MAM
OpenAI tunes in Vasundhara Mudgil for India role
MUMBAI: From playlists to prompt lists, Vasundhara Mudgil is tuning into a whole new frequency. The former head of communications at Spotify India has joined OpenAI as India communications lead, marking a major career shift from music streaming to machine learning.
Based in Mumbai, Mudgil will now lead OpenAI’s communications strategy in one of the company’s fastest-growing markets. Her role will focus on shaping the brand’s local voice, driving engagement, and aligning India’s narrative with OpenAI’s global mission.
At Spotify, Mudgil was instrumental in crafting the brand’s story during its India launch and steering its communications for over seven years. She built a distinct local identity for the platform while ensuring its messaging struck the right chord with both listeners and media.
Before her streaming stint, she headed communications at Intel India, where she drove brand messaging, managed external engagement, and navigated crisis communications. Her early career at Genesis Burson-Marsteller saw her managing high-profile clients across tech, telecom and media, steadily rising to associate partner.
With nearly two decades of experience in reputation management and strategic storytelling, Mudgil brings both tech fluency and creative finesse to OpenAI’s expanding India team. Looks like OpenAI’s next big story in India is ready to be well-communicated, and perfectly composed.
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
