MAM
Ogilvy & Mather snags the Grand EFFIE 2018
MUMBAI: The Advertising Club (TAC) India hosted the 18th edition of the coveted EFFIE awards 2018 in Mumbai last night. The event saw category game-changers and innovators for the year being celebrated for their ground breaking media and brand strategies.
The coveted Grand EFFIE was won by Ogilvy & Mather Group while client of the year was awarded to One97 Communication and McCann Worldgroup India became agency of the year.
President of TAC and chairperson EFFIEs Vikram Sakhuja says, “With the bar raised higher year on year, winning an EFFIE has become more competitive and rewarding. This year we are seeing a new Client of the Year and a new Agency of the Year. My congratulations to them and all the 93 winners.”
Speaking about the ethos of the awards he further adds, “The four pillars of effectiveness are strategy, idea, execution and results. To win an EFFIE we are finding that effectiveness in advertising is getting increasingly medium agnostic. Accordingly ideas are being brought to scale in a remarkable number of ways. The one area I would like to further challenge us all is in the description of results.”
EFFIEs co-chairperson Mitrajit Bhattacharya mentions, “The EFFIEs 2018 once again witnessed patronage from industry veterans and category leaders, establishing its eminence as a coveted industry award that recognises great ideas and superior execution. EFFIEs 2018 saw the entire fraternity come together to laud and celebrate successful campaign stories that are ahead of the curve on innovation and engagement.”
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MAM
Deepfakes target women in 93 per cent of cases, report finds
Pi-labs study shows 900 per cent rise in female-focused synthetic media; India sees 60 per cent jump in cybercrime complaints.
MUMBAI: Deepfakes aren’t just fooling cameras, they’re hitting women hardest, turning pixels into a new kind of weapon. A new report from creator intelligence platform Pi-labs has revealed that nearly 93 per cent of deepfake victims are women, with deepfake content targeting females surging 900% in recent years. The findings paint synthetic media as a fast-escalating digital threat with a stark gendered impact.
In India, cybercrime complaints involving women rose from about 50,000 in 2024 to nearly 80,000 by 2026, an increase of roughly 60 per cent in just two years. Almost 98 per cent of deepfake pornography is aimed at women, often powered by face-swapping apps and bot networks that disproportionately target females, including school-age girls. Victims typically fall in the 18–30 age group, with Bengaluru reporting a growing share of cases.
Globally, 62 per cent of deepfake abuse cases involving women go unreported due to stigma, in India, over one-third of women facing online harassment take no action, and many reduce their digital presence after abuse. Close to 33 per cent of women remain unaware of protective laws.
City-level trends show Bengaluru leading with nearly 30 per cent of complaints, followed by Hyderabad (14 per cent), Mumbai (13 per cent), Chennai and Kolkata (5 per cent each), and Delhi (3 per cent).
Pi-labs, CEO and founder Anukush Tiwari said, “AI is one of the most powerful technologies of our time, but like every powerful tool, it reflects the intent of those who use it. We are witnessing a growing trust deficit in digital spaces, where identity can be manipulated within minutes and reputations can be damaged overnight.”
Image morphing and deepfake videos remain the most common forms of misuse. The report also notes a new trend: fully AI-generated female personas (not based on real individuals) gaining high engagement on social platforms, raising questions about digital credibility.
Detection remains challenging due to widespread generative tools and rogue creators. Industry estimates suggest over 5,000 face-swap tools and more than 1,000 voice-cloning applications are accessible online.
pi-labs offers pi-authentify, an AI-driven detection system that scans media for generative markers and provides authenticity scores, as well as Namokavach, a verification portal delivering confidential assessments within two working days. The Payal gaming case was resolved using pi-authentify’s forensic analysis.
The report urges minimising digital footprints and adopting detection tools to limit replication risks. It frames the gendered impact of synthetic media as an urgent digital safety issue requiring coordinated action from individuals, platforms and technology providers.
In a world where faces can be borrowed in seconds, the real crime isn’t just creation, it’s the silence that follows, and women are paying the heaviest price.
