MAM
IAA Young Turks Forum announces Mentorship program on Teachers Day
MUMBAI: The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter has invited Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation to launch its Mentorship program for 700 young professionals with about 35 leaders on Friday, September 19 at Bombay Stock Exchange’s International Convention Hall. The Mentorship program will be launched right after interactive session on “Engaging with the Audience – Lessons from the Entertainment Industry” between R. Balki, Chairman, Lowe Lintas and Stefan Haves renowned Director from Hollywood from 4 pm onwards. Anish Trivedi, renowned Theatre personality and Author will moderate this session. The HBO South Asia is the Presenting Partner and Mahindra Special Services Group and NASSCOM are the knowledge partners of the IAA Young Turks Forum.
“IAA is for the first time doing a double event – an high energy interactive session followed by a mentorship programme where 20 young executives will have their questions answered on their personal career issues by one of the 35 seasoned professionals/entrepreneurs assembled at the event. The interactive session too will be a very engaging one since Balki and Stefan are well known professionals. Balki in addition to award winning advertising work has also directed two successful Bollywood films “Cheeni Kum” and “Paa”. Paa won 5 awards out of 14 nominations at the 16th Star Screen Awards. Stefan Haves on the other hand is also an acclaimed director, creator and producer of circus, theater and film whose creations have appeared across the globe,” said Srinivasan K Swamy, President IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development, Asia Pacific.
“HBO has always had a strong connect with youth audiences and we are delighted to be associated with this thought exchange platform for young leaders,” said Ms. Monica Tata, Managing Director HBO South Asia, Presenting Partner of the IAA Young Turks Forum.
Manish Advani, Head – Marketing and Public Relations, Mahindra Special Services Group, who is Chair of the IAA Young Turks Forum said, “I can say from my own experience one moment’s association with a leader could change one’s life. The only difference between the leader and the beginner is, that the leader has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. Through this initiative we are offering our future leaders an opportunity to learn about the failures of our current leaders to create a better world for our future generations. This event is the third one and promises to be better than the one when 800 young people participated.”
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.
