MAM
Max cooks up ways to beat Aussies via new ad campaign
MUMBAI: Max, which will be airing the Johnnie Walker Super Series cricket tournament live in October, has unleashed yet another marketing campaign to promote the same.
Keeping true to the channel’s tagline of ‘Deewana Bana De’, the new unconventional campaign for the upcoming cricket tournament is entertaining and captivating. The campaign has Max’s kid with oomph Samir Khan.
The Australian cricket team has by far been the invincible team and one wishes to see someone beat them. Keeping this sentiment in mind, Max’s campaign is all about tips on ‘How to beat Australia’.
The campaign aims at involving the common man’s ideas on how to beat the gurus in cricket. Max had kick-started this campaign with the ‘How to beat Australia contest’, which invited viewers to participate and send their ideas on how to beat Australia, the wilder and wackier, the better.
The results of the contest are out and 11 winners will be heading to Australia to witness the Super Series in Melbourne. The campaign aims at generating excitement and create a ‘Talk around the Town’ with its witty and smart ideas on how to beat Australia, executed across multi-media.
The campaign consists of four spots on-air and is backed by an extensive outdoor and print campaign that has a wide spectrum of ideas that are sure to surprise and involve viewers. To build the viral nature of the campaign and drive buzz for the Super Series this campaign will include an extensive van campaign across 56 cites and towns and will be fuelled via radio, the internet and the channel’s short code 2525.
Max executive vice president and business head Albert Almeida said, “Max has consistently set benchmarks in the industry with its innovative marketing and promotional campaigns, receiving accolades in India and internationally. This time too supported by the innovative and groundbreaking ‘How to Beat Australia’ campaign, the Johnnie Walker Super Series is sure to leave viewers saying Deewana Bana Diya!”
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.
