MAM
CNN International unveils tourism advertorials to promote India
MUMBAI: More vacationers are likely to choose to wile away their holidays in India rather than other popular tourist countries. CNN International, in an initiative to promote India all around the world in association with the India’s ministry of tourism (MOT), has produced a series of six 60/45/30-seconds advertorials.
CNNI had commissioned Bang Productions Singapore Pte Ltd to produce the series for MOT. The six films, which was unveiled at overseas marketing meet organised by MOT in the Delhi earlier. The vignettes are now being aired on CNN International on a world-wide basis, which kicked off on 22 September and will run uptill March 2007.
India’s travel and tourism market has been valued at US$42 billion in 2005. The vignettes are based on six pillars that include health, modern Art, Golfing Holidays, Hip Hotels, Fashion & Shopping and Heritage in India. The current promotion has more clearly defined these pillars which are in keeping with the viewing audience of CNN International.
The objective of the campaign is to increase the flow of tourists into India from September till end February-early March. The produced advertorials will be running alongside the Incredible India commercial, produced by Bharat Bala Production, according to an official release.
Turner South Asia advertising sales VP Monica Tata said, “India has a lot to offer to the world and through these brilliantly shot six vignettes, we hoped to capture the true essence of a ‘new age India’. We believe that these series of vignettes focus on India as a modern, upmarket, contemporary and unique place. CNN International believes in partnering with clients to offer them the solutions they need across the world.”
“This is in response to the long standing relationship that CNN enjoys with the Ministry of Tourism in India. The ministry has been using CNN to promote Indian tourism globally. The six advertorials are a reflection of the different facets of Indian tourism,” Tata further added.
All the segments have been shot on film and not on Digi-beta or video. The vignettes are based on six pillars and they include:
Health: This segment is hosted by Deepak Chopra MD, acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest leaders in the field of mind body medicine. Deepak Chopra carries the film beautifully from the prayers being offered at the Ghats (shore) of Rishikesh to the Oberoi Wildflower Hall spa (one of the world’s best) ayurveda, meditation and yoga resorts. India is whole – it is holy and it is healing. The vignette depicts the spiritual side of Incredible India.
Modern Art: This segment has been hosted by the international photographer, Frederic Lagrange from New York. The film was shot at various locations in Delhi, including the National Gallery of Modern Art, Garhi Artists Studio and Jantar Mantar. The film also has shots of famous Indian artist, Anjolie Ela Menon. Frederic talks about art and how it is omnipresent in India, on the streets, through movie hoardings, in galleries, through canvases of famous Indian artistes etc.
Golfing Holidays: This vignette has been hosted by India’s top professional golfer, Jeev Milka Singh – the current winner of the China Open Golf Championship, and was filmed at Delhi Golf Club, the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon to promote ‘Golf Tourism’ in India. It has some beautiful shots of the monuments at the Delhi Golf course, one of the only golf courses in Asia meandering through ancient monuments.
Hip Hotels: This advertorial was shot at the Lake Palace Hotel and Devigarh Fort Palace in Udaipur, and it was hosted by renowned investment guru and author – Dr Mark Mobius from Franklin Templeton Investments. Both hotels have earned a reputation to be one of the world’s best.
Fashion & Shopping: This advertorial was hosted by the US supermodel and actress, Saira Mohan. The segment was shot in Delhi during the India Fashion week, showcasing Indian designers like Tarun Tahiliani, the depth and vision of Indian fashion, jewellery & handicrafts and other fashion/shopping locations around Delhi.
Heritage: This segment was hosted by the renowned Indian Sufi singer, Zila Khan, daughter of late Ustad Vilayat Khan. The film was shot at Taj Mahal in Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, a city made by emperor, Akbar in the late 15th and early 16th century and Agra Fort.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
