Brands
Ola gets Viraj Chouhan to head communications
MUMBAI: Cab hailing service Ola has appointed Viraj Chouhan as its chief communications officer. In his new role, Chouhan would be reporting to co-founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal and will be based in Gurgaon, shuttling between the Millennium City and Bangalore. Anand Subramanian, who was leading the communications mandate thus far, will be moving into a new role within Ola.
Ola Co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal says, “I’m excited to welcome Viraj onboard to lead Ola’s Corporate Communications efforts. I’m looking forward to working with him to share the Ola story and vision across customers, driver partners, employees, and the nation and world at large.”
Viraj Chouhan adds, “I am thrilled to join Ola and be part of this growing internet conglomerate. Ola has not only positively elevated India’s mobility experience, but is also a key driver of our country’s digital economy at large. Ola’s mission of building mobility for a billion people will have a lasting impact on our nation’s development. And that is what makes the Ola story so inspiring and deserving, to be taken to every stakeholder and citizen. I’m eager to join the Ola team in this mission!”
Viraj started his career in communications with Ogilvy＆ Mather Public Relations and went on to become the executive director, Corporate Communications at MTS India. Prior to joining MTS, Viraj headed the brand public relations function within the corporate communications team of Coca-Cola India & South West Asia across multi-country business units (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh) for all the beverage brands. This also included an innings with the Global HQ of The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. Over the last two decades, Viraj has had extensive exposure across numerous facets of communications and stakeholder engagement right from External and Internal Communications, Brand PR, Crisis communications, Public policy, Investor Relations and Sustainability.
Brands
Samay Raina’s Still Alive sparks brand rush as comeback goes viral
With 44 million views in five days, marketers seize the cultural moment
MUMBAI: After nearly a year out of the spotlight following the India’s Got Latent controversy, Samay Raina has staged a high-impact return with his comedy special Still Alive, and both audiences and brands are taking notice.
Released on April 7, the special has garnered 44 million views and over 3.4 million likes on YouTube within just five days, underlining the creator’s strong recall and loyal fan base. More than just a comeback, the set sees Raina address the controversy directly, weaving personal setbacks into humour that feels raw, self-aware and unmistakably on-brand.
What has amplified the moment further is the speed at which marketers have responded. Within hours of the special gaining traction, brands began rolling out meme-led creatives riffing on the “still alive” theme and Raina’s name, turning the comeback into a full-blown real-time marketing opportunity.
Across platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn, companies including Airtel, OpenAI, Chayos, YesMadam, Unibic, Parle 20-20, GeeksforGeeks, Biggies Burger, Magicpin and Duolingo joined the conversation, each adding their own spin through wordplay, humour and product-led messaging.
Here are some of the brand creatives circulating online:
