MAM
Abbys adds Branded Content & Entertainment category
MUMBAI: The Branded Content & Entertainment Abby has been added as a category in this year‘s edition of The Abbys, the advertising awards that take place during the Ad Club‘s annual festival Goafest.
Branded content and entertainment has been defined as the creation of, or natural integration into, original content by a brand. The purpose is to deliver marketing messages by engaging consumers via relevant content platforms rather than the use of traditional advertising methods. It has the following six sub categories –
- Best fictional program, series or film where a client has successfully created a drama, comedy or miniseries around a product or brand
- Including TV, mini-series, web series, cinema, DVD releases and online/digital
- Best non-fiction program, series or film where a client has successfully created a reality, documentary or entertainment show around a product(s) or brand(s)
- Including TV, mini-series, web series, cinema, DVD releases and online/digital
- Best brand or product integration into a feature film, existing TV show and/or series
- Including TV, mini-series, web series, cinema, DVD releases and online/digital
- Best use or integration of experiential events
” Creative positioning of a brand using events, festivals, flash mobs, installations etc. - Best use or integration of music
- Including music in original branded content, brand integration into music distribution or promotion, the creation of a music-based program or platform
- Best integrated entertainment content campaign which uses more than 2 media.
The last date for the entries is 28 February. This year, the Abbys will be held on 5 and 6 April in Goa.
MAM
Happy Pawdcast launches merchandise with The Souled Store
Season 2 success leads to co-branded line celebrating pet-parent bond.
MUMBAI: The Happy Pawdcast just gave fans something to wag their tails about because when your favourite pet show gets merch, even the couch starts feeling like a runway. Building on the momentum of Season 2 which reached over 14 million pet lovers, clocked more than 20,000 hours of content consumption and engaged over 23,000 users, The Happy Pawdcast has teamed up with The Souled Store for an exclusive co-branded merchandise collection. The line translates the podcast’s emotional core into wearable designs that celebrate the everyday bond between pets and their parents.
Hosted by Sonali Bendre and Icy Behl, Season 2 featured candid conversations with celebrity pet parents including Remo D’Souza, Diana Penty, Kubbra Sait, Rohan Joshi, Karan Wahi, Tusshar Kapoor and Amala Akkineni. The episodes tackled responsible adoption, stray welfare, pet emotional well-being and debunked common care myths, earning strong resonance across digital platforms.
Sonali Bendre said, “Season 2 reaffirmed how deeply people connect with stories around pets, responsibility, and companionship. This collaboration with The Souled Store is a natural extension of that bond, taking the conversations beyond the screen and turning shared emotions into something tangible for pet parents.”
Rose Audio Visuals head of marketing & branded content Megha H Desai added, “With Season 2, The Happy Pawdcast evolved from a content property into a strong, community-led IP. The collaboration with The Souled Store reflects our approach to building meaningful extensions around our shows where audience insight, brand alignment, and scale come together.”
The Souled Store co-founder Vedang Patel noted, “Pet parenting today is as much about identity and expression as it is about care and responsibility. This collaboration allowed us to tap into a deeply engaged, emotionally invested community and co-create designs that feel authentic and accessible.”
Produced by Rosepod (the podcasting division of Rose Audio Visuals), the merchandise marks the podcast’s shift from audio-video content into a broader lifestyle IP, while aligning with The Souled Store’s focus on pop-culture-led, community-first products and its animal welfare initiatives through World For All.
In a pet-parent world where love often comes with a leash and a hoodie, The Happy Pawdcast isn’t just telling stories anymore, it’s letting fans wear them, proving the bond between humans and their fur-babies deserves more than likes, it deserves to be flaunted.
