Ad Campaigns
82.5 Communications helps bring alive PhonePe SmartSpeaker
Mumbai: PhonePe has just redefined real-time voice payment alerts, with the launch of a first-of-its-kind celebrity voice feature on its SmartSpeakers in collaboration with Indian actor, Amitabh Bachchan. Instead of the automated payment confirmation message while shopping, shoppers and merchants will now hear the treasured voice of Bachchan. Part of PhonePe’s Golden Voice Project, this is an innovation that is set to delight every Indian.
Bringing this idea to life is 82.5 Communications, an advertising agency that is known for its ‘Ingenious Indian Ideas’. The 82.5 team recognized the transformative power of Bachchan’s voice and set out with one goal in mind – to ensure that the iconic intonation, baritone and style of Bachchan reaches every Indian through the SmartSpeaker. To do so, the team delved deep into the charming personality and various nuances of Bachchan. And then worked extensively with the man himself, collaborating with him to deliver the unique messages in his unmistakable style
Commenting on the 82.5 x PhonePe collaboration for the Golden Voice project, PhonePe brand marketing & director Ramesh Srinivasan said, “The intent was to change the way merchants get their payment alerts, reminders and other notifications. We are glad to have 82.5 Communications partner with us on this. They were able to lend their ingenious touch to the existing prompts and turn it into something magical, in a manner that every merchant and customer shall now feel and hear Mr. Bachchan’s presence in every part of the country.”
82.5 Communications COO Mayur Varma said, “PhonePe SmartSpeakers speaking in electronic voices were going to get a massive voice upgrade. Big B was bringing in his baritone, and we got the opportunity to set the tone of voice that was uniquely PhonePe. Henceforth, there will be a clear distinction between PhonePe SmartSpeakers and the ‘rest of them’.”
82.5 Communications – South executive VP & branch head Naveen Sharma said, “This is a cracker of a collaboration. What a lovely way to be present in every nook and corner of the country and interact with the consumer day in and day out, that too through the most celebrated voice in the country. We at 82.5 Communications are thrilled to have partnered with PhonePe in creating this.”
82.5 Communications – South executive creative directors Sangeetha Sampath and Ravikumar Cherussola elaborated on the process, “We wanted every merchant and customer to truly feel Mr. Bachchan’s unique intonation and baritone. Just like every Indian, we are huge Big B fans too. And that is what set the goal for us to bring alive the iconic style of Mr. Bachchan to every Indian through the PhonePe SmartSpeaker.”
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.
