MAM
Publicis bags the ‘Best In Category’ award; JWT leads metal tally with 5 gold, 21 silver and 21 bronze
MUMBAI: There couldn’t have been a better closure to the three day long celebration of advertising genius than the final night of Abbys 2016 that unfolded amidst the hedonic mix of music, creativity and intoxication. While the abundance of alcohol kept everyone in elevated spirits, the winners of the night were seen enjoying a different level of high as they walked up the stage to receive their metals.
Continuing its winning streak, JWT once again snared the most number of metals, with five golds, 21 silver and 21 bronze that put it on the top spot with a metal tally of 47 metals. While the absence of a Grand Prix let down many, the newly introduced Best In Category award drew a lot of attention. It was Publicis Communication that bagged the Best In category award for its ground breaking work in ‘A Giant’s Story’ for Ambuja Cement, in the film craft category.
On the newly introduced award, Percept Limited director Ajay Chandwani shared “You can consider it as a recognition above the gold awards, but not equal to Grand Prix. To evaluate the best in gold in each category, the jury was given an option to either select a grand prix or a best in category. Usually grand prix is awarded to a piece of work that has made a path breaking and game changing effort in the category. There was no work that amounted to that this year.”
Apart from the Best In Category award, Publicis claimed four golds, four silver and four bronze metals, putting its total metal figure to 13. DDB Mudra also shone at the Abbys with four golds, four silver ad 15 bronze setting its total number of metals to 23. If one went by metal tally, Taproot Dentsu emerged as the clear second with 40 metals to its name – two gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze.
A total of 10 categories’ winners were revealed on the third day. The category wise break up of winners is as follows.
Ambient Media: Out of a total of fifteen metals, the jury gave away one gold, four silver and 10 bronze. JWT Mumbai bagged the one gold and bronze leading the category, followed by DDB Mudra with two silver and four bronze.
In Design, Alok Nanda and Company took home a gold, three silver and three bronze making it a category leader. Alok Nanda and Company was followed by Publicis Communications with one gold, two silver and one bronze metal. Out Of Box was closely behind with a gold, silver and a bronze; and McCann World Group India with a gold and silver. A total of four gold, 12 silver and 24 bronze were given away in the category.
Digital: As per the Goafest Organising Committee chairman Nakul Chopra Digital saw the most number of entries this year – a first in Goafest. There were a total of 614 entries, as compared to 548 last year. DDB Mudra took home gold and silver in the category making it the genre leader. R K Swamy BBDO brought home the second gold, followed by Experience Commerce taking home the final gold in the category. Taproot Dentsu also shone in the category with four silver awards.
Integrated: DDB Mudra and Publicis Communications each received a gold and bronze metals in the category. Star India too was recognized with a silver for its exceptional work for Mauka Mauka.
Out of Home: With a total of 15 silver and 21 bronze given away in this category, there were many intense contests for the top position. JWT scored five silver and five bronze followed by Ideas@work bagging two silver and four bronze. There were no golds awarded in this category.
Film Craft: Early Man Film bagged one gold, three silver and a bronze in the category followed by Flying Saucer pictures with a silver and gold.
Film Single: While Publicis Communications claimed the freshly introduced Best In Category award followed by a bronze, it was DDB Mudra that bagged the most number of metals with a gold, a silver and four bronzes.
Print Single: Dentsu Creative Impact got one gold and four bronze metals to its name followed by Contract Advertising with a gold and bronze. Taproot Dentsu dominated the genre with five bronze and three silvers to its name.
This year saw the Goafest Committee introducing two new categories or special Abbys as they are otherwise being called. They were the Young Abby and the Gender Sensitive Abby. “Since last year there has been a growing interest in introducing this award. For this category we accepted entries that were especially made to address gender issues, but were just another advertisement made for a brand that naturally took a gender sensitive approach. Hectic Content from Mumbai won the gold in this category for The Calling done for Anouk.
The Young Abby invited entries from creative and art director teams from agencies who were under the age of 30. The creatives were required to especially tailor campaigns on ‘Gender Violence’ in the medium of their choice which was then later judged by a special jury. Bodhisatwa Dasgupta and Nitesh Shah from JWT Gurgaon bagged the gold in this category along with the golden chance to ravel to Cannes for the Cannes Lion Awards this year.
Going by sheer numbers, 2016 proved to be a very exciting year for Goafest as well as the advertising fraternity with a total of 4460 entries submitted for the Abbys as compared to 3475 last year. In terms of metals awarded, the number went up from 359 in 2015 to 418 in 2016, with 245 bronze metals and 134 silver metals given away. The number of gold however went down from 71 last year to 38 this year.
MAM
India’s financial sector spent less on TV ads in 2025 but flooded the internet
Banks, insurers and lenders cut tv ads as digital jumps, LIC and Muthoot lead tv and Axis Bank tops online
MUMBAI: India’s banking, financial services and insurance sector, one of the most prolific advertisers in the country, delivered a split verdict on media in 2025. It spent less on television, held its nerve in print, turned up the volume on radio and deluged the internet with a ferocity that left every other medium looking pedestrian. The picture that emerges from TAM AdEx’s cross-media report for the BFSI sector is of an industry in transition, still wedded to the news bulletin but increasingly seduced by the algorithm.
