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Cadbury Celebrations launches its special campaign #MyFirstRakhi
MUMBAI: This Raksha Bandhan, Cadbury Celebrations-the much-loved chocolate brand has decided to celebrate the festival by making a meaningful difference to a child’s life through its special campaign – #MyFirstRakhi.
Many children with physical disability in the country miss celebrating this festival, among other crucial life experiences. To truly bring a meaningful difference to the lives of these children and help them celebrate this moment of joy in the most fulfilling way possible, Cadbury Celebrations has partnered with Social Hardware- an organisation working towards providing assistive devices and rehabilitation services to underserved communities- to develop a unique sensor-based prosthetic arm that will let these children feel the sense of touch, an integral part of growing up.
Building on the same sentiment is the campaign film that beautifully captures the story of a sister and her physically disabled older brother, Shubham who yearns to experience the feeling of a Rakhi tied around his wrist. The feeling is brought to life as the brother’s wish is fulfilled with a low-cost sensor enabled prosthetic hand advised by his doctor. The story sees a sweet ending as the older brother enthusiastically prepares to experience his first Rakhi, tied onto his wrist by his equally excited little sister. The brother, for the very first time in his life, is able to actually feel the sensation of the thread symbolising the bond they share, through his sensor-enabled prosthetic arm.
While these children often opt for prosthetic hands to help them build their lives, the journey for them is a long one, where as the child grows up, the prosthetic arms recommended change, based on various factors. They typically start with basic prosthetic arms which lack the sense of touch, a very important sensation in their formative years. The chocolate brand has pledged to provide these low-cost sensor-based hands to many children across the country by continuing to partner with Social Hardware in the coming year.
Mondelez India senior director – marketing, Anil Viswanathan said, “For years now Mondelez India has been an innate part of festivals and occasions like Raksha Bandhan, and has redefined the joy of gifting and shared moments with Cadbury Celebrations. Through #MyFirstRakhi, we wanted to make a meaningful difference to the lives of these kids who don’t get to experience festivals like we do. To celebrate Rakhi you need to feel the touch of its threads and hence we provided a solution to give them a sense of touch. With the focus on spreading happiness and banking on the proposition of ‘Kuch Achha Ho Jaaye, Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’, the campaign promises a new start for children who have missed experiencing the joy of celebrating this festival in its truest sense.”
Commenting on the campaign, Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak, said, “Raksha Bandhan is a very special festival celebrated across the country. With #MyFirstRakhi we are helping ensure that every brother who has so far missed experiencing the joy of celebrating this festival, can now feel the bonds of this beautiful relationship on his hand.”
The campaign will be led with a digital film and further amplified through social activations along with innovative OOH advertising.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
