MAM
Melting to a fabulous show
MUMBAI: After literally ‘Melting’ for two days with sessions going around at all times, Zee Melt 2015 in association with GroupM was a resounding success. Speakers from across the globe flew down to address audiences with their expertise.
Not only that, the event was trending on Twitter on day one. With agencies having workshops and stalls to showcase their work to the masses, Zee Melt 2015 was possibly one of the most memorable events in town.
The two day festival of creativity in advertising and marketing created by Kyoorius in partnership with Zee, GroupM and D&AD offered delegates a plethora of choices of events, such as workshops, seminars, showcases and the main conference.
Kinetic Future Citizens was centred around understanding the consumers of the future – their needs, wants and behaviours. Kinetic Future Citizens engaged the delegates with a different experience. The concept was simple. One had to pedal a cycle and the animation on the TV would start playing. A technology, which understands the future of consumers and the environment.
Meanwhile, Happy Finish created a lot of buzz with its augmented reality experience. It made delegates enter the virtual world in their world and do many things like bring a car alive when it is actually not present.
Metalworks by Maxus, on one hand, through its Provolv Cricket wearable technology kit gave delegates a player performance cricket match experience, while Mindshare had an interactive marketing Purple Box and Loop Room.
The industry appreciated the work and initiatives taken at Zee Melt 2015. Here is a look at what some of them had to say:
Madison World chairman Sam Balsara tells Indiantelevision.com, “I could not attend much of the sessions, but I did attend Martin Sorrell’s and it was a great one. The initiative is a good one and in the near future more and more such events are likely to emerge. It was a fabulous show and I look forward to more years of Melt 2015.”
Ogilvy & Mather former ECD Abhijit Awasthi summed it up in two words – “It’s fabulous.”
BBDO India chief creative officer Josy Paul said, “I enjoyed the MELT experience. I attended some of the seminars on Day one and the awards night on Day two. I thought the turnout and energy was fantastic. Great idea to have it at the Nehru centre. Never realized the place had so many auditoriums and seminar rooms. This created an integrated well knit feeling. It also helped that the location was close to our office.”
He adds, “The teams from our office who attended both the days were singing praises of the workshops.They are keen to cascade their learning to the rest of the office. Congratulations to the organizers for bringing together such a diverse set of speakers across so many different disciplines and fields of communication and technology. What’s great is that these new influences are people, ideas and actions that we are not exposed to sitting in our offices. So the interactions were most rewarding.”
Advertising Club chief operating officer Bipin Pandit said, “We are eventually from the same fraternity and it was a good initiative.”
MAM
Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
