MAM
Coca-Cola’s back in action with Ash and cash
MUMBAI: After a long sabatical Coca-Cola India is back this summer with one of the biggest consumer promotions in the soft drinks category. Titled ‘Thanda Aish-Cash’ is a campaign that takes the evolution of ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’ to a new level and will give consumers a chance to win cash prizes through an exciting Under-the-Crown (UTC) promotion. These cash prizes go upto Rs.1,000 in value and the total cash prizes amounts to Rs.1 crore. In addition to this, one lucky winner will get the chance of a lifetime to accompany the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai to an international premier of her next film on a foreign location.
The ‘Thanda Aish-Cash’ promotion looks at strengthing the consumer-connection with the strong equity built around ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’ campaigns that seemed to have built a bond with millions of consumers across the country for over two years. The consumer simply needs to peel the crown liner and place it on a ‘Thanda’ bottle for the prize message to appear magically.
“This promo is one of the first of its kind on innovation, scale and execution. The ‘Thanda’ mechanism which is being used for the first time reinforces the strong connection with Coca-Cola’s brand identity established through memorable ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’ campaigns during the last two years,” says Coca-Cola India corporate communication head.Vikas Kochhar.
Thanda Aish-Cash is supported by an integrated marketing and communication act which will begin with the launch of the TVC featuring Coca-Cola Brand Ambassador Aishwarya Rai and Rajpal Yadav to be aired nationally from next week across all mainline channels.
The ad is made by the famous ad and feature film producer Ram Madhvani and scripted by Prasoon Joshi of McCann Erickson. The key highlight of the campaign is the catchy new music styled on the lines of “Haryanvi Rap” which merges the ‘desi’ colloquial lingo with upmarket ‘rap’ beats. Also, this is for the first time that the Bollywood comedian Rajpal Yadav is sharing the screen with Aishwarya Rai.
In addition to the above mentioned prizes, the consumers can also take home “Aishwarya Magic Glasses”. These exclusive magic glasses display images of the Wonders of the World on the glass surface when filled with Thanda and are available in exchange for the special crown liner and Rs. seven.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
