MAM
At Comedy Central, it’s all about fun and laughter
MUMBAI: “We never take ourselves seriously.” What else can you expect from someone who is involved 24×7 with Comedy Central?
For the uninitiated, Comedy Central is the only all-comedy network in the US and is owned by Comedy Partners, which is a wholly-owned division of MTV Networks.
At the concluding day of the Promax&BDA conference in Mumbai, Comedy Central vice president on-air design Kendrick Reid (dressed in traditional Indian attire) captured audiences’ attention as he showcased various promo designs the channel had undertaken in the past, which were true to its brand proposition.
“Like our brand, street art has a distinct point of view, is creative, spontaneous and connects with the audience. This was the super glue for us. We used the elements of street art and gradually introduced it in our promos over a period of time,” Reid said.
The channel went in for an artistic and eclectic look, staying true to its philosophy that supported the brand. The new look evolved across the entire network, be it in live action, 2D, 3D or animation.
Comedy Central also personalised its channel IDs for various holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hanukkah (an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC). “It’s not just about design, there has to be a promo campaign that provides that glue that sticks,” Reid said.
“At Comedy Central, we believe in responding to what is going on in our society. One such thing was our reaction towards the innumerable reality shows that were hitting American television screens,” Reid said.
The channel rolled out promos of phony reality shows like – Handicap House, The Vault and While You Were Drunk – to show how ridiculous these reality shows could be. Interestingly, the channel received numerous inquiry calls from viewers to find out how to participate in these shows!
Comedy Central was launched in April 1991 and is seen in over 85 million US cable households in all the 50 states and US territories.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
