Ad Campaigns
itel India announces new World Cup campaign
Mumbai: itel, India’s leading smartphone brand, has captured the hearts of millions and united the nation with its emotionally charged brand campaign, timed perfectly with the World Cup season. As a brand that prides itself on democratizing technology for all, itel India has underscored its commitment to providing incredible value in every product it delivers while fostering a sense of togetherness and shared experiences among its customers.
The campaign’s centerpiece is a touching short film that encapsulates the values and aspirations of itel India. It tells the heartwarming story of a father and son, blending the emotional journey of their dreams and sacrifices with the transformative power of technology.
As the campaign reminds us, itel India is not just a smartphone brand; it is a unifying force that brings together families, generations, and the entire nation, especially during moments of sporting and emotional significance.
Speaking about the campaign, itel (Transsion) India CEO Arijeet Talapatra said “We believe that in today’s digital age, the smartphone has become the new TV. For many in the country, it serves as the gateway to information, entertainment, and connection, and for many, the gateway to the Cricket World Cup this season. Just like food, clothing, and shelter, the smartphone has also become a fundamental necessity in our lives. Like we see in the digital film, watching the World Cup is an activity that brings all the generations of the country together. Thus, in the spirit of #JodeBharatKaHarDilitel, we aim to democratize watching the World Cup by placing an itel phone in as many hands as possible. itel is here to serve the aspirations of Gen Z, providing them with endless opportunities and connections.”
The digital film has been conceptualized and executed by Havas Worldwide India. It offers a fresh approach to storytelling in the digital advertising realm.
Havas Worldwide India CCO Anupama Ramaswamy said, “Indians love two things – cricket and family. And they are happiest when they can bring the two together. This was the inspiration that went into creating this heart-warming story. A story that touched upon small-town India’s many realities – parent’s pride and belief in their children’s abilities, a father’s love for his son that pushes him to take on every challenge, the fact that life can be tough sometimes but when loved ones come together anything is achievable. And at every step of the way, itel is there to help these bonds grow stronger. We wanted this story to help itel become more than yet another mobile phone brand. We wanted itel to be seen as a companion that truly celebrates the coming together of people and their passions.”
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.