Television: a retreat with caveats
TV ad volumes for the BFSI sector fell 16 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024, a sharp reversal after two years of consistent growth that had pushed volumes 16 per cent above 2021 levels by 2023 and a further 7 per cent higher by 2024. Within 2025 itself, the drop was concentrated in the middle of the year: the second and third quarters saw ad volumes slide 35 per cent each against the first quarter, with a partial recovery of 13 per cent in the fourth.
The retreat did not reshuffle the deck. Life insurance retained first place among TV categories with 19 per cent of ad volumes, mortgage loans held second with 16 per cent, and the top ten categories together accounted for 82 per cent of all BFSI television advertising. The dominance of news channels was equally pronounced: news claimed 68 per cent of ad volumes, general entertainment channels a distant 14 per cent and movies 12 per cent. Together, news and GEC captured 82 per cent of the sector’s television spend. News bulletins alone took 48 per cent of programme-genre volumes, with feature films second at 12 per cent. Prime time, between 6pm and 11pm, drew 34 per cent of ad volumes, followed by afternoon at 22 per cent and morning at 20 per cent. A full 82 per cent of all ads ran between 20 and 40 seconds.
Life Insurance Corporation of India was the sector’s biggest TV spender with 11 per cent of ad volumes. Muthoot Financial Enterprises came second with 9 per cent, followed by National Payments Corporation of India at 6 per cent, Tata AIG General Insurance at 5 per cent and State Bank of India at 5 per cent. The top ten advertisers together accounted for 51 per cent of total TV volumes. Three names were new to the top ten in 2025: Tata AIG General Insurance, IIFL Finance and Tata Capital. At brand level, Muthoot Finance Loan Against Gold led with 9 per cent share, Tata AIG Health Insurance entered the top ten for the first time, and the top ten brands together contributed 35 per cent of ad volumes.
Print: the long climb continues
Print told a different story. Ad space for the BFSI sector has grown every year since 2021, rising 16 per cent in 2022, 30 per cent in 2023, 51 per cent in 2024 and 64 per cent in 2025, all measured against a 2021 baseline. Within 2025, ad space was flat in the second quarter but surged 46 per cent in the third and 33 per cent in the fourth compared with the first. Life insurance led print categories with 21 per cent of ad space, followed by mutual funds and banking services and products at 13 per cent each, and corporate financial institutes at 11 per cent. The top ten categories together took 82 per cent of print ad space. LIC led print advertisers with 6 per cent share, and the top ten together covered just 19 per cent of ad space, a reflection of how fragmented print spending remains. Three new entrants joined the top ten in 2025, with Billion Brains Garage Ventures the only exclusive presence not seen in 2024’s list. In the top ten brands, LIC dominated with a 2 per cent share, while Nippon India Mutual Fund rose to third position from fourth in 2024. English accounted for 62 per cent of print ad space, Hindi for 20 per cent. Business and finance publications took 59 per cent of the genre split. The south zone led regional spending with 33 per cent of print ad space, Bangalore topping that zone, while New Delhi and Mumbai were the leading cities nationally.
Radio: louder than ever
Radio ad volumes for the BFSI sector have climbed steadily, rising 12 per cent above 2021 levels in 2023, 36 per cent in 2024 and 45 per cent in 2025. The quarterly pattern within 2025 was volatile: a sharp drop of 43 per cent in the second quarter and 42 per cent in the third, followed by a near-full recovery in the fourth. Life insurance led radio categories with 22 per cent of volumes, banking services and products second at 14 per cent and corporate NBFCs third at 11 per cent. LIC of India held its position as the leading radio advertiser with 20 per cent of ad volumes; the top ten radio advertisers together covered 69 per cent. Muthoot Financial Enterprises led radio brands with 10 per cent share, five of the top ten brands belonged to LIC alone, and SBI Mutual Fund made a remarkable leap to fifth position from 272nd in 2024. Evening and morning time-bands together captured 84 per cent of radio ad volumes, with evenings at 44 per cent and mornings at 40 per cent. Maharashtra was the leading state for radio BFSI advertising with 18 per cent share; Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh together accounted for 43 per cent.
Digital: the five-times surge
If one number defines the 2025 BFSI advertising story, it is five. Digital ad impressions for the sector multiplied fivefold between 2021 and 2025, having already doubled in 2023 and doubled again in 2024 before the 2025 leap. Within the year, impressions dipped 19 per cent in the second quarter and 12 per cent in the third before recovering 8 per cent above the first quarter by the fourth. Banking services and products led digital categories with 27 per cent of impressions, life insurance and credit cards tied at 19 per cent each, and securities and sharebroking organisations fell from first place in 2024 to fourth in 2025. Axis Bank was the runaway leader among digital advertisers with 12 per cent of impressions, followed by ICICI Bank at 9 per cent, IDFC First Bank at 7 per cent and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 6 per cent. The top ten digital advertisers covered 59 per cent of impressions, and seven of them were new entrants compared with 2024, signalling rapid churn in the digital spending hierarchy. At brand level, Axis Bank led with 9 per cent, ICICI HPCL Super Saver Credit Card vaulted to third place from 921st in 2024, and six of the top ten digital brands were new to the list. Programmatic buying accounted for 91 per cent of all digital BFSI transactions; combined with ad networks, it captured 96 per cent.
The data from TAM AdEx paints the portrait of a sector that still believes in the power of the television news bulletin to sell insurance to the masses, but increasingly knows that the next generation of borrowers, investors and cardholders is scrolling, not watching. The race is now on to reach them before the algorithm serves up someone else’s loan offer first.
