MAM
Dalmia Cement introduces robot Mr D
MUMBAI: Ever since its entry into the Eastern market, DSP Cement, the premium offering from Dalmia Bharat Cement stable, has successfully established itself as a new quality benchmark for all dhalai applications. For the first time, Dalmia Bharat has unveiled its new Dalmia DSP TVC to reinstate its positioning as ‘the dhalai expert’.
There were cement brands which were looked at from the manufacturer’s viewpoint of strength and durability. Dalmia Bharat Cement decided to turn the table. The objective of the campaign was to introduce Mr D, a friendly Robot which is a representation of the futuristic role played by DSP Cement as the dhalai expert providing the best solutions in a consumer’s life.
The TVC shows Mr D as a constant companion to a kid, in sun or rain, throughout his life until he grows up. He is a constant friend & support right from days in the cradle, to the first baby steps to adolescence and finally as a grown-up. He is there as a teacher, a guardian angel, sometimes as a friend and at times just as a caregiver. And finally, when the moment arrives, he dons the expert hat and helps our protagonist and his wife choose the right material for their dream home. The film ends on an emotional high when the wife hands over their new-born to Mr D with the same trust and faith.
Dalmia DSP kicked-off its breakthrough campaign aiming to connect directly with the consumers. In a clear shift from the oft-repeated ‘strong construction’ proposition in cement category communication, the TVC is unique as it helps the viewer to relate more to the inherent qualities of the brand through the robot Mr D becoming a part of people’s lives and their stories.
The TVC has been created by JWT, Kolkata and will see a 360 degree marketing across all traditional and new media platforms.
Dalmia Bharat Cement senior executive director of group marketing BK Singh says, “Dalmia DSP is the coming together of the best technological innovation and highest product quality to deliver durability for generations. Dalmia DSP plays a critical role in the lives of people and will continue to provide progressive ideas and thought leadership for the industry. We are here to stay and build the new world.’’
JWT Kolkata VP and ECD Arjun Mukherjee adds, “To justify the superiority of Dalmia DSP Cement we decided to build on the futuristic platform. However, the challenge was also to give an emotional hook to a technology product. We took extreme care to play up the softer attributes of the robot so that he exudes certain warmth and makes the entire proposition a lot more believable.”
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.
