iWorld
Sourav Ganguly brings humour and nostalgia to Netflix’s Khakee promo
MUMBAI: Netflix India has pulled off a marketing coup by featuring former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly in an unexpected and humorous role for its latest original series, Khakee: The Bengal Chapter. The promotional campaign, crafted in collaboration with Trailer Park Group, Netflix’s creative agency for the series, blends nostalgia and entertainment to captivate audiences across India.
Trailer Park Group has ingeniously woven Ganguly’s charismatic persona and cricketing legacy into the promo, delivering a light-hearted yet engaging narrative. The film opens with Ganguly interrupting a scene on the set of Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, eager to take on the role of a tough police officer. Initially struggling to embody the fierce aggression required, he finds his rhythm by channelling memories of his fiery cricketing moments, particularly his rivalry with Greg Chappell. The scene unfolds with comedic brilliance, as Ganguly jokingly suggests using his signature cricket strokes the cover drive, cut, and pull with a police baton to take down criminals, all while reaffirming his famed preference for the off-side.
“Integrating Dada’s dynamic presence into the campaign brought authenticity and excitement to the storytelling. This collaboration allowed us to blend nostalgia with humour, creating a moment that truly resonates with audiences.” White Turtle Studios executive director and co-founder Ankit Bhatia.
“Working with Netflix India on the creative strategy for this series has been a thrilling experience. At Trailer Park Group, we strive to push creative boundaries and build deep audience connections through powerful storytelling.” Trailer Park Group Asia-Pacific (APAC) managing director Tamagna Ghosh.
Renowned for delivering iconic campaigns across OTT, cinema, gaming, music, and sports, Trailer Park Group has previously worked with major platforms such as Prime Video, Warner Bros., Universal, and Peacock.
Directed by Neeraj Pandey, Khakee: The Bengal Chapter promises an intense and gripping narrative. The series features an impressive ensemble cast, including Jeet Madnani, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Ritwik Bhowmik, and Chitrangda Singh. A sequel to Khakee: The Bihar Chapter (2022), the crime thriller is set to premiere on 20 March 2025 on Netflix.
iWorld
Meta introduces new AI tools to boost discovery-to-purchase journey
From shoppable Reels to generative video, platforms get smarter at turning attention into sales.
MUMBAI: Meta is turning “scroll and stop” into “scroll, stop, and shop” and it’s using AI to make the whole journey feel almost effortless. The company has announced several new tools and enhancements designed to help brands guide people from discovery to purchase more effectively, while delivering more relevant and personalised experiences across its platforms.
Creators can now add product links more broadly on Instagram Reels, turning their content into shoppable moments. Businesses in 22 countries, including India, will soon be able to share their product catalogues with creators, opening up a new sales channel for brands and fresh monetisation opportunities for creators.
The Creator Marketplace has also been upgraded with enhanced target audience filtering, integrated with Ads Manager. This helps businesses quickly find creators who are a strong match for their goals. Campaigns using Partnership Ads deliver, on average, 19 per cent lower CPAs, 13 per cent higher click-through rates, and 71 per cent higher median brand lift.
Meta is expanding Reels Trending Ads inventory with new content categories including TV & Movies, Travel, Business, Finance & Investments. According to Meta’s analysis of 59 studies, Reels Trending Ads delivered an incremental 6.6 percentage point Ad Recall lift compared to control groups.
AI-Powered Shopping Enhancements
- Product Set Optimisation is now in testing, allowing retail media networks to promote specific products with detailed reporting. Early results show 17 per cent lower median seller cost per purchase.
- Product Showcase is being expanded so marketers can upload one image or video and let Meta’s AI automatically add relevant products as a carousel when it improves performance.
Meta is expanding its generative AI capabilities with:
- UGC-style videos featuring avatars and voiceovers
- Easier voiceover translation and text overlay translation in a single streamlined flow
- New tools to automatically turn product catalogues into dynamic video ads for Reels
Early testing of the Advantage+ creative video generation tool showed a 10 per cent increase in CTR and 8 per cent increase in CVR on average. Campaigns using catalog product video saw 20 per cent more conversions per dollar, while Reels placements with catalog product video delivered 33 per cent higher incremental conversions.
Industry voices welcomed the updates. Vikas Chawla of Social Beat called Partnership Ads a “flywheel” for authentic content that converts. Niti Kumar of Spark Foundry and Sadhvi Dhawan of Blink Digital highlighted the power of Reels Trending Ads for cultural relevance and guaranteed share of voice. Ramasish Bhowmik of Adbuffs noted that Meta’s GenAI tools are giving teams a clear competitive edge.
In a world where attention is fleeting but shopping intent can spark in seconds, Meta is betting that smarter AI will help brands turn discovery into decisions faster than ever. The message is clear: the future of advertising isn’t just about reaching people, it’s about reaching them at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right product.
