MAM
AVON continues it’s crusade to prevent and fight Breast Cancer with the launch of Take A #BreastBreak’ campaign
MUMBAI: Women’s beauty brand AVON continues its crusade to prevent and fight Breast Cancer with the launch of Take A #BreastBreak’ campaign for Indian women as well as their families. A global initiative by AVON, Take A #BreastBreak is to help support early detection of breast cancer around the world. To spread its campaign across a larger number of people in India, AVON has collaborated with the India Runway Week to host an exclusive fashion show with designer Anupama Dayal with the ‘Pink’ theme — which has today come to represent breast cancer awareness.
There were 2 million new cases of breast cancer reported globally last year1 and the Indian Council for Medical Research reports 1.5 lakh new breast cancer cases in India, of which 70,000 succumb every year2. According to a AVON survey conducted in 2017, women often spend little time on their own preventative health, and traditional gender norms expect women to care and prioritize the needs of family members often at the expense of their own health. Hence, AVON has launched the campaign and has activated its 5 million rep, equipping them with information and advice to ensure they are encouraging women around the world to take a ‘Breast Break’. This includes opening dialogue about regular self-checks, being aware of any changes in breast appearance, or making time to speak with a medical professional.
According to the World Health Organisation early detection is the most important component of breast cancer control3. Most doctors also believe mammography to be the best way for detecting breast cancer at its nascent stage but is not widely adopted in India4. With this campaign, AVON India aims to raise awareness about the prevalence of breast cancer among Indian women urging them to self- examine, detect the problem and come forward well in time.
“AVON is at the forefront in the fight against breast cancer for 27 years now, with AVON India being globally recognised for its dedication towards making breast cancer awareness central to our mission. An early awareness and detection of the disease is half the battle won and our continued approach this year is to initiate a nation-wide drive to educate people on self-examination and break some myths about breast cancer,” said Dronacharya Chakraborty, Managing Director, AVON India.
At the India Runway Week, all attendees at the fashion week will be given a pink lipstick and asked to change their lip colour to show their support to the campaign. AVON will also conduct a panel discussion with breast-cancer survivors who will speak about the importance of conducting self-examinations, the prevalence of breast cancer in India and the importance of early diagnosis. Further, the brand will also host an on-the-ground event and engage with different bloggers.
“Statistics show that for every 2 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India5. We have been running the breast cancer awareness drive for three consecutive years now and our intention has not only been raising awareness but also equipping women with the knowledge of self-breast examination. Our previous campaign – Pay Attention created a huge buzz and AVON India reached 1.09 billion people through offline activities. We continue our endeavors with our current campaign where educating people about breast cancer and how dangerous it can be if not detected early forms the crux. We are set to drive this for massive social impact beginning with the fashion show and hope to make some noise and create awareness about breast cancer,” said Swati Jain, Marketing Director, AVON India.
The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which launched in 1992, has placed Avon and the Avon Foundation at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer. The second edition of AVON’s Pay Attention campaign last year travelled across10 Indian cities teaching women to act well in time reaching millions of people.
MAM
India’s financial sector spent less on TV ads in 2025 but flooded the internet
Banks, insurers and lenders cut tv ads as digital jumps, LIC and Muthoot lead tv and Axis Bank tops online
MUMBAI: India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector, one of the most prolific advertisers in the country, delivered a split verdict on media in 2025. It spent less on television, held its nerve in print, turned up the volume on radio and deluged the internet with a ferocity that left every other medium looking pedestrian. The picture that emerges from TAM AdEx’s cross-media report for the BFSI sector is of an industry in transition, still wedded to the news bulletin but increasingly seduced by the algorithm.
Television: a retreat with caveats
TV ad volumes for the BFSI sector fell 16 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, a sharp reversal after two years of consistent growth that had pushed volumes 16 per cent above 2021 levels by 2023 and a further 7 per cent higher by 2024. Within 2025 itself, the drop was concentrated in the middle of the year: the second and third quarters saw ad volumes slide 35 per cent each against the first quarter, with a partial recovery of 13 per cent in the fourth.
The retreat did not reshuffle the deck. Life insurance retained first place among TV categories with 19 per cent of ad volumes, mortgage loans held second with 16 per cent, and the top ten categories together accounted for 82 per cent of all BFSI television advertising. The dominance of news channels was equally pronounced: news claimed 68 per cent of ad volumes, general entertainment channels a distant 14 per cent and movies 12 per cent. Together, news and GEC captured 82 per cent of the sector’s television spend. News bulletins alone took 48 per cent of programme-genre volumes, with feature films second at 12 per cent. Prime time, between 6pm and 11pm, drew 34 per cent of ad volumes, followed by afternoon at 22 per cent and morning at 20 per cent. A full 82 per cent of all ads ran between 20 and 40 seconds.
