Ad Campaigns
Lay’s Gourmet announces Saif Ali Khan as its brand ambassador
Mumbai: Lay’s Gourmet, the premium range of slow-cooked kettle chips from Lay’s, is reaching new heights with the superior snacking experience being offered through the royal flavours within the portfolio. The experience is all set to be scaled, with the brand announcing the ‘Nawab of Bollywood,’ Saif Ali Khan, as its brand ambassador.
The partnership aims to magnify the exquisite taste and finesse of Lay’s Gourmet chips that are made from carefully selected, high quality potatoes, cooked with care for those perfect golden curls and seasoned with lip-smacking flavours and aromas. The actor will bring his charm and flair, reinforcing that Lay’s Gourmet is not just a regular chip, but a delicately crafted snacking experience that deserves to be savoured.
The TV commercial, artfully directed by Vivek Kakkad, begins with Khan walking through a luxuriously decorated corridor to meet journalists Aditi and Anjali, who are waiting to interview him. The grandeur of Saif’s home leaves the journalists awestruck. They discuss the possibility of the house having multiple chandeliers in each room, a legion of butlers at his service, and even a lion as his companion. Oddly enough the things that they imagine suddenly start emerging around Saif, leaving him confused. Aditi intervenes, reminding Anjali that Saif’s exquisite taste should not be judged solely by his opulence. Intrigued, Anjali wants to learn more about his extraordinary taste, and at that moment, he surprises them by placing packs of Lay’s Gourmet on the table, giving them a glimpse of his fine taste. Anjali, excitedly exclaims, “Chips! Oh, I love chips.” But Aditi corrects her, saying, “These are not chips, Anjali. They are Lay’s Gourmet.”
Talking about Khan’s appointment as the brand ambassador, PepsiCo India director-marketing, potato chips category Shailaja Joshi said, “We are thrilled to welcome Saif once again as a member of the Lay’s family, this time as the face of our range of slow-cooked premium kettle chips, Lay’s Gourmet. His impeccable taste and refined choices in life make him the perfect partner to showcase the crafted experience of Lay’s Gourmet. Our new TV commercial seamlessly establishes this correlation as it gives a sneak peek into what actually defines Khan as the connoisseur of finer things. We’re confident that our fans will embrace him as the face of Lay’s Gourmet, just like they’ve been savouring the well-deserved experience and rich taste of these delightful chips.”
Sharing his excitement, celebrated actor and face of fine taste, Khan expressed, “My previous association with Lay’s was for many years and is very memorable to me. I am equally thrilled to rejoin the family as the first-ever brand ambassador for Lay’s Gourmet. These aren’t just chips, they’re the perfect accompaniment for moments of finesse. I am sure that the audiences will appreciate the exceptional taste and quality of Lay’s Gourmet chips, just as much as I do.”
“When we think of royalty, we often associate it with opulence and grandeur. However, true royalty is characterized by a focus on quality and perfection, which is precisely what makes Lay’s Gourmet stand out. Crafted from fine ingredients, each chip is a testament to the pursuit of the best flavour and experience. And who better than the Nawab of Pataudi himself, Saif Ali Khan, who embodies the spirit of quality and sophistication, to bring alive the experience of Lays Gourmet,” remarked Leo Burnett CEO & CCO South Asia Rajdeepak Das.
The TVC launch will be followed by a robust 360-surround plan and Khan will continue to be a pivotal part of future Lay’s Gourmet campaigns.
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.
