MAM
Colors partners Bajaj for United Sisters’ Pinkathon promoted by Maximus Mice
MUMBAI: Colors presents Pinkathon – Empowering Indian Women, Inspiring Partners Bajaj Electricals India’s biggest women’s run is coming to Delhi for the Fifth edition on Sunday, 17 September at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi.
United Sisters Foundation & Maximus Events along with super model, actor, fitness enthusiast, avid barefoot runner and Pinkathon founder Milind Soman formally announced the launch of the Fifth edition run in Delhi at a press conference at Hotel Claridges. Committed to put Women forward, India’s leading entertainment channel, Colors extends its support to this Cause by partaking in spreading the message of ‘wellbeing of women’ through this initiative.
Present at the conference were eminent dignitaries like Mann Kaur 101 yr old Indian woman runner winner of Gold at Americas World Masters, Silvia Tallon, Sr Marketing Director Reebok India, Geetanjali Babbar Founder Katkatha and Ishita Anand founder Bitgiving.
Expressing delight on the launch of the Fifth edition of Pinkathon Inspiring Partners Bajaj Electricals in Delhi, founder Milind Soman said, “Pinkathon is the seed of change and the beginning of a movement that is carried forward by a growing community of empowered women across India, who share a belief that a healthy family, a healthy nation and a healthy world begins with empowered women, first step in empowerment is taking control of your own health, respecting yourself and understanding and celebrating the value you bring to your family and society.”
Reema Sanghavi, Managing Director, Maximus Events Co Founder Pinkathon “Besides Delhi, Pinkathon has already been held in various cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Guwahati, and Mumbai in the year 2017. The multi-city national event has received an overwhelming expression of support with over 85,000 women of all ages, across different walks of life having participation in 8 cities in 2016. This number is expected to cross 1, 00,000 in 2017 with 9 cities.
Said Raj Nayak, COO – Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18 – “Be it a businesswoman, sportswoman, homemaker or au naturel, it’s their values and instincts that drive the entire world. Women leaders form the backbone of my Colors team as well and play a major role in every decision which furthers our business objectives and goals.”
Commenting on Reebok’s association, Silvia Tallon, Sr Marketing Director Reebok India, said “Reebok as a brand has always been pushing the fitness cause for women to give them the necessary spur to rise beyond societal shackles and become mentally, socially and physically fit.”
As a precursor to the main day, the team is organising unique events such as the Cancer Shero Trek. A Shero is a cancer survivor & this event is dedicated towards felicitating these inspiring people. Starting with a trek, this event felicitates the inspiring Cancer Survivors honouring them with an “I Inspire” medal.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
