MAM
Cannes 2011: BBDO’s ‘W.A.L.S’ shortlisted
MUMBAI: BBDO India has made it to the shortlist of the newly introduced Creative Effectiveness Lions category at the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity currently taking place in Cannes, France.
The agency’s campaign — ‘W.A.L.S‘ Women Against Lazy Stubble — executed for Procter & Gamble’s Gillette Mach3 brand has been recommended.
According to an official statement, only entries that were either shortlisted or Lion winners, across all categories, at Cannes Lions 2010 were eligible to enter, since these were already been judged and established as being creatively world-class by last year’s juries.
Hence, ‘W.A.L.S‘ could enter, because it had won the prestigious Silver Cannes Lion in the category ‘PR Led Integrated Campaign‘ at the 57th Cannes International Advertising Festival. It was the first PR medal for India at Cannes and was won amidst over 500 other path-breaking global entries.
BBDO‘s campaign for Gillette was concieved around an AC Nielsen India survey, which claimed that 85 per cent of Indian women preferred clean-shaven men. This prompmted the launched of Shave India Movement (SIM), encouraging men to shave, simultaneously unveiling the Gillette Mach3 razor.
Tapping women and celebrities, a Women Against Lazy Stubble (W.A.L.S) group was formed to carry the message to men. Culminating in a mass Shaveathon, SIM brought together 1,858 men making history by breaking both Indian and world shaving records and resulting in Gillette achieving its quarter sales target in just 15 days of the campaign.
The other communication agencies were Mediacom and Encompass. ROI was recorded as 22 times the marketing spend, according to Gillette.
The campaign ran from November – December 2009, and concentrated on urban Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and smaller towns such as Ahmedabad and Lucknow.
Meanwhile, in its inaugural year, the Creative Effectiveness Lions category, has received 142 entries from 33 countries, of which seven entries were from India.
TBWAWorldwide Chairman Jean-Marie Dru is the president of the 20-strong member jury, who will award Creative Effectiveness Lions to entries which have shown measurable and proven impact on a client’s business.
The judging process is based on Strategy (25 per cent), Idea (25 per cent) and Results (50 per cent).
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
