MAM
MakeMyTrip launches new campaign with its brand ambassadors Alia & Ranveer
MUMBAI: MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel company has launched a new campaign, with its brand ambassadors – Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, to encourage Indian travellers to choose and book from a wide range of alternative accommodations including Villas, Apartments, Homestays, Hostels, Cottages, Farm stays and more through its app and website. Targeted at aspirational Indian traveller, the campaign spotlights the salient benefits of Alternative Accommodations, in a fun and light-hearted manner through its brand ambassadors Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh.
The multi-platform campaign underlines how alternative accommodation options on MakeMyTrip will cater to varied travel interests and needs. From offering privacy to couples, value for money and sense of freedom to a group of friends, access to a private kitchen to a family with kids, the segment provides options to all travel cohorts to get an accommodation that aptly fits their needs.
Sharing his thoughts on the new campaign, MakeMyTrip Group Chief Marketing Officer Sunil Suresh said, “A stay that suits your needs perfectly doesn’t just elevate your experience but is also a travel delight like no other. With over 1,70,000 choices of apartments, villas, hostels and homestays on our platform, everyone is sure to find a place that's just their kind of stay. It is this aspect of travel that we have brought alive through our campaign on alternative accommodations. We have expanded the accommodation choices to fit everyone’s travel needs. We are confident that the campaign will attract a large number of travelers to try these diverse stay options through our platform.”
As part of the television commercial, Alia will be seen in a quirky avatar, advising Ranveer ‘not to worry about space constraints as the booked Villa or Apartment will have enough room for everyone’. First in the series, the two commercials targeted at ‘Group of friends’ and ‘large family’ – successfully delivers the message that ‘travellers will never have to adjust or compromise with space and other accommodation needs while picking these properties. The campaign will be run across social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube among others.
The campaign is well-timed as demand for Alternative Accommodations gains a strong foothold in the market. A recent survey by the company revealed that more than 48% of travellers are most likely to book an alternative accommodation for their next trip.
Commenting on the growth of the category, MakeMyTrip Limited Group COO Vipul Prakash shared, “At a time when customers, especially millennials prefer experiential travel choices – alternative accommodations are offering quality yet economical, offbeat options and it is only set to grow more popular within Indian travellers. As a platform, our endeavour is to empower our customer with more and more choices so that they always find the best fit at their one stop travel shop.”
Conceptualized by MagicCircle Communications, Hemant Misra, Managing Director of the company shared “The campaign breaks set expectations from accommodations. For years travellers know what to expect and where to compromise. With new accommodation offerings, MakeMyTrip breaks these ‘adjustments’ travellers make and delights them with new possibilities. The distinctive personality and styleof the brand is brought alive by Alia and Ranveer.”
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
