Brands
Vodafone’s Friendship Day video: Keep relationships real
MUMBAI: Millennials today across the world are obsessed with their smartphones and are getting more dependent on their devices and the internet by the day. This has led to a new phenomenon called phubbing which has become rampant in our everyday lives. Phubbing is the term used to describe the habit of snubbing someone in favour of a mobile phone. Knowing or unknowingly most people today choose to look into their phones even as they sit across the table from someone.
“Relationships have moved from being warm and personal to being online and distant. While one can argue that the internet brings the world together, it also is making people grow more apart. As a brand which is a partner to one’s relationships, we wanted to take a relevant stand against Phubbing and ask the youth to indulge in real conversations with each other”, shares Ogilvy India EVP Hirol Gandhi.
Research and data on India embracing feature phones and social media usage is erupting everywhere. A recent study by Kantar, IMRB and MMA on the feature phone usage in India indicated that people in India spend about three hours a day on the phone. “In our Friendship Day film, we chose to showcase the youth and their relationship with the internet and social media, and how they are today sub consciously choosing to ignore the connections that can be made offline while enhancing their connections online. It really is a representation of a lot of us,” shared Ogilvy India ECD Kiran Anthony.
From the launch of the #LookUp movement around Valentine’s Day, to building momentum on Father’s Day and now releasing the 3rd story on Friendship Day, the LookUp movement is gathering huge applause. “The LookUp campaign has struck a chord among millions of Indians – with over 50 Million Video Views, 80,000 conversations, almost 260,000 people engaged & industry best Video View Completion rates, the #LookUp movement in only growing from strength to strength, and continues to inspire the Youth & grow brand love for Vodafone,” concluded Vodafone India EVP – Marketing Siddharth Banerjee.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
