MAM
Ambience D’Arcy now Ambience Publicis
MUMBAI: From today Ambience D’Arcy Advertising has changed its name to Ambience Publicis Advertising.
This name change formalises the earlier announcement made by Publicis Worldwide Asia Pacific chairman Guillaume Levy-Lambert. He had said that following the decision to dissolve the D’Arcy network globally, Ambience D’Arcy would become part of Publicis Worldwide – the flagship network of the Publicis Groupe SA.
According to an official release, Publicis Worldwide, which claims to be the fastest growing agency network in the world, now has two agencies in India – Ambience Publicis and Publicis India.
The two-agency strategy is bearing in mind the potential for growth in the Indian market and the emphasis that Publicis Worldwide would like to place on that potential.
While the two agencies share a common top management – they are separate and distinct agencies that will not hesitate to compete with one another, the release states. While they may share back room resources such as Finance and IT – they are completely separate in all front-end resources such as account management, account planning and creative – and hence there is no potential of conflict between the two agencies, the release adds.
The common chairman and vice chairman for both agencies are Ashok Kurien and Elsie Nanji respectively, and group president for both agencies is Nakul Chopra. Subhash Kamath is Ambience Publicis’ COO while Param Saikia is Publicis India’s.
Lambert adds, “In the course of the past nine months Ambience Publicis has already become a jewel in the crown for Publicis Worldwide – in fact we have already earmarked India as one of the global centers for excellence. Also Nanji is today the only representative from Asia on David Droga’s Global Creative Council for Publicis Worldwide.”
Lambert says that he is of the firm opinion that Asia is going to be the key market for growth in the coming years – and China and India will be pivotal within Asia. “The two-agency strategy will ideally position us to capitalize the growth we envisage for India. I expect Ambience Publicis will play a leading role in realising our potential in this market,” he said.
Kurien says, “For Ambience this spells the start of yet another chapter of growth and improvement. Over the past nine months, I have had occasion to personally interact with the top management of Publicis Worldwide. I am truly impressed with how driven Publicis Worldwide is to make their clients’ brands succeed and in the process grow.” He explains, “With the help of their global processes that we are adopting we hope to substantially improve the value we bring to our clients in India.”
Digital
India launches nationwide AI responsibility pledge drive
MeitY and Intel India aim for Guinness record ahead of AI Impact Summit
NATIONAL: India will roll out a nationwide digital campaign on 16–17 February to promote ethical, inclusive and responsible use of artificial intelligence, as the country builds momentum ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
The initiative, led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the IndiaAI Mission, in collaboration with Intel India, will attempt to set a Guinness World Records title for the “most pledges received for an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours”.
The digital pledge drive will go live at 8 am IST on 16 February, inviting citizens to commit to responsible AI practices through an interactive platform featuring scenario-based questions. Participants who complete the pledge will receive a digital honorary badge jointly issued by IndiaAI and Intel India, along with access to curated, government-led AI learning pathways.
The campaign has been designed for broad accessibility, requiring neither camera nor microphone permissions and imposing no eligibility criteria or assessment thresholds. Participation is open to students, educators, parents, government officials, public sector employees, industry professionals, startups and the wider public, with a particular focus on youth engagement.
Organisers said the initiative aims to deepen awareness around data privacy, accountability, misinformation and ethical deployment of AI technologies, reinforcing India’s push for a human-centric and trustworthy AI ecosystem.
The pledge campaign forms a central citizen-engagement pillar of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled from 16 to 20 February at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The summit will be inaugurated by Narendra Modi and will bring together global leaders, policymakers, industry experts, researchers, startups, academia and civil society to discuss AI-led development under the themes of people, planet and progress.
