MAM
Awaaz consumer awards 2005 to be held on 7 July
MUMBAI: Awaaz, the consumer channel will hold the Awaaz Consumer Awards 2005 ceremony in New Delhi on 7 July. The awards ceremony will felicitate top brands, which Indian consumers have voted for as their most preferred brands.
According to a media release, Awaaz Consumer Awards is a result of a comprehensive survey with 7000 consumers across 21 cities, spanning 21 product and service categories across the country. The brand preferences of the Indian consumers and the criteria for brand loyalty were analysed through the Awaaz Consumer Vote.
The study for India’s most preferred brands was conducted by AC Nielsen ORG-MARG.
Awaaz, channel has continuously strived to reinforce its commitment with a plethora of far-reaching initiatives, the latest of which is the Awaaz Consumer Awards ’05, informs the media release.
The brands considered for the Awards are broadly classified into service and product categories. banks, telecom, investment advisories, home loans, mutual funds, telecom were some of the service categories, while FMCG, consumer durables, automobiles were some of the product categories that were covered in the poll.
The Awaaz Consumer Awards 2005 will felicitate the brands that made an impact on the minds of the Indian consumers. The awards function in New Delhi will be presided over by minister of civil aviation Praful Patel and noted film actress and social activist Shabana Azmi will also speak on the occasion.
ICICI Bank is the presenting sponsor of this initiative.
The evening will be hosted by well-known film and television personality, Jaaved Jaffrey, while renowned Indian rock band Euphoria will give a special performance, informs the media release.
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.
