MAM
Bail Kolhu calls for equal gender roles in kitchen in new TVC
Mumbai: The duty of kitchen chores has always been shifted to the female of the house. Ideally, the kitchen workload should be equally divided among men and women. Keeping this thought in mind, Bail Kolhu, the flagship brand of FMCG company BL Agro has launched a #RasodeMeinMardHai TVC, that adroitly pushes for equal gender roles. This new marketing campaign features Bollywood actors Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
The ad spot was conceptualised and created by Leads Brand Connect, a multi-dimensional creative agency that also created Bail Kolhu’s earlier TVCs. The #RasodeMeinMardHai TVC was recently unveiled by Pankaj Tripathi and launched on national television channels. It is set to be rolled out in print and digital media to cover 360-degree communication, said the brand.
The TVC promotes the long-established mustard oil marketed under the trade name Bail Kolhu. On the objective front, the ad positions and reminds audiences that Bail Kolhu is the best choice for real taste with script lines like ‘kya chuna aapne asli swaad ke liye? Bail Kolhu.’ But the messaging of the advert goes deeper, using a ‘show-not-tell’ idea to advocate the concept of even men must shoulder the responsibilities in the kitchen.
To that end, Pankaj, Manoj, and Nawazuddin are seen cooking with Bail Kolhu in the TVC. With script lines such as ‘mazedar swaad unhi ko milta hai jinka kaam bolta hai,’ the ad continuously emphasises normalising gender roles in the kitchen and shows all three actors cooking and then serving three separate dishes for a celebratory family meal.
“Bail Kolhu is a long-standing brand with recall value rooted in consumers. So, our vision with the TVC went beyond generating brand lift and into advocating the #RasodeMeinMardHai concept,” said BL Agro MD Ashish Khandelwal. “We couldn’t have found a better fit to champion the social cause than Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Their persona and journeys are very apropos of the initiative, which is why the message we wanted to convey comes out very naturally and effectively.”
“Leads Brand Connect team came up with an extremely unconventional but necessary concept of ‘why should cooking be a woman’s job alone.’ It’s a stereotype that is often represented in advertisements, and we wanted to break that chain while simultaneously supporting the idea that men should cook too,” said Leads Brand Connect CEO Sanjay Srivastava. “With Pankaj, Nawazuddin, and Manoj, we were able to bring that out without being on the nose about it and, of course, creating more recall for Bail Kolhu.”
Leads Brand Connect has previously created two TVCs for Bail Kolhu. The first TVC ‘Safar,’ drew an analogy between the stunning rise of Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Bail Kolhu. The second TVC, with the punch line ‘Khushu Ka Yaadon Se Rishta’ also featured the trio reminiscing that the aroma of good food never fails to transport people to cherished childhood memories as it is the essential ingredient for all occasions.
“With this new TVC, we had a dual goal. The first is perceptible – to position our mustard oil as the best choice to bring out flavour while cooking. The second is crafted with more subtlety. We wanted to break the preconceived notion that the kitchen is solely a woman’s arena, and she alone should be accountable for all the work that comes with it, from cooking to cleaning. So, instead of using an actress, we portray three leading Bollywood actors preparing a meal, which incidentally is the very first time you’ll see it on a TVC,” stated BL Agro spokesperson Richa Khandelwal.
MAM
WPP appoints Estée Lauder’s Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer
Former Estée Lauder executive to lead operations, technology and culture overhaul under WPP’s three-year growth plan
LONDON: WPP has appointed Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer in a newly created role tasked with delivering the group’s Elevate28 strategy.
Choueiri joins from The Estée Lauder Companies, where she led enterprise-wide strategic initiatives, including the “One ELC” operating model and major upgrades to enterprise marketing, data and analytics capabilities. She also led the redesign of enterprise technology teams and served on the company’s AI taskforce, driving AI strategy, adoption and value realisation across the business.
At WPP, she will be responsible for designing, implementing and embedding the operating model behind Elevate28, the company’s three-year growth plan unveiled in February 2026. She will lead efforts to improve innovation, efficiency and integration across WPP’s client offerings, with a focus on delivering agile, outcome-driven solutions and measurable growth.
Choueiri will oversee organisational transformation across the group, working closely with product and enterprise technology teams to deploy AI, data and technology to build new capabilities and improve operational performance. She will also work with the people function to embed cultural change, strengthen an agile performance mindset and support talent development across the organisation.
Before joining Estée Lauder, she held senior roles across consulting and digital agencies, including at Accenture, Masaï (a Bain & Company spin-off), and Kearney, with experience spanning strategy, data and digital marketing transformation.
Cindy Rose, chief executive officer of WPP, said Choueiri brings a strong track record of leading large-scale transformation across operations, technology and culture, adding that her appointment will help accelerate the group’s next phase of growth under Elevate28.
Choueiri said WPP’s strategy represents an ambitious opportunity to reshape how the company operates and delivers for clients, adding that she looks forward to building integrated solutions and fostering a culture of innovation and change.
She will be based in New York and will join WPP’s executive committee.
