MAM
Clinic Plus makes Navbharat Times talk on Mother’s Day
MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever’s shampoo brand Close Up partnered with Navbharat Times, for the first time to release talking newspaper advertisement.
The ad was released on the occasion of Mother’s Day in NBT’s Delhi and NCR editions.
The media agency working on the project is Mindshare.
Times of India had earlier carried a talking advertisement for Volkswagen in September 2010. The Close Up ad in NBT was not just a talking ad; it also sought to make the newspaper a musical greeting card for moms. The company created a special four-page supplement that would serve as the greeting card with a musical chip playing out the Mother‘s Day greeting. Sunday‘s NBT was inserted inside the same.
HUL GM Hair Care Srinandan Sundaram said, “The objective was to create brand salience for the Clinic Plus brand which has been positioned as a shampoo for mothers and daughters. The insight was to use the occasion to express the unspoken love that exists between the two.”
Sundaram felt that NBT was a natural choice with its reach coupled with the fact that most of the consumers were Hindi speakers.
Mindshare principal partner Amin Lakhani said, “Mindshare Fulcrum finds innovative ways to connect with consumers especially in leveraging the print medium to the fullest. We seek to engage the consumer through 360 degree initiatives. With Times we have done fragrance newspaper for Bru Coffee in TOI, Kisanpur in Bombay Times and now the talking musical greeting card for NBT Delhi and the NCR editions.”
The exercise was for 600,000 copies for which the planning started almost two months in advance.
BCCL president Arunabh Das Sharma added, “We are very happy to partner our leading language brand with the leading hair care brand to create a path-breaking innovation. Such advertising that appeals not just to the cognitive but also the emotional senses works wonderfully.”
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.
