Brands
Gayatri Kannan appointed director – innovation Commercialisation at PepsiCo India
Gurugram: PepsiCo India has named Gayatri Kannan as director – innovation Commercialisation, tasking her with strengthening commercial strategies, driving end-to-end innovation, and accelerating growth across the company’s portfolio from its Gurugram headquarters.
Kannan joins from Amazon, where she was senior manager – marketing (Amazon Master Brand), leading large-scale brand campaigns and helping secure Amazon India’s first-ever Cannes Bronze Lion. Her prior experience spans Kimberly-Clark as category head – marketing (Fem Care), overseeing the Kotex relaunch, and multiple leadership positions at L’Oréal across Maybelline New York. She also has cross-functional experience at Procter & Gamble, DDB Mudra Group, and Tata Consultancy Services, building expertise across FMCG, beauty, e-commerce, and technology sectors.
Her appointment signals PepsiCo India’s intent to accelerate innovation-led growth, with Kannan expected to shape the next wave of market-defining products.
Brands
Samay Raina’s Still Alive sparks brand rush as comeback goes viral
With 44 million views in five days, marketers seize the cultural moment
MUMBAI: After nearly a year out of the spotlight following the India’s Got Latent controversy, Samay Raina has staged a high-impact return with his comedy special Still Alive, and both audiences and brands are taking notice.
Released on April 7, the special has garnered 44 million views and over 3.4 million likes on YouTube within just five days, underlining the creator’s strong recall and loyal fan base. More than just a comeback, the set sees Raina address the controversy directly, weaving personal setbacks into humour that feels raw, self-aware and unmistakably on-brand.
What has amplified the moment further is the speed at which marketers have responded. Within hours of the special gaining traction, brands began rolling out meme-led creatives riffing on the “still alive” theme and Raina’s name, turning the comeback into a full-blown real-time marketing opportunity.
Across platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn, companies including Airtel, OpenAI, Chayos, YesMadam, Unibic, Parle 20-20, GeeksforGeeks, Biggies Burger, Magicpin and Duolingo joined the conversation, each adding their own spin through wordplay, humour and product-led messaging.
Here are some of the brand creatives circulating online:
