MAM
Coolers & creams noticeable among top FMCG summer product ads
BENGALURU: Summer is here is a fact that has become an uncomfortable one, and probably earlier than ever before as temperatures across the country soared since March. And this fact is made more obvious by the type of ads that are beamed across the telly.
In weeks 9, 10 and 11 of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC), Food & Beverages brand Coca Cola India Limited found a place among the weekly the top 10 advertisers list. After a short blip – an absence in weeks 12 and 13, the F&B advertiser reappeared in the weekly top 10 advertisers list in week 14 along with its biggest rival globally – Pepsi Co in week 14. The advertiser then made a solo appearance in the top 10 list of advertisers list in week 15, and then had faithful company of Pepsi Co in weeks 16 and 17.
And it is not only the F&B industry that has been advertising on television. Consumer durables brands are another category that have been raising decibels by more television advertising – a case in point – Symphony Air Coolers was present in the weekly top 10 most advertised brands list with 8,091 ad insertions in week 17 (Saturday, 22 April 2017 to Friday, 28 April 2017).
Of course the regular top 10 FMCG advertisers also have so many personal care heat beating FMCG and food and drinks products to offer. Murthy with a new story about Voltas air conditioners, apparel brands with summer wear, products for prickly heat – the volume of ads is only going to get bigger – well Summer is here!
Let us take a look at the top 10 television advertisers Across Genre: All India (U+R) : 2+ Individuals in week 17 of 2017.
The omnipresent Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) retained its top rank with a massive 1,50,321 insertions followed far behind by FMCG advertiser Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd with 38,616 Impressions at second place. HUL associated beverages brand Brook Bond Lipton India Limited with 27,251 insertions was at third place, followed by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd with 18,885 insertions at fourth place.
Coca Cola India Ltd with 18,368 Insertions was fifth followed by Lalitha Jewellery with 18,219 impressions at sixth place. Another HUL FMCG personal care products associate – Ponds India with 17,844 insertions was the seventh biggest advertiser followed by oral and personal care company Colgate Palmolive India Ltd with 17,251 Insertions.
F&B biggie Pepsi Co with 16,507 insertions was ninth followed by confectionary company Cadburys India Ltd with 16,109 insertions to complete the top 10 advertisers list for week 17.
Now onto BARC’s top 10 Brands *Across Genre: All India (U+R): 2+ Individuals list for week 17 of 2017.
Jewellery brand Lalitha Jewellery has been quite consistent in its presence as one of the top10 most advertised brands on television, especially during the past few weeks. The brand was the most advertised brand in week 17 with 18,219 insertions followed by FMCG personal care brand Roop Mantra Ayur Face Cream with 10,961 insertions.
HLL’s Fair & Lovely Advanced Multivitamin face cream was the third most advertised brand with 10,339 followed by F&B Domino’s – Dominos Everyday Value Offer with 9,729 impressions. New launches – phone brand Samsung Galaxy S8/S8 Plus with 9,272 ad insertions was at fifth rank followed by HUL’s toothpaste brand Close Up Ever Fresh with 8,706 insertions at sixth place.
The above mentioned consumer durables product Symphony Air Coolers with 8,091 insertions was at seventh rank followed by DTH service provider Videocon d2h with 6,933 insertions. OTT services brand Amazon Prime Video with 6,767 ad insertions was at ninth place with HUL’s home care (detergent) brand Surf Excel Easy Wash with 6,613 ad insertions.
Conspicuous by their absence in the top 10 advertisers and brands lists in week 17 were mobile and internet services providers.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
