MAM
Kaun Banega Crorepati season 16 attracts top sponsors
Mumbai: Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) continues to captivate audiences across India with its unique blend of knowledge, entertainment, and life-changing opportunities. As season 16 unfolds, the show’s enduring popularity is evident in the impressive lineup of top-tier sponsors it has attracted.
With 12 sponsors onboarded there has been 100 per cent growth over the last year, Leading the way are ACKO and Aditya Birla Group as co-presenting sponsors, IDFC First Bank returns for the third consecutive year as the exclusive banking partner with Atomberg, Vimal and Sensodyne as co-powered sponsors, Veeba as the taste partner, Ultratech Cement and Kalyan Jewellers as partners. Raymond as the wardrobe partner, and Godrej Locks as the safety partner.
The show’s innovative features, such as the real-time interactive KBC Play Along on Sony LIV, continue to enhance viewer engagement. The KBC Play Along feature allows audiences from across the globe to participate in real-time continues to offer advertisers unique and valuable opportunities to reach a highly engaged audience.
KBC offers unique opportunities for deep and diverse in-show integrations. By embedding themselves within the show’s narrative, brands can forge meaningful connections with viewers and achieve measurable outcomes, making KBC a powerful platform for brand storytelling and engagement.
. ACKO: Partners with the KBC LIFELINES, leveraging contextual moments within the show to integrate the insurance category effectively.
. Aditya Birla Group: Sponsors the education of children equivalent to the number of questions asked, aligning with their corporate social responsibility.
. IDFC First Bank: Acts as the banking partner with a presence across winning moments throughout the show.
. Atomberg Fans: First-time sponsor that rewards winners with hampers, enhancing the viewer experience.
. Sensodyne: Takes ownership of the “Expert Question of the Day” moment, aligning its brand with expertise and trust.
. Raymond: Onboarded as the wardrobe partner, contributes to the show’s style and presentation.
. RBI: Integrates the message “Jankar Baniye Satark Rahiye” within the bonus questions, promoting awareness and caution.
. Godrej Locks: Rewards contestants at the crucial ₹25 lakh “padav” and integrates their brand message around safety at the right moments.
These points highlight how various brands are strategically integrating themselves within KBC, enhancing both their visibility and viewer engagement.
The current season of KBC has already set new benchmarks for viewership and engagement.
Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 16 is now streaming on Sony LIV, offering viewers and sponsors another season of extraordinary experiences.
Sony LIV head ad sales revenue Ranjana Mangla said, “Large-scale reality shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati spanning across 142 days of activity (100 episodes) have finally been acknowledged to deliver value at scale in the digital ecosystem creating a paradigm shift in the market. Kaun Banega Crorepati stands as one of India’s most iconic shows, providing an unparalleled platform for brands to connect with audiences. We are thrilled to welcome esteemed 12 sponsors, whose commitment to KBC on Sony LIV underscores the immense value of this collaboration. With growing advertiser interest, we are confident that KBC Season 16 will once again deliver exceptional benefits to both our viewers, sponsors and partners.”
ACKO EVP marketing Ashish Mishra said, “KBC occupies an iconic position in the Indian reality show landscape, making ACKO’s decision to continue with our partnership a natural fit. The show’s widespread popularity across ACKO’s core target audience enhances the value of this collaboration. Additionally, we recognized a unique synergy between KBC’s lifelines and our insurance offerings. Just as lifelines offer crucial support to contestants, ACKO provides protection solutions for life’s uncertainties, spanning life, health, car, travel insurances and more.”
Atomberg Technologies founding member & chief business officer Arindam Paul said, “As a home-grown Indian consumer durables brand started by two IIT-ians, being a co-sponsor of India’s leading entertainment show- Kaun Banega Crorepati, is a massive feat. Atomberg has always been a brand that’s stood at the intersection of innovation and customer delight; solving unseen, unstated consumer problems, such as introducing energy efficient BLDC fans to India and more. KBC is a show driven by curiosity – as is our brand, and so this seemed like an organic fit for us.”
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
