iWorld
The quirky ‘#IdeaChor’ campaign turns into a digital success for MX Player
MUMBAI: Within 7 months of launch and with 17 Originals, MX Player is India’s leading streaming platform that caters to 75 Mn Daily Active Users. However, the brand has been the talk of town for the past few days – ever since the strange #IdeaChor started trending on social media. While both the netizens and the digital gurus are intrigued by #IdeaChor, many have also reacted asking why MX Player is openly “stealing ideas”.
But what MX Player has stolen is the attention of the viewer with this quirky gimmick of #IdeaChor for their MX Original Series – Kiska Hoga Thinkistan Season 2. This edition of the show witnessed high octane office politics and professional rivalry that turns personal with the new boss stealing ideas and then taking credit for them.
With #IdeaChor, MX Player has shown its appreciation for brands that have set a high benchmark on digital as it aped several posts and ideas of theirs. This was an intentional attempt to give the audiences a taste of what it feels like when your ideas are stolen or taken credit for (as seen in the show). While many users are lauding the creativity of the posts despite the outright plagiarism, this digital campaign started many conversations that route back to the show. Popular influencers like Gabbar Singh, Sagarcasm, Akshar Pathak, Trendulkar, Bollywood Gandu and Atul Khatri amongst others were also roped in to engage fanbases across categories.
Commenting on the campaign, Abhishek Joshi, Head of Marketing and Business Partnerships, MX Player said, “Sometimes, stealing ideas turns out for the good but jokes apart, we wanted to grab the attention of the digital viewer. The campaign was conceptualized in a way to bring alive the narrative of ‘Kiska Hoga Thinkistan Season 2’. This engagement was risky, it was quirky, and it presented us with an opportunity to create conversations for a web series like never before. Be it brands, advertisers, viewers or the marketing fraternity at large – everyone has taken notice of this campaign and I am glad we caused a stir with this one.”
A pioneering effort across categories in the OTT space, MX Player’s ‘#IdeaChor’ campaign not only received immense traction but was also deemed ‘risky yet immensely successful’.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
