AD Agencies
Leo Burnett, Mondelez, & Ogilvy grab top honours at Ad Club’s Effies 2024
MUMBAI: It was a noisy, raucous evening to say the least with agency executives screaming, blowing hard into their whistles, cheering as award after award was announced. But the Ad Club Mumba’s Effie Awards also left behind a lot of happy faces at the Sea Lawns at the Taj Land’s End Hotel in Mumbai’s Bandra suburb on the evening of 24 January .
The winner of the Grand Effie for 2024 was Leo Burnett India for their work on Acko General insurance. The agency along with McCann Erickson definitely deserved another award: that of being the loudest bunch in the evening.
The brand that walked away with the client Effie of the year was Mondelez India which is the third consecutive year it has managed this feat. Kudos to it for creating memories for siblings, for special occasions with its confectioneries, chocolates along with its agencies.
The agency of the year was shockingly grabbed by Ogilvy India. It looked to be nowhere in the running. But it made a last minute dash taking home enough golds and silvers towards the last batch of awards to win the prestigious accolade. All in all it was a glorious memorable evening for Ogilvy India’s creative god Piyush Pandey who hesitatingly walked towards the stage amidst the melee of young executives who made a run for the stage when master of ceremonies Brian Tellis announced it as the winning agency .
The highlight of the evening was a tribute to Bhaskar Da or Dr Bhaskar Das or BD which was offered by Ad Club president Rana Barua. What was great was the noisy crowd went completely silent when Rana spoke about what made Bhaskar Da so special and his long association with the Ad Club and the media industry as a whole. A short film by Pradyuman about Bhaskar Da with Tellis providing the voice over moved Rana to tears as he finished his tribute.
The Effie India awards stand out as a unique celebration of creativity, strategy, and effectiveness, recognised not just by industry peers but also by clients and academics. This year, the awards attracted 1,152 entries from 75 agencies, affirming Effie India’s position as the second-largest Effie globally in terms of participation.
With a rigorous judging process involving 486 jury members, including 254 marketing professionals, the evaluation took place across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore, ensuring top-notch standards for this year’s campaigns.
The Advertising Club president and Havas India group CEO Rana Barua remarked, “The Effie India awards exemplify the power of strategic creativity and impactful storytelling. With over 1,152 entries, this year continues to set benchmarks for the industry. Congratulations to all winners for their innovative campaigns that resonate deeply with audiences and drive measurable impact. These awards reflect the collaborative brilliance of our industry.”
Effie India awards chairperson Mitrajit Bhattacharya noted, “The evolution of the Effie India awards over the past 23 years is incredible. The awards not only celebrate creativity but also showcase the collaborative efforts from 75 agencies and 486 experts on the jury. It’s inspiring to see the industry push boundaries with remarkable campaigns that deliver tangible outcomes. Thank you to the jury and participants for making this edition memorable.”
Effie India awards co-chairperson Pradeep Dwivedi added, “The Effie India Awards have become a cornerstone of the advertising and marketing landscape, uniting the best minds in the business. Congratulations to all the winners for pushing the limits of creativity and strategy. Your work inspires and shapes the future of brand communication.”
Globally recognised, the Effie Awards honor brands, agencies, and marketers that excel in driving business growth and delivering impactful campaigns.
To go through the list of the winners of the various Effie awards click here
To take a look at the total points tally of the client of the year click here.
To take a look at the total points tally of the agency of the year click here
(When the window pops up, you can zoom in on the pdf file to see the results)
AD Agencies
AdTrust Summit 2026 to examine trust, AI and Gen Alpha in advertising
Two-day summit in Mumbai to explore ethics, regulation and the future of advertising trust
MUMBAI: At a time when advertising is navigating a delicate trust deficit, the Advertising Standards Council of India is preparing to bring the industry to the table. On 17 and 18 March, the body will host the inaugural AdTrust Summit 2026 in Mumbai, a two-day gathering designed to spark conversation around responsibility, regulation and credibility in modern advertising.
The summit, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, will bring together leaders from advertising, media, technology and policy to examine how brands can build trust in a marketplace increasingly shaped by algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence.
In an age of deepfakes, dark patterns and blurred lines between content and commerce, the question is no longer just how brands capture attention, but whether audiences believe what they see. The AdTrust Summit aims to unpack that challenge.
Day one will turn its attention to the youngest digital natives. Titled Decoding Gen Alpha, the session will unveil ‘What the Sigma?’, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands Consulting that explores how children growing up in a hyper-digital environment encounter advertising and commercial messaging.
The report presentation will be delivered by Santosh Desai, founder and director at Think9 Consumer Technologies and a social commentator known for his insights into consumer behaviour. The discussion that follows will attempt to decode how Gen Alpha consumes media, interacts with brands and navigates the growing overlap between entertainment and marketing.
In a move that mirrors the subject itself, two Gen Alpha students will also join the conversation, offering a rare perspective from the generation advertisers are trying to understand.
The second panel of the day will shift the focus from observation to implication, asking what the report’s findings mean for brands, agencies and society. Speakers include Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant; Preeti Vyas, president at Mythik; and Abigail Dias, associate president planning at Ogilvy. The session will be moderated by Sonali Krishna, editor at ET Brand Equity.
Day two moves from insight to regulation. Under the theme From Compliance to Trust, ASCI will release its Ad Law Compendium, a comprehensive guide to India’s advertising regulations.
The day will open with a keynote by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman at ASCI and managing director at Pidilite Industries, followed by a chief guest address by Sanjay Jaju, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Legal experts from Khaitan & Co., including Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner, and Tanu Banerjee, partner, will present an overview of the current advertising law landscape in India and examine whether existing frameworks are equipped to deal with emerging technologies and formats.
Subsequent panels will explore issues increasingly shaping the industry’s ethical compass. Conversations will range from the limits of persuasive design and the rise of dark patterns, to the growing scrutiny brands face from digital creators and consumer watchdogs.
One session will also feature Revant Himatsingka, widely known online as the Food Pharmer, whose critiques of packaged food brands have sparked debate around transparency and corporate accountability.
Later discussions will turn toward media literacy among Gen Alpha, asking how children can be equipped to navigate a digital world where gaming, content and commerce are becoming indistinguishable.
The summit will conclude with a final panel on the future of advertising, bringing together voices from agencies, legal circles and technology platforms to discuss how innovation, intelligence and integrity can coexist.
For an industry built on persuasion, trust has always been its quiet currency. But as audiences grow more sceptical and digital ecosystems more complex, that currency is under pressure.
Events like the AdTrust Summit suggest the advertising world knows it cannot afford to take credibility for granted. The real challenge now is turning conversation into commitment.
