Brands
Pepsi gives the ‘kyun sookhe sookhe hi?’ campaign a new twist
MUMBAI: Beverage brand Pepsi has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to communicating with consumers. The brand has always innovated and developed campaigns that connect with consumers in the most relevant ways. Continuing this trend, this year too, Pepsi is reaching out to millions with its message of ‘Kyun Sookhe Sookhe Hi’ by giving a twist to typical YouTube advertising with Google’s dynamic advertising tool Director Mix. This tool creates custom video ads from one core creative, turning consumer’s attention into action.
Through Director Mix, Pepsi is showing its consumers content which is most relevant to them, in its trademark witty and humorous style. The brand has turned a limited set of creative assets for its ‘Kyun Sookhe Sookhe Hi’ campaign, including images, voiceovers, texts, fonts and colors into multiple unique messages catering to different audiences in a contextual and engaging manner.
Pepsi has fashioned over 100 customized creatives for Director Mix in a bid to stand out in the consumers’ mind. Each pre-roll ad will place the ‘Kyun Sookhe Sookhe Hi’ philosophy customized to the context of one’s search; and will reinstate the idea that food is incomplete without Pepsi. The unique marketing initiative has resulted in 96 million impressions, 84 million unique users and 87 million completed views, over the last few weeks.
Speaking about the Director Mix and success of the campaign, Raj Rishi Singh, Director Marketing, Pepsi, PepsiCo India, “Pepsi has always created campaigns and experiences which resonate strongly with consumers. In fact, we are constantly experimenting with different marketing tools and techniques and Director Mix, with its customized creatives, has helped us strike a chord with our consumers better. We have been able to reach our audiences with content which is most relevant for them. By leveraging Director Mix, Pepsi has been able to cut through the clutter in the digital space.”
Elaborating on Director Mix, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India said, “People are drawn to the contextual creatives as they’re highly engaging and they drive higher awareness for the brands. It’s great to see Pepsi take the approach of personalizing their campaign at scale on YouTube with our latest tool called Director Mix. Using the tool, Pepsi has turned its video campaign, into many highly relevant and shareable video’s that genuinely connects with their consumers at scale without having to worry about producing multiple video campaigns.”
Pepsi is leveraging Director Mix as part of the ‘Kyun Sookhe Sookhe Hi’ campaign, which kick started last month with a TVC featuring Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma and Manjot Singh, stars of the popular Fukrey movie franchise. The three actors will make their appearance in all Pepsi Director Mix ads as well. The 360-degree campaign also celebrates Pepsi’s strongest asset, its packaging through the introduction of new Pepsi Foodicon bottles. These bottles will feature different interpretations of age old street food favourites such as dosas, burgers and noodles, amongst others.
‘Kyun Sookhe Sookhe Hi’ will also be supported by massive outdoor & digital surround. There will also be exclusive promotions with partners like KFC, Pizza Hut & Subway.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
