MAM
Parle Krackjack launches TV campaign with new sweet and salty avatars
Mumbai: Parle Products, the largest selling biscuit brand has released its latest campaign for KrackJack. This latest iteration of the Parle Krackjack campaign adds to the legacy of a brand that has been loved by the nation for over half a century. It carries forward the same set of delightfully whacky ideas to a new generation of Krackjack connoisseurs.
The three-film campaign created by Thought Blurb Communications tells stories of conundrums that are solved in hilarious ways by the two protagonists, Krack (played by Dharmesh Yelande) and Jack (played by Raghav Juyal). They have different sweet and salty perspectives, that brings alive the idea- “Sweet and Salty saath jab aaye, baat ban jaaye”.
The over-the-top style of humour follows a legacy that was started in the 90s with Boman Irani and Vijay Patkar playing the titular roles. The torch then passed on to Swapnil Joshi and Gaurav Gera in the noughties, and after a decade, Krackjack has now found renewed vigour with Raghav Juyal and Dharmesh Yelande.
Parle Products senior category head Mayank Shah has spoken about Krackjack and the direction it has taken over the years, “Krackjack is the first biscuit in India to find that magical spot in the consumer’s palate with a flavour that tickles sweet and salty taste buds. When the flavour is so out-of-the ordinary, how can its communication not be unusual? Over the years, the characters Krack & Jack, have endeared themselves to audiences across the country. Every new generation resonates with these sweet and salty characters. Dharmesh and Raghav are new age celebrities with a wide fan following among the youth. More importantly, we chose them because we felt they have a spontaneity in their repartee, which is key to the brand’s communication.”
Thought Blurb Communications CCO & founder Vinod Kunj has echoed the sentiment and explained the challenges, “It’s a big challenge to work on a legacy brand like Krackjack with a high decibel legacy communication. When we got the brief we were clear that we have to carry forward the torch to the next generation of audiences across India. Not only do we have to appeal to a wide section of audiences across socio economic segments, we also had to touch their funny bone. Evidenced by the viewer responses we have received, the execution seems to have hit the bull’s eye. The dash of rollicking humour coating the films make them entirely enjoyable.”
Joining in with her perspective on the creative execution, Thought Blurb national creative director Renu Somani added, “We started off with a product that is sweet but also has salty overtones. That kind of dictated the tone and tenor of the campaign. In one of the brain storming sessions when the strategy team came up with the idea of ‘contrarian views working towards a common goal’ we knew we had our campaign. This in turn finds resonance in the claim – ‘sweet aur salty saath jab aaye, baat ban jaaye’. The fun part was working with the film crew to get Dharmesh and Raghav to work in tandem to translate this strange combination of diametrically opposite views. We wanted the viewers to have fun, and I think that has come out quite well.”
The campaign is released in 12 languages across mediums.
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.
