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Ad Club adds new categories for Creative Abbys 2016; calls for entries
MUMBAI: The Goa Fest Creative Abbys by the Advertising Club, which recognise the best in advertising and marketing, has added two new categories namely Special Abby (Gender Sensitive) and Young Abby.
Additionally, in the Print Craft, Computer Generated Imagery as a sub-category will be introduced, whereas in the Design vertical, new sub-categories of Typography Design and Best Integrated Design with two or more sub-categories will be introduced.
The Advertising Club has called for entries for the Creative Abbys 2016 and the last date for entries is 23 February, 2016. Campaigns released between 1 January, 2015 to 15 February, 2016 will be adjudged by a jury. The entry forms for the awards can be downloaded on the Ad Club website starting 9 February.
Awards Governing Council chairman Ramesh Narayan said, “This year’s Abby Awards will have three very significant improvements. Firstly to make the awards more in line with global practices, entries for almost all categories can be uploaded online. Secondly, to reinforce the idea that ‘what’s good, is good for the industry,’ there will be a special category for Gender Sensitive Advertising. Thirdly, to bring youth and the future onto centre-stage there will be a special Abby for entries received from copy and art teams under the age of 35 on the theme of how communication can help mitigate gender violence.”
“These are all issues, which came up in our interaction with the creative fraternity and the media, and I am pleased to say we are responding with alacrity to industry and societal needs. The young winners of this new category would not only get an Abby but also be sent for the Cannes Lions festival this June, all expenses paid. This would give them a great exposure to international professionals and work,” he added.
Goa Fest chairman Nakul Chopra said, “I welcome these new developments. They are a part of our ongoing effort to keep evolving and improving. The online uploading of entries will pose a technological and financial challenge but we have decided that it is important enough to implement immediately.”
Seconding Chopra’s point, Advertising Club president and Colors CEO Raj Nayak added, “To remain the gold standard of awards in India, we decided that technology, sensitive thinking and the future all needs to be addressed. I had said earlier that we could expect a lot this year, and it is beginning to show. The pre-eminent awards show in the country should show the way in every area.”
“I am very happy that what was publicly requested on an AAAI platform (an award for gender sensitive advertising) just last year, is becoming a reality. We need to be in sync with what is being sought for. The award for young creatives is the industry’s way of nurturing young talent,” added AAAI president Dr. Ambi Parameswaran.
The awards need to be uploaded online on the site on the site www.abbyawardsentries.com.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
