Ad Campaigns
Castrol launches campaign for cricket World Cup
MUMBAI: With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 round the corner and millions of cricket fans gearing up to support their favourite team, Castrol, Performance Partner of the ICC, has launched Castrol Activ ‘Cling on to the Cup’ campaign that will provide fans an opportunity to be right in the heart of the action through state of the art digital technology.
The Castrol Activ ‘Cling on to the Cup’ campaign was kick-started with a live Google hangout where fans discussed the Indian team’s prospects and challenges with Castrol Activ panelists and cricketing stalwarts, Anil Kumble and Sanjay Manjrekar along with well-known cricket commentator and Castrol brand ambassador Harsha Bhogle. The hangout was a lively affair filled with some serious conversations as well as funny quips and comments from fans and panelists alike.
Cricketing legend and Castrol Activ panelist Anil Kumble said, “Technology has become an integral part of our lives and Castrol with its reputation for pioneering product technology, has successfully harnessed digital technology and created a unique experience for all cricket fans. For the first time ever, cricket fans will be able to be present virtually in the stadium, in support of their favorite team.”
Over the last five years, Castrol India has endeavoured to bring fans closer to the action and provide a more immersive and interactive experience. Castrol Activ ‘Cling on to the Cup’ campaign is a continuation of these efforts. Apart from the Castrol Activ Hangout, the campaign will include other initiatives that are interactive and engaging for the fans, bringing them closer to the action during the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia & New Zealand.
Commenting on the campaign Castrol vice president marketing – India & South Asia Soma Ghosh added, “Castrol is excited at the prospect of giving Indian fans the opportunity to cheer on their heroes at the ICC World Cup 2015. Over the last five years of Castrol’s association with the ICC, we have undertaken pioneering innovations, especially in the digital space, to make the game a more immersive and interactive experience for the fans. With campaigns such as Castrol Activ ‘Cling on to Cricket’ (during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013) and ‘Castrol Activ Scooter Zip factor’ (during the ICC T20 World Cup, 2014) have been trailblazing and successful campaigns. We are indeed excited about using new and innovative technology to make the fan experience more engaging and enjoyable.”
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
