MAM
Effie Awards 2011 entries are now open
MUMBAI: The Ad Club Bombay has invited entries for the 2011 Effie India Awards. The last date for sending entries is 11 November, 2011.
The award acknowledges an agency for showcasing its power to build brands that lead to business, demonstrating the highest level of leadership in brand communication for the clients and most significantly celebrating effective advertising and marketing in India. While the International Effie Awards are hosted every year in New York, since 2001 The Ad Club Bombay has been the Asian partner that has helped to organise the Effies in India.
Incidentally Effies is the only award that is bestowed on both the client and agency to jointly share the celebration of their effective communication and perseverance.
Effie 2011 Committee chairperson Ajay Kakar said, “For over a decade, the Effies India has become the gold standard in measuring communication effectiveness for marketing excellence. This is reflected both in the quality and the number of entries which the awards have been attracting every year – a startling increase from 53 in 2001 to 276 in 2010. As integrated advertising and alternative media become important influences for most business categories, this year in addition to the existing categories some new ones have also been included, to give recognition to their importance and potential. This move, we believe, will further increase the popularity of these awards.”
The new categories included this year, in keeping with the international format are:
- Electronic Goods has been added as an additional sub category under Consumer Durables,
- Corporate Advertising is sub divided into Corporate Reputation & Social Cause,
- Internet & Mobile Advertising has been clubbed as Digital Advertising (Online / Mobile Communications)
- B2B Advertising, Rural Advertising & Regional Advertising have been introduced as three new categories.
Any company (client, creative agency, media agency, digital agency, etc.) can take the lead on entering Effie. But they should work with all relevant partner companies to submit the strongest case.
The award ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, 14 December at 6.30 pm at the Royal Western India Turf Club, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai.
MAM
Happy Pawdcast launches merchandise with The Souled Store
Season 2 success leads to co-branded line celebrating pet-parent bond.
MUMBAI: The Happy Pawdcast just gave fans something to wag their tails about because when your favourite pet show gets merch, even the couch starts feeling like a runway. Building on the momentum of Season 2 which reached over 14 million pet lovers, clocked more than 20,000 hours of content consumption and engaged over 23,000 users, The Happy Pawdcast has teamed up with The Souled Store for an exclusive co-branded merchandise collection. The line translates the podcast’s emotional core into wearable designs that celebrate the everyday bond between pets and their parents.
Hosted by Sonali Bendre and Icy Behl, Season 2 featured candid conversations with celebrity pet parents including Remo D’Souza, Diana Penty, Kubbra Sait, Rohan Joshi, Karan Wahi, Tusshar Kapoor and Amala Akkineni. The episodes tackled responsible adoption, stray welfare, pet emotional well-being and debunked common care myths, earning strong resonance across digital platforms.
Sonali Bendre said, “Season 2 reaffirmed how deeply people connect with stories around pets, responsibility, and companionship. This collaboration with The Souled Store is a natural extension of that bond, taking the conversations beyond the screen and turning shared emotions into something tangible for pet parents.”
Rose Audio Visuals head of marketing & branded content Megha H Desai added, “With Season 2, The Happy Pawdcast evolved from a content property into a strong, community-led IP. The collaboration with The Souled Store reflects our approach to building meaningful extensions around our shows where audience insight, brand alignment, and scale come together.”
The Souled Store co-founder Vedang Patel noted, “Pet parenting today is as much about identity and expression as it is about care and responsibility. This collaboration allowed us to tap into a deeply engaged, emotionally invested community and co-create designs that feel authentic and accessible.”
Produced by Rosepod (the podcasting division of Rose Audio Visuals), the merchandise marks the podcast’s shift from audio-video content into a broader lifestyle IP, while aligning with The Souled Store’s focus on pop-culture-led, community-first products and its animal welfare initiatives through World For All.
In a pet-parent world where love often comes with a leash and a hoodie, The Happy Pawdcast isn’t just telling stories anymore, it’s letting fans wear them, proving the bond between humans and their fur-babies deserves more than likes, it deserves to be flaunted.
