MAM
Ad Asia overawes with cultural extravaganza
JAIPUR: “Shock and awe.”
To an ad man, that could well have represented the Ad Asia 2003 organising committee’s thematic motif on Monday night, at the gala dinner held at the stunningly grandiose City Palace, abode of the Maharaja of Jaipur.
And the underlying message to Singapore city, the hosts of AdAsia 2005 – “Try and beat this.”
It was a hark back to the bygone feudal era of the Maharajas that was recreated for the assembled guests last night at the City Palace, right from the red carpet welcome gate which had two liveried elephants on either side with rose petals being showered on the guests as they walked in. The ramparts of the palace were lit up not by your usual light bulbs but by the traditional wooden fires burning (or at least this writer thinks it was wood being burnt as these fires were burning all round the palace walls).
Crowned beauties at Tuesday’s do
An old British couple who had come for the ceremonies were simply awestruck by the opulence of the whole thing and the Japanese delegates (at least they looked Japanese) were true to type, clicking away and with camcorders in action.
As for the turnout, anyone who was anyone from the field of advertising and media was in attendance. And barring Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, who was in Hong Kong at the briefing, announcing Michelle Guthrie as the new CEO of Star Asia (see Star appoints Michelle Guthrie as CEO), there was a good sprinkling of TV head honchos to be seen.
Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta and his whole A-list team, MTV India bossman Alex Kuruvilla and NDTV Media CEO Raj Nayak were among those that this writer chanced to meet.
As for the night’s entertainment at was jazz maestro Siva Mani and evergreen crooner Usha Uthup who were on stage. With the light moments provided by MTV VJs Cyrus Broacha and Sophia and Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra giving some spiel.
Talking of Chopra, she was taken around the inner palace courtyard in a liveried carriage decked in her Miss World regalia (crown and gown and what not).
That was a downside to the night’s proceedings. The upside was the chance this writer had to be driven in a 1944 Packard, which the chauffeur said was world’s first air conditioned automobile. Now that’s called regal carriage.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
