MAM
Audible and Marvel Entertainment premiere Wastelanders
Mumbai: Audible, a leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, and Marvel Entertainment has premiered the opening season of multi-language productions of Marvel’s Wastelanders, which will be available on Audible channels throughout 2023 and 2024.
Based on the popular English language series, the six-season epic audio adventure has been reimagined in five different languages including Hindi, Italian, Japanese, German and French, to provide an immersive and truly localised experience to fans in each location.
“We are delighted to bring our customers these dramatic tales from the Marvel Universe in multiple local languages, starring local talent,” said Audible’s chief brand and international officer Susan Jurevics. “This exciting collaboration between Audible and Marvel Entertainment combines the strength of global storytelling and best-in-class production qualities whilst uniquely tailoring each season to local audiences.”
Sharing his excitement at the launch of his first audio project, actor Saif Ali Khan said, “Star-Lord is a fan-favourite character in the Marvel universe. To bring this character and his inspiring story to life through my voice has been a novel and exciting experience. Marvel’s Wastelanders on Audible has allowed us to reimagine Star-Lord’s journey in a unique way, where each listener has the freedom to paint their own vivid picture of this extraordinary tale. I look forward to hearing what the audiences have to say because I have thoroughly enjoyed myself playing a SuperHero.”
The highly-anticipated Marvel’s Wastelanders: Star-Lord, launched yesterday at 10 AM IST and features a star-studded line up of revered Indian talent including Saif Ali Khan as Peter Quill, Vrajesh Hirjee as Rocket, Sushant Divgikr as Cora, Anangsha Biswas as The Collector, Maninee De as Emma Frost and Harjeet Walia as Kraven the Hunter in the first instalment of the series.
The ten-episode scripted localised podcast will be available at no additional cost to all Audible.in members, with all episodes available on release day.
Following today’s launch of Marvel’s Wastelanders: Star-Lord, Hawkeye the second season in the series will launch in September 2023. Black Widow, Wolverine, Doom and Marvel’s Wastelanders will follow throughout the course of 2023 and 2024, each in French, German, Hindi, Italian, and Japanese editions.
Brands
Google says Gemini AI cuts irrelevant ads by 40 percent
AI driven search and ad tools boost relevance and results for brands.
MUMBAI: In the never ending hunt for the right ad at the right moment, artificial intelligence may finally be sharpening the aim. Google says the integration of its multimodal AI models, Gemini, has reduced irrelevant advertisements across its platforms by 40 percent, as improved query understanding allows ads to match user intent more closely.
Speaking at a roundtable on Thursday, Google vice president of Global Ads Dan Taylor said the company has been steadily deploying Gemini powered upgrades to interpret complex search queries more accurately. “We have been making Gemini based improvements to query understanding at a rate of almost one launch per month over the last two years. As the models improve and our ability to deploy them improves, ad quality continues to get better,” Taylor said.
The improvements come as Google leans deeper into AI driven advertising tools. According to the company, 2025 saw a threefold increase in Gemini generated creative assets produced by advertisers using its AI powered ad solutions.
The company also highlighted how these tools are influencing marketing performance for brands in India.
Insurance marketplace Policybazaar recorded a 28 percent rise in health insurance sales while reducing cost per sale by 23 percent after adopting AI Max, a tool that interprets natural language search queries to improve ad targeting.
Meanwhile, hospitality platform OYO reported 50 percent higher return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 25 percent reduction in cost per acquisition after combining its existing search campaigns with Google’s Performance Max (PMax) advertising campaigns.
Taylor noted that evolving consumer behaviour is also reshaping how brands approach digital advertising. According to Google’s data, 86 percent of shoppers in India using Google Search said they were open to trying new brands or products, suggesting that AI driven discovery tools could increasingly influence purchase decisions.
Beyond advertising, Google is also investing in what it calls agentic commerce, an emerging model where AI agents autonomously assist users in discovering, comparing and purchasing products online.
“Our goal with agentic commerce is twofold, first, to remove the grunt work of shopping so consumers can focus on the fun parts; and second, to work hand in hand with the industry to build the foundations needed to make agentic commerce seamless and secure across the web,” Taylor said.
The push into AI enhanced advertising and commerce comes as Google’s core ads business continues to grow. The company recently reported $82.28 billion in advertising revenue, marking a 13.5 percent year on year increase.
For advertisers navigating an increasingly crowded digital landscape, Google is betting that smarter algorithms and sharper intent signals will make ads feel less like interruptions and more like timely suggestions.
