MAM
Anil Kapoor to be recognised with the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2013
MUMBAI: The Advertising Agencies Association of India has announced that Draftfcb+Ulka chairman emeritus Anil Kapoor will be the recipient of AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2013. This Award is the highest honour given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the Advertising industry.
AAAI president Arvind Sharma said, “Anil is a highly respected professional and an acknowledged leader in the industry. With over 25 years of experience in the advertising industry, Anil has set the standard for strong business and managerial skills.”
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Anil has been one of the first Indian marketing and advertising professional to be given a leadership role beyond the borders of India and appointed to the global management council of a multinational agency
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Anil has been one of the first Indian marketing and advertising professional to be given a leadership role beyond the borders of India and appointed to the global management council of a multinational agency. His contribution to the Indian Advertising industry has been outstanding and his involvement in various industry bodies like AAAI, ABC, NRS, etc., has been admirable.
Anil was responsible for establishing NRS, as an independent readership survey in India by actively counseling, driving and working with other industry bodies.
More recently, Anil has been involved in the field of education and he was invited by the Stern School of Business, NY University, to be a Resident Professor.
“Anil is known for his fair play and when it comes to competing he always upheld the highest standards of professional integrity. By selecting Anil for this honour, AAAI salutes his contribution to the Indian advertising industry”, added Arvind Sharma.
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AAAI salutes his contribution to the Indian advertising industry said Arvind Sharma
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The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual’s achievement in the following areas: Leadership of the industry as an individual, contribution towards advancement and professionalism in the industry and exemplary personal integrity, values and ethics consistent with the standards expected.
The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Anil Kapoor at a glittering ceremony on 27 September at Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai, in the presence of the veterans of the advertising, marketing and the media world.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
