MAM
McDowell’s No.1 Yaari Jam releases a new single ‘Apni Yaari’ with SANAM on Friendship day
MUMBAI: McDowell’s No.1 Soda through its music platform, “No.1 Yaari Jam” has been synonymous with bringing alive enthralling stories of Yaari through music. To give the spirit of friendship day an extra special boost, McDowell’s No.1 Yaari Jam has partnered with sensational music band SANAM to release an original song – ‘Apni Yaari’.
This original featuring the band is composed by Clinton Cerejo & SANAM and written by the acclaimed lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya. The song ‘Apni Yaari’ is youthful, lively, full of emotions and embraces the essence of modern-day friendships. The song has been created by Qyuki Media and the music video has been produced by The Glitch team.
No.1 Yaari Jam originals has partnered artists from across the country to create music that tells intriguing stories of friendship. With this new single from SANAM, the platform exemplifies yaari among millennials that can be shared with the world through social media but at its core still manages to remain very intimate, endearing and special.
The song also highlights the real-life yaari among the band members of SANAM and how they connect with their fans. Sanam, Venkat, Samar & Keshav, the band members of SANAM, were friends before forming a band in the year 2010. In the 9 years that they have performed together, they have become one of the country’s most popular band with over 6MN followers on YouTube and some amazing hits to their credit. Apart from playing music, they hang out, play cricket, video games, work out together and keep their yaari alive.
Talking about this composition, Sanam Puri, the lead vocalist said, “When we were approached to create an original track with Clinton Cerejo on friendship, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to put into words what we feel about each other. Together with McDowell’s No.1 Yaari Jam, we hope our fans relate to the composition and celebrate friendship day humming this track with their yaars.”
Adds Samar Puri, Lead guitarist and the founding member of the band, “The journey that we have taken together as friends has been magical. From hitting it off together at Keshav’s garage and composing songs, to winning various competitions together, having each other’s back on off days is what has kept us together. With this track, we had a chance to re-live our yaari moments and bring it out in the best possible way for our fans.”
Venkat Subramaniyam, the bass guitarist with the band said, “Having known each other since our school days has helped us form bonds that were beyond any boundaries. What this did was that it brought us together to find out each other’s passion for music and understand our strengths. Today, we understand what each of us is thinking without even expressing it out explicitly. Our track is a tribute to such yaaris that do not needs words to express their love for each other.”
Keshav Dhanraj, the drummer with the hit band adds, “We’ve been friends for the longest time, and now we understand each one’s emotions and can connect deeply. As friends first and band members later, we love that we can put away work and relax when it is needed. Therefore, it is important to have such yaars in one’s life who can help you unwind and enjoy moments in life”
Khushboo Benani, Content and Brand Advocacy Head for Diageo India said, “No.1 Yaari means something personal and special to every individual. Hence this Friendship Day we wanted to pay homage to all the different friends and their unique yaari through a song which makes you want to say – this is our story. The powerful combination of SANAM, Clinton and Amitabh has helped us create a very hummable song that we hope will be shared among yaars.”
The song release will be supported by a UGC campaign and the McDowell’s No.1 Yaari Jam platform is looking forward to creating a fan tribute by creating a video of fans singing along with Apni Yaari.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
