MAM
L&K Saatchi & Saatchi ropes in Kanishka Vashisht as executive creative director
New Delhi: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi strengthened its creative team on Monday with the appointment of Kanishka Vashisht as the executive creative director. Vashisht will be based out of New Delhi and will manage all brands for the region. He will report to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Joint national creative director, Rohit Malkani.
Vashisht joins the agency from Lowe Lintas, Delhi where he was group creative director. His joining will strengthen the agency’s creative output and help create a unique culture – one that will thrive on creating superlative content & meaningful conversations for brands in the region, said the agency in a statement on Monday.
Commenting on the appointment, Malkani said: “Finding the perfect person to head our New Delhi office wasn’t easy. It had to be someone who shared our obsession for spawning a unique culture, who shared our ambition for creating conversations and superlative content and finally, someone with a proven track record. In Kanishka, I saw all three. He is a unique creative person with his heart in the right place! It’s going to be a heck of a ride with him on board.”
Vashisht began his advertising journey as a suit in Triton Advertising, Delhi. But the creative spirit in him led him to switch over and join Ogilvy Delhi in 2004. After a five-year stint at the agency where he worked on brands like Motorola, KFC, LG, Eno, and others, he left to join Leo Burnett. As Uninor was born, he was then summoned to McCann Delhi to build relationships with Perfetti, Chevrolet, Coke, Aircel, Metlife, Greenlam, and others.
After a five-year stint, Lowe Lintas Delhi came calling and got him to help conceive much more than just ideas for brands like Google, Micromax, Foodpanda, and Hindustan Times. He briefly took a sabbatical to explore his liking for a serene setting and left for the fields of southern France.
Sharing his views on the opportunity that this role presents, he said, “I believe L&K Saatchi & Saatchi is an extremely fertile land for some very interesting brand work. My job is to sow the seeds of possibility, gather and nurture talent, and of course, reap the fruits of our combined efforts.”
MAM
Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
