Brands
How brands are celebrating Christmas 2020
NEW DELHI: Wrapping up a rather tiring and complicated year that 2020 was, the season of joy and love is finally here with Christmas. While the celebrations are going to be muted with lockdown restrictions still in place across the country, it is nevertheless a good time to enjoy and enliven our spirits. Therefore, brands are also indulging in a number of fun activities, announcing special offers, and running cheerful campaigns to celebrate the holiday season.
Coca Cola
Coca Cola was trending on Twitter on Christmas eve with its heartfelt X-mas creative that encouraged consumers to gift their loved ones joy with some food and Coca-Cola. #XMasWithCocaCola is a global campaign running in 90+ countries, including India, and is created by Wieden+Kennedy London.
Make holidays blissful than ever by giving the gift of love to your dear ones. Add more joy with Coca-Cola & good food. #XmasWithCocaCola
Buy now – https://t.co/CSsdqWFsWR pic.twitter.com/NInrxkuG0n— Coca-Cola India (@CocaCola_Ind) December 11, 2020
Wiggles
Fast-growing pet care brand Wiggles launched a first-of-its-kind Christmas carol #WiggleBells asking pet parents to make their fur babies a part of the festivities.
Prior to the #WiggleBells campaign, Wiggles also rolled out a social media initiative as a run-up to Christmas to drive engagement and excitement among pet parents across India through its Wiggles Tribes social community. As part of the ongoing campaign, pet parents will get an opportunity to win 100 kgs of Wiggles YKibble – newly launched oven-baked dry food for active and senior dogs. The contest campaign has already engaged over 2,500+ pet parents across India within its first three days of going live.
Bennet and Bernard Group
In the true spirit of bringing cheer, Bennet and Bernard, a diversified group with majority business interest in eco-luxury real estate, hospitality, gastronomy and consumer goods, launched a ‘Joy of Giving’ Christmas campaign to spread positivity and kindness among the people and showcase solidarity. The month-long drive will focus on highlighting the importance of ‘togetherness.’
Under this campaign, each week, the company will be carrying an act of kindness to help the vulnerable people in its community. Starting with the initiative to feed street animals, the company will undertake several other initiatives throughout December such as providing essential kits to the workers at construction sites, supplying food to the old age homes, feeding the needy people and supporting the orphanages.
Shorts TV
Shorts TV has come up with special segments of selected shorts from around the globe to remind you of the Christmas and New Year of old. It will be running an interesting mix of Christmas films including The Elf Who Saved Christmas, The Christmas Hot Dog, ‘Tis the Season, etc. The movies can be watched on Tata Sky ShortsTV, ShortsTV Active on Dish TV & D2H and Airtel ShortsTV.
Chupa Chups
One of the most iconic confectionery brands from the house of Perfetti Van Melle – Chupa Chups rolled out its new digital campaign #FunKaBooster, which is rooted in its philosophy of ‘Fun is for life, and not just for kids,’ to mark the Christmas fervour. The two digital-0nly films have been conceptualised by Ogilvy.
Winkies
Cake specialist Winkies has also baked a fresh campaign with Enormous Brands to ‘Sweeten The Season.’ The ad film focuses on how we will celebrate Christmas during the pandemic and has a bigger concept – Bodo Din, Bodo Mon, which is about sharing joy and cheer during Christmas.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
