Ad Campaigns
India’s original superhero returns on a technological odyssey with Google Pixel 8
Mumbai: In 1987, the world marvelled at the incredible powers of invisibility when Arun Verma, affectionately known as “Mr. India,” discovered a watch that could make him disappear. Fast forward to 2023, and we’re thrilled to announce that Mr. India is back, not as a legendary character, but as the brand ambassador for Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, brought to life by the creative agency FCB Group India.
The tech in Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is nothing short of magic, and it has been decades since India witnessed technology of this calibre. Just as Mr. India once harnessed extraordinary powers with his invisible watch, the Google Pixel 8 is set to redefine the boundaries of what’s possible with technology.
The idea behind this collaboration is not just about innovation; it’s all heart. It’s about seamlessly integrating cutting-edge technology into the fabric of everyday life, and it’s a testament to the creative brilliance of FCB Group India. This partnership marks the beginning of a remarkable journey where you’ll witness Mr. India navigating his life using the ground-breaking tech of Pixel 8, showing how this noteworthy device becomes an integral part of modern living.
The campaign launch is set to be nothing short of “Jhakaas,” a term Mr. India himself would appreciate. It’s an extraordinary fusion of nostalgia, creativity, and innovation bound to captivate the imagination of tech enthusiasts and fans of Mr. India alike.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
