MAM
Santoor ropes in celebrity superstars for different regions in its mega campaign
MUMBAI: Santoor, India’s leading soap brand, roped popular celebrities Mahesh Babu, Karthi and Varun Dhawan for its new multi-media campaign. This is the first time that Santoor has roped in three celebrities simultaneously for different regions as part of its hyperlocal marketing strategy.
Mr. Anil Chugh, President – Consumer Care Business, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, said, “Through Santoor advertising we tell a new story about ‘Mistaken Age’ in 30 seconds. Focus of our communication is on the Santoor protagonist and key message of Younger Looking Skin. Celebrities helps us to deliver this message sharply in the film, apart from helping to break the clutter and gain high brand recall. Over the years we have carefully chosen celebrities for Santoor. Keeping the essence of Santoor in mind, stars Varun Dhawan, Mahesh Babu and Karthi were the perfect fit to tell our new story of the Santoor Woman.”
Santoor’s new communication includes a TV commercial that presents the brand’s signature campaign of mistaken identity and the core proposition of Younger Looking Skin in a new light. The commercial is shot by advertising agency ADK Fortune.
Capturing India’s passion for cricket, the commercial is filmed in a stadium with the backdrop of a cricket match where the celebrity is in the stands enjoying the match. Suddenly a sixer wings his way and while the celebrity attempts to catch the ball, it is caught by the protagonist. Looking at the protagonist the celebrity feels she can be a new female lead for his next film. While the protagonist is rejoicing, a little girl runs up to the reveler shouting ‘Mummy’, which leaves the celebrity and everyone around surprised.
For over 35 years, Santoor has delivered on the promise of “Younger Looking Skin" through superior product offerings using natural ingredients. Keeping this positioning consistent, Wipro has periodically modernized its campaigns to stay relevant to its target segment.
Commenting on the making of the TVC, Ms. Sonia Bhatnagar, Sr. Vice President and Executive Creative Director, ADK Fortune Communications, said, “The key strength of Santoor has been the uniformity in communicating the core proposition of younger looking skin while refreshing the context and reflecting the aspirations of the new Indian woman. Varun’s youth appeal, Mahesh Babu’s popularity and Karthi’s versatility make them the apt choices to reach potential consumers in their local languages.”
Launched in 1985 as a natural ingredient soap, Santoor is packed with the natural goodness of Sandal and Turmeric. Over the years the brand has grown from a single soap brand to soap variants, talcum powder, deodorants, liquid soap, handwash, facewash and so on and has been constantly launching new brand variants and new products in tune with market demands and needs. Santoor remains as one of the most aggressive personal care brands in India.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
