MAM
Dentsu India strengthens creative team with new appointments
MUMBAI: Dentsu India, the brand solutions agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Siddharth S as group creative director and Rigved Sarkar as associate creative director at their Bangalore and Mumbai offices, respectively.
Siddharth’s last stint was with Leo Burnett Orchard, Bangalore, where he was senior creative director on brands like Amazon and Ola. He will report to Krishna Mani who recently joined Dentsu India as ECD – South.
Before joining Dentsu India, Sarkar was creative controller at 82.5 Communications, Mumbai, where he worked on Tata Motors, RuPay, etc.
Speaking about their roles, Dentsu India chief creative officer Malvika Mehra said, “We are nothing without our people. I’m happy that we have new talent like Siddharth and Rigved on board, who believe in the vision we have for the creative product at Dentsu India. Both are talented writers, with a pulse on the requirements of the new brand world we are experiencing today. I am really looking forward to us working together and creating some famous work for our clients across both geographies. ”
On his appointment, Siddharth said, “In the business of creativity, one can't afford to get comfortable. The world outside is an ever evolving one. The mechanics of advertising are changing every day. I was seeking an exciting new challenge that would help me recalibrate my skill sets to the demands of start- ups and established brands. As they say, what you seek is seeking you. My meeting with Malvika was just that.”
He added, "Malvika has a vision for Dentsu India. All we need to do is align with that vision. I feel Dentsu India has an exciting mix of talent and clients to become a force to reckon with. 2019 has been a year of unprecedented momentum at Dentsu India and there's a collective feeling here that this momentum will propel us into an even bigger league.”
Talking about the new role, Sarkar said, “When Malvika told me of the vision that she had for Dentsu India, I was hooked immediately. We are entering an era that requires a whole new level of creative thinking, with brands old and new constantly looking for innovative and inspiring ways to reach out and engage with people. Dentsu India is doing just that and I’m excited to be a part of it. There are some amazing people here doing amazing stuff and I cannot wait to create more magic with them.”
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
