MAM
Leo Burnett wins PepsiCo India’s creative mandate
Mumbai: PepsiCo India has selected Publicis Groupe agency Leo Burnett India as its creative partner to drive long-term growth and momentum across its foods and beverages portfolio.
As part of the partnership, Leo Burnett will be responsible for the company’s creative and digital mandate across all brands in the country. The account has been won after an intense multi- agency pitch.
Speaking about the appointment, PepsiCo India senior vice president George Kovoor said, “At PepsiCo India, our aim is to create innovative and purposeful consumer campaigns that help us engage effectively with our consumers. With an intent to further accelerate our marketing efforts, we are delighted to welcome Leo Burnett as our new creative agency. Their strategic thinking along with robust creative & marketing capabilities make them the right partners for our next phase of growth.”
Leo Burnett CEO, South Asia & chairman BBH India Dheeraj Sinha said, “We are overwhelmed with the trust posed in us by PepsiCo India in aligning their portfolio with us. PepsiCo’s business in India is witnessing a tremendous growth journey and we are looking forward to being their partners in accelerating this momentum. The mandate offers us a wonderful opportunity to further create groundbreaking work, and integrate culture, creativity, data and technology in campaigns, going forward.”
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
