MAM
‘Pass Pass’ adds another variant to its range of herbal fresheners
MUMBAI: ‘Pass Pass’ the herbal and natural mouth freshener has added one more variant to its range of fun mixes – “Pass Pass Meetha Magic”. The launch coincides with the release of a new Pass Pass commercial with Shekhar Suman. The new tagline ‘total natural total fun’ attempts to create the image of a fun brand in the consumer’s mindset.
A series of advertisements has been developed on topical issues related to known celebrities and personalities, popularly known as ‘Pass Pass Panga’. Dentsu has conceptualized the creative and executed the advertising campaign.
Speaking on the occasion, DS Group President Ashok K. Aggarwal said, ” Pass Pass, the premium offering of the DS Group is a pioneering innovation in the branded mouth freshener category. It has become a benchmark in the mouth freshener category and is a leader, much ahead of the competition. With the re-launch, Pass Pass has been established as a brand that inspires togetherness and stands for ‘masti and fun’.”
With the aim of the taking the brand to the next level and to give it a facelift, the DS Group has signed the film & television celebrity Shekhar Suman as its brand ambassador.
Shekhar Suman according to Agarwal is a perfect brand fit as he fulfills the criteria as an absolute mirror image of the brand personality.
The two TVCs, Pass Pass ‘Big S’ and ‘Tabela’ are currently on air. The commercial showcases Shekhar taking ‘panga’ and creating a spoof with two of the biggest celebrities of the nation. The campaign would be on air till the next month.
Pass Pass is available in varied flavours, packed in flip tops, sachets and dining table packs.
Brands
Airtel, Jio, Vi quietly raise tariffs with tweaks ahead of major hike
Airtel, Jio and Vi test subscriber response with subtle plan changes
NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, are quietly reworking their prepaid plans in what appears to be a calculated run-up to a broader tariff hike expected later this year.
Rather than announcing headline-grabbing price increases, the operators are opting for subtle tweaks that are less likely to trigger immediate consumer backlash. Industry observers describe this as a “testing the waters” approach, where small changes help gauge subscriber sensitivity while gradually improving revenues.
Among the most visible moves is plan pruning. Airtel has discontinued its popular Rs 799 pack, widely seen as a high-value offering, while nudging up the price of its Rs 859 plan to Rs 899. The changes may seem marginal, but across millions of users, they translate into meaningful revenue gains.
Reliance Jio, on its part, has taken a sharper route by slashing the validity of its Rs 195 plan from 90 days to just 30 days. The price remains unchanged, but the value per day has dropped steeply, effectively raising costs for consumers without altering headline tariffs.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is restructuring its “NonStopHero” packs, limiting unlimited data benefits to night hours in several circles. The move trims usage flexibility while keeping plan positioning largely intact.
Another common tactic is bundling. Operators are increasingly pairing plans with OTT subscriptions such as streaming services, framing price adjustments as value additions even when the core offering remains largely unchanged.
The broader goal behind these moves is to lift ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), a key profitability metric in the telecom business. Airtel is targeting an ARPU of around Rs 300, up from roughly Rs 250, while Jio is under pressure to demonstrate stronger revenue growth ahead of a potential IPO. For Vodafone Idea, the urgency is more immediate as it seeks higher cash flows to fund 5G expansion and manage outstanding dues.
Industry estimates suggest that these incremental changes are a precursor to a larger, industry-wide tariff hike of 15 to 20 per cent, likely towards the end of 2026. The delay in announcing a full-scale increase is partly due to macroeconomic concerns, including inflation and volatile fuel prices, which could dampen consumer sentiment.
The push to monetise 5G is also gathering pace. After investing more than Rs 3 lakh crore in next-generation networks, operators are expected to gradually phase out free 5G data and reposition it as a premium service.
For consumers, the impact is already visible in small but steady increases in monthly bills. For telcos, however, this is a carefully choreographed build-up, easing users into higher spending before the bigger pricing reset arrives.
