Ad Campaigns
Stride with pride as FGII marches ahead for inclusion and impact
MUMBAI: There was colour, there was conviction, and there was community spirit all marching in rhythm at Bandra Fort on 1st June as Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited (FGII) kicked off Pride Month with a purpose-driven stride. Its landmark ‘Walk with Pride’ initiative wasn’t just a three-kilometre stroll under Mumbai’s monsoon-blushed skies, it was a call to walk the talk on equality.
Led by FGII’s managing director and CEO Anup Rau, the walk saw over 500 participants from LGBTQIA+ individuals and corporate allies to employees and public figures come together in a visible, vocal display of solidarity. For every step taken, FGII pledged support to The Humsafar Trust, bolstering healthcare services for the queer community.
The event wasn’t just symbolic; it was catalytic. “Inclusion is not just a corporate agenda, it’s a human imperative,” said FGII chief marketing for customer and impact officer Ruchika Varma. “Our walk is an expression of our daily commitment to diversity, not just a June moment.”
Adding stardust to the spirited march was actor and philanthropist Mandira Bedi. “India has come a long way post Article 377, but true change lies in access to jobs, to care, to dignity,” she said, lauding FGII for setting the bar on corporate allyship.
Human rights activist and performer Sushant Divgikar echoed the mood, “Today, we’re not walking alone. We’re being seen, celebrated, and supported.”
The vibe? “Refreshing and uplifting,” said veteran transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant. “It’s not just a walk, it’s an embrace.”
For FGII, which has long championed mental wellness, workplace equity, and DEI leadership, the ‘Walk with Pride’ adds real miles to its mission. Because when inclusion gets a route map and purpose gets a pulse, every step counts.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
