MAM
DS Group’s Pulse launches new TVC with a new tangy twist
Mumbai: DS Group, a multi-business corporation and a leading FMCG conglomerate, launched a new TVC for Pass Pass Pulse, the nation’s favorite hard-boiled candy. The brand’s foundational message, ‘Pran Jaaye Par Pulse Na Jaaye’, is echoed once again in the film, where Saurabh Shukla and Abhishek Banerjee take center stage, embodying its essence. Conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson (Delhi), this quirky and fun film highlights the fact that people would do just anything to hide their favorite Pulse candy from others.
The storyline of the new TVC film by DS Group shows Saurabh Shukla’s hand stuck in a jar. Everyone in the household tries every possible way to take his hand out, but all the efforts go in vain. An X-ray reveals that he is holding onto a Pulse candy hidden inside the jar and not taking his hand out intentionally to hide it from others.
Commenting on the occasion, DS Group general manager, marketing, DS Foods, Arvind Kumar said: “DS Group’s Pulse is all about a great tasting candy that you would never share with anyone. Our campaign line ‘Pran Jaaye Par Pulse Na Jaaye’ talks about this in a simple yet creative manner. This latest TVC brings this to life with yet another hilarious story that showcases people going to any extent when it comes to procuring/hiding their Pulse candy.”
Commenting on the campaign, Wunderman Thompson SVP & ECD Sundeep Sehgal said: “Pran Jaaye Par Pulse Na Jaaye is a promising idea that we have built over the years. To take things a notch higher, we developed yet another ad that showcases unique ways people adopt to hide their Pulse candy. We had a lot of fun making it and we are sure that the audiences will find it super entertaining”.
The campaign is now live on leading channels, YouTube, social media, and OTTs.
DS Group is known for its expertise in innovative Indian flavours and fragrances. Pass Pass Pulse, the hard-boiled candy from DS Group stormed this market with its launch in 2015 and since then, is the leading candy brand in India. The tangy twist to the conventional taste makes Pulse an absolute standout! Pulse Candy continuously endeavours to engage with consumers through creative and innovative ways to develop a stronger connection. Launched in 2015, Pulse Candy comes in five mouth-watering flavours, i.e., Kachcha Aam, Guava, Litchi, Orange, and Pineapple. The brand continues to enjoy popularity with the burst of tanginess and a feeling of fun and peculiarity that each flavour commands.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