Life Insurance Corporation of India was the sector’s biggest TV spender with 11 per cent of ad volumes. Muthoot Financial Enterprises came second with 9 per cent, followed by National Payments Corporation of India at 6 per cent, Tata AIG General Insurance at 5 per cent and State Bank of India at 5 per cent. The top ten advertisers together accounted for 51 per cent of total TV volumes. Three names were new to the top ten in 2025: Tata AIG General Insurance, IIFL Finance and Tata Capital. At brand level, Muthoot Finance Loan Against Gold led with 9 per cent share, Tata AIG Health Insurance entered the top ten for the first time, and the top ten brands together contributed 35 per cent of ad volumes.
Print: the long climb continues
Print told a different story. Ad space for the BFSI sector has grown every year since 2021, rising 16 per cent in 2022, 30 per cent in 2023, 51 per cent in 2024 and 64 per cent in 2025, all measured against a 2021 baseline. Within 2025, ad space was flat in the second quarter but surged 46 per cent in the third and 33 per cent in the fourth compared with the first. Life insurance led print categories with 21 per cent of ad space, followed by mutual funds and banking services and products at 13 per cent each, and corporate financial institutes at 11 per cent. The top ten categories together took 82 per cent of print ad space. LIC led print advertisers with 6 per cent share, and the top ten together covered just 19 per cent of ad space, a reflection of how fragmented print spending remains. Three new entrants joined the top ten in 2025, with Billion Brains Garage Ventures the only exclusive presence not seen in 2024’s list. In the top ten brands, LIC dominated with a 2 per cent share, while Nippon India Mutual Fund rose to third position from fourth in 2024. English accounted for 62 per cent of print ad space, Hindi for 20 per cent. Business and finance publications took 59 per cent of the genre split. The south zone led regional spending with 33 per cent of print ad space, Bangalore topping that zone, while New Delhi and Mumbai were the leading cities nationally.
Radio: louder than ever
Radio ad volumes for the BFSI sector have climbed steadily, rising 12 per cent above 2021 levels in 2023, 36 per cent in 2024 and 45 per cent in 2025. The quarterly pattern within 2025 was volatile: a sharp drop of 43 per cent in the second quarter and 42 per cent in the third, followed by a near-full recovery in the fourth. Life insurance led radio categories with 22 per cent of volumes, banking services and products second at 14 per cent and corporate NBFCs third at 11 per cent. LIC of India held its position as the leading radio advertiser with 20 per cent of ad volumes; the top ten radio advertisers together covered 69 per cent. Muthoot Financial Enterprises led radio brands with 10 per cent share, five of the top ten brands belonged to LIC alone, and SBI Mutual Fund made a remarkable leap to fifth position from 272nd in 2024. Evening and morning time-bands together captured 84 per cent of radio ad volumes, with evenings at 44 per cent and mornings at 40 per cent. Maharashtra was the leading state for radio BFSI advertising with 18 per cent share; Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh together accounted for 43 per cent.
Digital: the five-times surge
If one number defines the 2025 BFSI advertising story, it is five. Digital ad impressions for the sector multiplied fivefold between 2021 and 2025, having already doubled in 2023 and doubled again in 2024 before the 2025 leap. Within the year, impressions dipped 19 per cent in the second quarter and 12 per cent in the third before recovering 8 per cent above the first quarter by the fourth. Banking services and products led digital categories with 27 per cent of impressions, life insurance and credit cards tied at 19 per cent each, and securities and sharebroking organisations fell from first place in 2024 to fourth in 2025. Axis Bank was the runaway leader among digital advertisers with 12 per cent of impressions, followed by ICICI Bank at 9 per cent, IDFC First Bank at 7 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 6 per cent. The top ten digital advertisers covered 59 per cent of impressions, and seven of them were new entrants compared with 2024, signalling rapid churn in the digital spending hierarchy. At brand level, Axis Bank led with 9 per cent, ICICI HPCL Super Saver Credit Card vaulted to third place from 921st in 2024, and six of the top ten digital brands were new to the list. Programmatic buying accounted for 91 per cent of all digital BFSI transactions; combined with ad networks, it captured 96 per cent.
The data from TAM AdEx paints the portrait of a sector that still believes in the power of the television news bulletin to sell insurance to the masses, but increasingly knows that the next generation of borrowers, investors and cardholders is scrolling, not watching. The race is now on to reach them before the algorithm serves up someone else’s loan offer first.
