Ad Campaigns
PT Usha doubles up as high-speed chef in KFC’s new campaign
Mumbai: KFC India has announced the launch of their new ‘Express Pick-up’ service endorsed by none other than the Queen of Speed – PT Usha herself.
“Place a pick-up or takeaway order on the KFC App or website or walk into the restaurant to place a takeaway order and we will ready that order for pick-up in seven minutes,” the brand promises in its campaign film which shows the legendary sprinter doubling up as a high-speed chef in the KFC kitchen. The campaign film promises ‘Taste Amaze, Mile Tez’ as orders are readied for pick-up in seven minutes, else customers are offered a piece of Hot & Crispy chicken free.
The film opens with two customers walking into a KFC restaurant and reading about the seven-minute Express Pick-up promise. Not quite believing it, they joke about how the order must be prepared by PT Usha, because how else would it ever be ready in seven minutes. Next, they see the Colonel blowing a whistle to mark the start of time and the chicken gets prepared in the kitchen, going through different stages to finally being packed, ready to be picked-up by the customers. The customers can’t believe what they are seeing – PT Usha serving the order, but more so that their order is actually ready within seven-minutes.
KFC India chief marketing officer Moksh Chopra said, “The legend PT Usha epitomises all things speed and who better to convey our new Express Pick-up service than her. So if you are out and need to pick up some KFC on the go, or have a group of friends visiting and need to pick-up KFC favs for all, simply go for KFC’s Express Pick-up. Our seven-minute promise is a key differentiator, ensuring minimal waiting time for the order. So, get set to give in to your KFC-ravings in just seven minutes, kyuki haan, PT Usha bana rahi hai!”
“While ‘speed’ is certainly thrilling for me, this even takes it a notch higher with express. The concept itself was so exciting that I jumped at the opportunity of featuring in the campaign, alongside the beloved Colonel,” PT Usha said.
Ogilvy North chief creative officer Ritu Sharda said, “Since we’ve been kids, speed has had only one name: PT Usha. The fact is, even now, PT Usha is the icon for speed in India. So, for KFC’s super-fast take away service, there could be no better endorser to say ‘seven minute matlab seven minute’.”
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
