MAM
Rohit Gupta elected as the new chairman of ASCI
MUMBAI: At the board meeting, following the 33rd Annual General Meeting of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held today, Mr. Rohit Gupta, President, Sony Pictures Networks was unanimously elected the Chairman of the Board of Governors of ASCI. Mr Rohit Gupta is an accomplished industry veteran having spent over 30 years in holding key leadership positions across consumer, media and entertainment industries.
Mr. Subhash Kamath, Managing Partner, BBH Communications India Pvt Ltd was elected the Vice-Chairman and Mr. Shashi Sinha, CEO, Media Brands Pvt Ltd, was re-appointed the Honorary Treasurer.
Members of the Board of Governors include; Mr. Girish Agarwal (Director, Dainik Bhaskar Group), Mr. Vikas Agnihotri (Director Sales, Google India Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Prasun Basu (President – South Asia, Nielsen (India) Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Harish Bhat (Director, Tata Global Beverages Ltd.), Mr. Madhusudan Gopalan (CEO, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd.), Mr. Sandeep Kohli (Executive Director & Vice President, Personal Care Hindustan Unilever Ltd), Prof S.K. Palekar (Adjunct Professor & Advisor, Executive Education Institute of Management Technology), Mr. N.S. Rajan (Managing Director, Ketchum Sampark Pvt Ltd), Ms. Abanti Sankaranarayanan (Former Vice Chairperson, CIABC), Mr. D Shivakumar (Group Executive President, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Umesh Shrikhande (CEO, Taproot India Comm. P. Ltd.), Mr. K.V. Sridhar (Founder & Chief Creative Officer (Director), Hyper Collective Creative Technologies Pvt Ltd), Mr. Sivakumar Sundaram (President Revenue, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd).
Recalling his year at ASCI, the outgoing Chairman Mr. D Shivakumar, said “ASCI is a voluntary job and a board led organisation. When I set out last year as the Chairman I had three objectives laid out. The first was to increase our membership base, the second to go digital and third to create awareness among consumers. Now thanks to the MIB directive our awareness has increased immensely, our WhatsApp number has seen a 3X increase in daily messages. We have increased our member base by 10%, our new members representing e-commerce, food & beverage, automotive sectors joining ASCI. ASCI’s digital marketing campaigns would further boost awareness as well as compliance. I wish Rohit and the board the best for the year ahead.”
The incoming Chairman, Mr. Rohit Gupta, said, “I am honoured to accept this role and look forward to the year ahead. With the inclusion of the internet into our everyday life and the constant evolution in the digital space, I feel that synchronizing ASCI’s efforts in the Digital space will be our key focus for the year. The Council has covered a lot of ground in addressing the need for self-regulation in the digital medium and work is progressing rapidly to address that need. Additionally, we will continue our efforts to strengthen relationships with stakeholders in the year ahead.”
The independent Consumer Complaints Council met 44 times during the year and deliberated on complaints pertaining to 2898 advertisements. Of these, 732 advertisements were promptly withdrawn as soon as the advertiser received communication from ASCI. Complaints were upheld against 1486 advertisements whilst complaints against 475 advertisements were not upheld. 205 advertisements were found to be, prima facie, in violation of The Drugs & Magic Remedies (DMR) Act or The Drugs & Cosmetics Rules (Schedule J) and were promptly escalated to the concerned regulator for immediate attention. In all, 937 advertisements were dealt with immediately through the Informal Resolution (IR) process and escalation to regulators, hence providing speedy redressal of complaints and making ASCI’s process more efficient.
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.
