MAM
Harkirat Singh of Gath Productions wins #Zomatoloot
NEW DELHI: A little over a month ago, food-aggregator and delivery platform Zomato, in its ever-quirky way, had announced a unique competition for the people who were tired of seeing their unskippable ‘rich butter chicken’ and ‘creamy pasta’ ads on YouTube. Termed #Zomatoloot, the video creating challenge was an interesting way to incorporate user-generated content in a brand’s marketing strategy, besides promising Rs 25 lakh to the winner as well as a lot of visibility on digital and TV ads of Zomato.
The challenge attracted many interesting entries, but the victory went to Harkirat Singh, who runs a production house called Gath Productions. Singh’s rib-tickling ad depicting the story of every hostel ever was as relatable as it was funny and was a big hit with the Zomato’s social media followers.
Singh is pretty psyched about winning the challenge and the recognition it is getting him. “I have been in the industry for four years now and have worked on a number of brand films as director and cinematographer but never got the recognition for it. At the end of it, ad films become the property of the agency. So, it is very exciting and heartening for me to get recognition for my film.”
On being asked about how he landed upon the concept, Singh shared, “I got to know about it from a friend on the 27th of September, just a few days before the last date of submissions. As time was short, I was not very confident if something can be pulled off and told her that I will only be participating if I can create something good. Luckily, the same night the idea struck me. I was having dinner with my sister, there was something on her plate that I was trying to grab and that’s when it struck me. Then I connected it to my hostel days where I have had similar experiences of my friends taking my orders and eating them.”
He added, “It also happened that just a few days back I had seen this building that looked like a hostel and instantly I knew the location too.”
Singh then shot the entire film within a span of six hours.
Here are all the other entries that made a podium finish:
MAM
Sleepwell unveils nationwide sleep study on World Sleep Day
79 per cent use screens before bed, 36 per cent of 18–25-year-olds sleep ≤5 hours.
MUMBAI: Sleepwell just dropped the pillow truth bomb because when India’s sleeping less and scrolling more, even the mattress wants to stage an intervention. On World Sleep Day 2026, Sleepwell released its nationwide Sleep Study, painting a stark picture of India’s escalating sleep crisis. The findings show that 79% of Indians use screens right before bed, fuelling restless nights and drowsy days. Alarmingly, 36% of young adults aged 18–25 sleep five hours or less making them the country’s most sleep-deprived group.
The study also busts the myth of “catch-up sleep”, 65% of respondents actually sleep even later on weekends, pointing to increasingly irregular patterns that spill fatigue into the working week. Mattress discomfort emerged as a frequently overlooked culprit behind late-night wake-ups and constant leak-anxiety checks.
To drive the message home, Sleepwell’s CMO Puneet Gulati appeared on Zee Business, stressing that quality sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s foundational health. He highlighted how the right mattress can transform restless nights into restorative ones.
The brand doubled down with clever late-night activations, partnering with a quick-commerce platform to serve contextual ads between 11 pm and 3 am, gently nudging bleary-eyed scrollers to consider mattress discomfort as the reason they’re still awake and pointing them to the nearest Sleepwell store. Digital influencers and creators also shared relatable stories of how poor sleep fuels impulsive late-night behaviour.
In a nation that celebrates hustle but quietly pays for it in lost rest, Sleepwell isn’t just selling mattresses, it’s selling the radical idea that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is close your eyes and actually sleep well.
