MAM
Disney puts its all in the ‘Kim Possible’ contest
MUMBAI: The Disney Channel is going the whole nine yards as far as the Kim Possible Code Tod contest is concerned.
Walt Disney Television International (India) head of marketing and communications Hema Govindan describes it as the most expansive 360 degrees surround marketing that Disney has undertaken in India.
Looks like girl power sure seems to be going strong on kids’ channels lately — be it the buzz around Disney Channel’s ‘Kim Possible Code Tod’ contest or the Cartoon Network’s recent ‘Join the Powerpuff Generation’ hunt for TV hosts.
Girls go gaga over spy goggles
‘Kim Possible Code Tod’ contest will kickstart from 25 July and continue until 12 August. The channel is calling its viewers to help Kim save the world from destruction by intercepting secret codes with special code-seeker spy goggles. It has has made available over 2.2 million spy goggles to kids across the country out of which, 900,000 have been distributed in 2000 schools across 13 cities.
Disney has roped in Dabur Real Fruit Juice as the presenting sponsor of the ‘Kim Possible Code Tod’ contest. Dabur will be giving out another 1.1 million spy goggles free with every purchase of a one litre Real Fruit Juice pack. The channel has also come out with Kim Possible trading cards featuring games centered on six Disney characters and Real Juice flavours.
Kim’s Lovin’ it !
McDonald’s has been roped in as the associate sponsor. Kim Possible Happy Meals are what’s in store for kids during the term of the contest. Apart from that, signage and in-store point of sale (POS) will also be placed in 67 McDonald’s outlets in six cities.
Tushar Kapoor on ‘Disney Studio’ with the show anchors
And if that was not all, Disney has also tied up with Excel Home Video as their home video partner for the Kim Possible series. Direct mail, television promos and cross promos on Disney’s existing shows like Disney Studio, hoardings, Internet ads, guerrilla marketing among consumers and trade fraternity and activities involving participation from the cable operators is what the channel has lined up for this contest.
Elaborating on the activity involving the cable operators, Govindan says, “We will be rewarding the network that the Code Tod contest winning kids belongs to. So there’s something for everyone here.”
Bus shelter sporting the Kim Possible contest
Walt Disney Television International (India) director marketing and communications Tushar Shah says, “It is important to engage kids by encouraging active participation in a complete storytelling experience. We aim to provide an unprecedented interactive television viewing experience to our kid viewers by encapsulating all these elements in the Kim Possible Code Tod promotion.”
Queried as to whether the Kim Possible Code Tod contest was tailor made for India, Govindan says that it was carried out in the South East Asian markets of Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, except that it wasn’t as aggressive and elaborate as it has turned out to be in India.
The mantra to survive in the burgeoning kids’ channels space in India is surely to catch ’em young! And that’s exactly what Disney Channel is doing with their other marketing initiative – ‘Disney Channel Maze Ki Class’. The channel is going to 1,160 schools across 13 cities and touching base with 800,000 kids across the country.
“It is a school contact programme of a scale that is pretty much unprecedented in the kids’ space. What we do is go into schools and take our tent pole prime time programmes such as Aladdin, Tarzan, Kim Possible and That’s So Raven outside the TV environment into the real world among the kids. We have trained emcees who facilitate games and trivia question based on the shows, wherein they can win prizes instantly,” says Govindan.
Also, one child in every school stands a chance to win a toy scooter. Amul Shakti is the presenting sponsor for the ‘Disney Channel Maze Ki Class’ initiative, which will run till September. Associate sponsors for the same are Maggi Atta Noodles, Parle, Camlin and Harvest Gold cakes.
Pre-school kids from St. Anne’s Girls High in Mumbai imagine and learn with their Mickey caps on!
Concurrently, the channel is also tapping preschoolers in an innovative preschool contact programme in a few metros. The initiative focusses on a couple of key shows on Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney block like Jojo’s Circus and Stanley. The theme of this is ‘Imagine and Learn.’
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.
