MAM
‘HT’ launches with a bang in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The Hindustan Times (HT) may not have created enough hype before launch of its Mumbai edition like rival DNA is doing through heavy marketing, but it has made its impact felt on the first day itself with an investigative story that allegedly exposed links between the underworld and the film industry.
It set the news agenda for the day. News channels followed up the `Salman Tapes’ story and ran it throughout the day.
“The publicity that this story has given us is better than taking 300 hoardings for three months in Mumbai,” HT resident editor, Mumbai, Avirook Sen tells Indiantelevision.com. Sen was taking a less than subtle jab at DNA, a joint venture between Dainik Bhaskar and Subhash Chandra of Zee Telefilms, which has splashed the city with hoardings ahead of its launch in Mumbai on 30 July.
HT claims the newspaper sold out in a matter of hours. “We have clearly raised the bar where editorial content and packaging is concerned, giving Mumbai the kind of newspaper that the city has been waiting for. We have also proved, in an environment where advertising seems to rule, that content is king,” says an official release from the company.
Already present in 10 cities with a circulation of 1.2 million, HT will face its toughest battle in Mumbai, the traditional fort of The Times of India. DNA is claiming that it has got a subscriber base of three lakh, ahead of launch.
The battle may have just begun. But HT has shown that it can’t be pushed out. It did what newspapers are meant to do: sound the bugle of war with the right kind of news.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
