MAM
Leo Burnett gets Vir Das to take on sexist ads
MUMBAI: Vir Das is back and this time with a vengeance against sexist commercials. Starring in a television commercial for Emami’s flagship men’s deodorant brand He, Das puts on the shoes of every female model who has to go through awkward and uncomfortable film shoots to promote a product. In his signature satirical style, Das takes on several brands, which are instantly recognisable in the parody thanks to their trademark ‘sexist’ ads. Launched digitally on 13 May, the video has already garnered over a lakh views on Facebook, and the YouTube counter is going strong.
The video starts off with Das sensuously caressing a mango in his hand (very clearly hinting at Slice’s ads featuring Katrina Kaif), while shooting for an ad film, and the scene quickly cuts to a sporty looking bike on which Das tries a sexy pose. He leads the audience to a very familiar ‘fallen angel’ setting of a deodorant advertisement, while subtly hinting at Axe and its flagship range of TV spots that are known to titillate men by objectifying women.
All the while Das points out how silly it is to objectify women to sell products, just like ‘He Respect’, the deo brand he is promoting, cause ‘real men respect women.’ In fact, another spot released by the brand on May 13 starring the brand ambassador Hrithik Roshan clarifies the brand’s positioning with #AsliMenRespectWomen.
Conceptualised by Orchard Advertising and directed by Surjo Deb under UBIK films, the one minute video is clever and inspiring — a much needed differentiated brand communication in the men’s grooming product segment.
“The product had an interesting brand positioning to work with. Highlighting the need to ‘respect’ women, the brand spoke of a different breed of men who are cool because they respect women. It’s not the deo that gets them admiration from the opposite sex, it’s this identity as a man who respects women that does,” shared Leo Burnett chief creative officer Raj Deepak Das, adding that the product idea was also developed by the creative agency.
When asked about calling out other brands for being sexist in the video, the creative clarified, “While the ad film does communicate the message that a product doesn’t need to objectify women to be sold, the video has done a funny take on it. It is more of a generalisation than targeting any brand and I hope viewers take it in the funny light that it’s been created.” Besides, “you can’t stop a comedian from making fun of things,” he added with a chuckle.
This isn’t the first time that a brand has taken on advertising stereotypes to position itself differently. Emraan Hashmi starrer Meglow ad that came out last year, came under the critical radar within the industry after speaking strongly against fairness cream ads that claim to perform life altering wonders for men. Though it was debatable whether it managed to stay progressive till the end, the reception it got on social media was quite commendable.
Treatment of women in advertisement has been a long running debate and a sensitive topic within the industry and thus requires a clever handling, lest it appears run of the mill. It may be recalled that recently a TV spot promoting Ola Micro had to be called off for its sexist intonations that sparked outrage over social media. Thus, a brand communication that speaks directly against it may work in Emami’s favour. Whether Vir Das’ funny take on it will add that much needed factor x, only time will tell.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
