (ORS) category, where Cipla resisted the temptation to position products aggressively despite competitive pressure. “Our product is WHO compliant, and our communication reflects that. We chose not to blur the lines, even if others did,” he noted.
The long term payoff, he suggested, lies in credibility built over consistency, not quick wins.
Yet, as Harsha N of National Law School of India University pointed out, even perfect compliance does not guarantee trust. Drawing from historical and modern examples from exaggerated product claims in the 1800s to contemporary environmental and health advertising, he argued that legal frameworks often lag behind consumer expectations. “A brand can be fully compliant and still be perceived as misleading,” he said, citing instances where fine print disclosures fail to reach or convince the average consumer. He added that larger companies carry a disproportionate responsibility to set ethical benchmarks, even in areas where the law remains silent.
The conversation also turned to digital advertising, where the challenge extends beyond content to how ads are experienced. From algorithmic targeting to personalised messaging, brands now operate in an environment where regulation struggles to keep pace with technology.
Sahoo noted that social media has amplified awareness, with influencers and consumers increasingly scrutinising product claims and calling out inconsistencies. “Awareness has gone up dramatically. People are questioning what goes into products and what brands are saying,” he said.
The role of self regulatory bodies such as Advertising Standards Council of India also came under the spotlight.
Harsha acknowledged that while SROs play a crucial role, they are not immune to criticism, particularly around perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement gaps. “SROs have a higher threshold of responsibility not just to interpret the law, but to anticipate societal expectations,” he said.
He added that failures in self regulation often push the burden back onto government intervention, underscoring the need for stronger, more proactive oversight.
One of the more nuanced debates centred on whether building trust comes at a cost. While Sahoo acknowledged that quality and compliance can increase costs, he argued that companies must absorb them as part of their long term strategy.
Bhasin, however, framed the challenge differently not as cost, but as competitiveness in a market where not all players play by the same rules. “The real tension is when others cut corners and you choose not to,” he said.
The panel concluded with a call to embed trust into business metrics.
Sahoo suggested that organisations must go beyond revenue targets to include consumer equity and trust based KPIs, ensuring that ethical considerations are not sidelined in the pursuit of growth. “Trust sounds abstract, but it can translate into measurable consumer equity,” he said.
As the discussion wrapped up, one message stood out: the rules of advertising are being rewritten not just by regulators, but by consumers themselves. In an ecosystem where attention is fleeting and scepticism is high, brands that merely comply may survive, but those that build trust are the ones that endure.
