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India packs a punch at Smarties APAC 2025
MUMBAI: India did not just show up at the MMA Smarties APAC 2025 Awards. It showed off. In a year when creative firepower met tech muscle, Indian marketers turned the regional stage into their own victory ring, sweeping four major industry titles and pocketing an impressive spread of gold, silver and bronze wins.
Announced globally by the Marketing and Media Alliance, this year’s results underline India’s growing clout in consumer insight, digital innovation and business impact across the Asia Pacific region. The performance signals a market that is not only confident but shaping the future of marketing in the region.
Leading the charge were four coveted industry honours. Wavemaker India was named media agency of the year, Amazon Ads took home enabling technology company of the Year, Ethinos claimed independent agency of the Year and Colgate Palmolive’s Oral Health Movement secured the best in show title. Together, these wins place India at the forefront of strategic and creative excellence.
MMA CEO APAC and global head Smarties Worldwide Rohit Dadwal said India remains one of the most influential markets in the programme. He noted that Indian work stands out for combining creativity, technology and cultural intelligence while still driving business outcomes at scale. He added that this year’s industry wins reflect the country’s leadership across media, technology and independent agency craft.
India also delivered one of its strongest metal runs yet. Gold winners included campaigns from Hindustan Unilever’s Knorr with Mindshare India, UltraTech Cement, Hyundai Motor India with Havas Play, Mondelez India’s Oreo and Celebrations with Wavemaker India, Bajaj Auto’s Chetak with Amazon Ads and Colgate Palmolive with Wavemaker India.
Silver metals were awarded to Dove, Cadbury Oreo, Maybelline New York, JioCinema and the Oral Health Movement. Bronze honours went to Dove and a cluster of work from Rin, Wheel and Surf.
MMA Global India country head and board member Moneka Khurana said the results reflect the depth and evolution of India’s marketing landscape. She highlighted how work across CPG, auto, beauty and entertainment shows what future ready marketing looks like and praised the consistency and conviction of Indian agencies and brands.
Across the region, Smarties APAC recognised 107 winning entries including 25 gold, 36 silver, 32 bronze and 14 industry awards. India’s standout performance reinforces its status as a trailblazer shaping consumer behaviour and digital innovation in the Asia Pacific market.
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UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
