MAM
IDBI Federal launches OOH campaign to promote Childsurance
MUMBAI: IDBI Federal Life Insurance has launched its humorous, yet hard-hitting, outdoor campaign to promote its child plans’ category – Childsurance. The outdoor campaign, which will span across 105 cities and towns, adds a bit of fun element to drive home a point.
Explaining the objective of this campaign, IDBI Federal Life Insurance chief strategy and marketing officer Aneesh Khanna said, “The angry baby photos attract your attention and lead you to an important message – children will not look this cute when they are 18 if their dreams are not fulfilled for lack of financial planning. With the cost of education ballooning year after year, it is important that young parents systematically plan for the future needs of their little ones.”
“The best part about this campaign is that while it gives young parents a gentle nudge, it does that by bringing a smile on their faces. Our insurance solutions for children effectively address most of the concerns related to securing their future. We think it’s a clutter breaking idea and takes a complete departure from regular advertising featuring babies,” Khanna added.
Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai senior creative directors Amitabh Agnihotri and Sameer Sojwal have designed the campaign.
Agnihotri said, “There couldn’t be a more arresting idea than using babies to grab the attention of young parents. The category of insurance is inundated with emotional appeals, advertising that literally pleas for better financial planning. We were clear that we had to stay away from the clutter and create something absolutely fresh. The most fun part of the campaign was shooting with the babies and getting their cute-angry expressions.”
Sojwal added, “Financial planning for a child’s future is probably the most important message to convey to young parents; dealing with the wrath of a child’s failed future can be a daunting experience. This is the reality of life, but humorously put through the Childsurance campaign.”
Social Street executed the campaign in 105 cities, with more than 900 billboards pan India in Phase I.
Social Street founding partner and chairman, Pratap Bose said, “The Childsurance campaign from IDBI Federal is indeed an intriguing one, as the cute angry babies immediately draw your attention. Large scale formats in the OOH space, enables the imagery of the visual to be disproportionately large, so as to draw attention and drive home the point that your child’s insurance is certainly not something that you can take for granted.’’
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.
