MAM
Dentsu’s Abhinav Kaushik joins FCB India as president
Mumbai: Taproot Dentsu’s former executive vice president & head of office – Delhi & Mumbai, Abhinav Kaushik has joined FCB India as president. Kaushik made the announcement on LinkedIn. Earlier last week he shared the news of his stepping down from his role at Dentsu and moving on, even as he kept everyone guessing as to his next move.
Kaushik joined Dentsu Marcom in 2013 as vice president in account management. In his nine years at the agency, he handled a gamut of leadership roles at Dentsu, working on many successful brand initiatives and multi-stage integrated campaigns across the funnel for brands like Honda (Honda Cars & Honda Two Wheelers), Dulux, Airtel, Microsoft, Shell, Oppo, Canon, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Nokia, CP Plus, Fast&Up, Jack & Jones, Dainik Bhaskar, and Toshiba.
While moving on, Abhinav expressed his gratitude on his social media account. He wrote, “My nine years at Dentsu International India & Taproot Dentsu (A dentsuMB Company) have truly been a rollercoaster ride. What has made this ride special is the stellar team of some immensely talented people who have helped me learn every single day. As they say, great things are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people. So gratitude to all my team members, colleagues & partners. I will treasure the experience and the memories of working with you and I’m sure we will work together in the future. Over to the next chapter now. There is no finishing line”
Prior to joining Dentsu, he was vice president and client services director at J. Walter Thompson for over six years, where he worked extensively with brands such as Airtel and Sony. Microsoft, GSK, and Pizza Hut. Abhinav began his career at GE Capital before moving on to work for agencies such as Contract Advertising and M&C Saatchi London.
Previously, he has worked with agencies such as Contract and M&C Saatchi. He started his career in sales and marketing at GE Capital, working on the branding, integrated marketing, planning, strategising, and repositioning exercises for brands such as Airtel, Sony (Bravia, Vaio, Cybershot, Walkman, Handycam), GSK (Boost portfolio), Pizza Hut, Dabur (Real Juices’ portfolio), NIIT, Microsoft, British Airways, Shell, Indian School of Business, Revlon, Godfrey Phillips, and Asian Paints.
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
