MAM
Huawei India to launch $ 10 million campaign in Jan 2014
BENGALURU: Huawei India plans to launch a multi-media campaign come January 2014, revealed Huawei India Devices sources. To that extent the company is evaluating offers from advertising agencies that have been submitted.
“We’ll be taking a decision in about a week’s time about the agency that will create the campaign,” revealed the sources. “The $ 6-10 million campaign will cover corporate branding as well as products, devices,” added the source. Huawei plans to use television, outdoor, print and digital for its mass media communications.
The company is planning a three phase campaign revealed the source further. Initially, it’ll be about brand building over the first six months, followed by a sustainability campaign over the next six months, culminating with a leadership campaign.
Huawei officials were in Bengaluru late last week for the India launch of what the company claims is the thinnest mobile at 6.18 mm in the world – the Huawei Ascend P6. The P6 is being touted as the current flagship smartphone in India by the company, and will feature in lot of the company’s communications. Earlier, the phone model had its global launch in the fashion capital of the world – London on 18 June, 2013. Huawei plans to launch other phone devices as well as products including tablets in India.
Huawei Devices India president Victor Shanxin said, “The Ascend P6 has already received a tremendous response from global consumers over the last few months, offering unsurpassed technology with a design that is simply stunning.”
Victor revealed that Huawei had received orders totaling five million units of the P6 from across the geographies where it had been launched and had completed supplies of around three million P6 handsets so far since the launch on 18 June.
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.
