Ad Campaigns
ACKO goes hyperlocal in Chennai with their ‘ACKO Pola Varuma’ campaign
Mumbai: After the massive success of its previous three hyperlocal auto insurance campaigns, ACKO, the tech-first insurer, launches its latest campaign in Chennai ‘ACKO Pola Varuma’ to bring in a local flavor to the audience.
Conceptualised by DDB Mudra South, the films are directed by the renowned Tamil director Gautham Vasudev Menon, and feature popular Tamil actors Yogi Babu and Paal Dabba as a father-son duo, who are well known names amongst the masses not only in Chennai but the whole of southern region.
With over 500,000 customers across Chennai, ACKO enjoys a commendable position in the market and the campaign further strengthens its positioning as a new age insurance solutions provider. The idea of the campaign is to highlight the benefits of buying a motor insurance policy directly from the insurer. With its humorous take and colloquial tone, the films directly address the classic Chennai skepticism of relying heavily on trusted family and friends before making crucial decisions. Cleverly using the Tamil phrase “Naal aalu kitte ketu pannanum” (meaning “need to consult four others”), ACKO’s films are a quirky hint to the audience to choose their insurance policy wisely and enjoy a hassle-free insurance journey.
Each of the three films discusses the benefits ACKO offers to the customers – affordability, hassle-free claim process, roadside assistance, and easy renewal – all within the context of the son’s ‘unconventional’ choice and the father’s initial skepticism.
Commenting on the campaign launch, ACKO CMO Ashish Mishra stated, “Chennai is an important, and one of the fastest growing markets for ACKO. We have received a lot of love and positive feedback from the people of Chennai for our insurance product and easy claim process. Customers were especially appreciative of our quick response and turnaround time during last year’s cyclone Michaung, and this was a true testament of our commitment to the people of Chennai. With this new campaign that’s as hilarious as it is informative, I’m sure that our message will resonate with the larger audience, and I am looking forward to news spreading about ACKO and its services far and wide in Chennai.”
DDB Mudra Group creative director Sooraj Pillai remarked, “ACKO, as a disruptive force in the motor insurance segment, required a campaign that is equally innovative and engaging. Yogi Babu and Pal dabba resonate with the audience through their relatable ‘neighbour next door’ persona and exceptional comedic timing. Collaborating with a director of Gautham Menon’s caliber was a true privilege, bringing a touch of magic behind the camera. I am confident the audience will enjoy the campaign as much as I did.”
Over the years, ACKO has disrupted the motor insurance segment, through delivering superior customer experience and offering best prices. In a market that has long been dominated by middlemen, ACKO has managed to bring the power of choice back to customers by simplifying the act of purchase through an app-driven interface, and best prices. Through eliminating the role of middlemen in motor insurance, ACKO has been successful in transferring the cost benefits to the end consumer.
In addition to the films, the campaign is being deployed across Chennai via multiple channels, including out-of-home renditions in high-traffic areas of the city and radio activations to reach consumers.
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.
