MAM
Emvies ’17 co-chief Sinha says it will celebrate high-impact campaigns that drove brand resonance
MUMBAI: The Advertising Club (TAC) India is all set for the 2017 edition of the much sought-after Emvies. There renowned and respected awards have been adjudged by a distinguished jury of around 211 industry leaders from across the country, establishing it as an award with one of the broadest an inclusive jury process.
The awards have thus continued to grow in scale and strength, emerging as the gold standard amongst media awards recognising path breaking brand campaigns and innovations. The awards are to be held on 13th October 2017 @ The St. Regis Mumbai with thought leaders from across the advertising and media fraternity expected to be attending the apex industry event.
Speaking about the changing dynamics of campaigns and the importance of being relevant Punitha Arumugam, 2017 Awards chairman for Emvies said “One of the most trusted and coveted Awards in the category, the response to Emvies continues to scale with increased participation and representation from all industry stakeholders. India has been at the forefront to creating some ingenious campaigns that have showcased high effectiveness and fueled behavioral change. Emvies continues to be committed to lauding and recognising such pioneering communication stories that his delivered on its business and brand objectives.”
Elaborating further on the entries Partha Sinha, 2017 Awards Co-Chairman for Emvies said “The Emvies 2017 will once again celebrate ground-breaking and high impact media campaigns that have successfully contributed towards driving resonance for the brands.”
Speaking of the awards in his first year as President of the Advertising Club, Vikram Sakhuja said “The Ad Club believes in promoting Excellence in the field of Advertising & Marketing, and the Emvies are and remain the Gold Standard of Media Excellence. I would like to commend the jury comprising Agencies, Media and Advertisers in selecting the transformational work.”
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
