MAM
Scapia launches Leap Year to fund year-long global trip for two Indians
MUMBAI: Who says you can’t buy time? Scapia, India’s travel fintech disruptor, is offering two lucky Indians the chance to trade in deadlines for departure gates with The Leap Year, a fully funded, 12-month adventure spanning four continents. Think flights, stays, visas, a daily stipend, curated experiences, and even mentorship all covered.
The initiative reimagines the old-school “gap year” as a bold, purposeful leap into self-discovery. Open to all Indians aged 23 and above, including existing and future Scapia users, the contest requires applicants to upload a short video at scapia.cards/leapyear explaining what travel means to them and why they’re ready to take the plunge. The deadline is 31 August, with the two winners set to be revealed in September 2025.
To ensure authenticity, Scapia has roped in a diverse jury: celebrity chef Sarah Todd, solo traveller Aakanksha Monga, and storyteller Gaurav Sharma (Wanderda), alongside its own team. Their task? To select two individuals whose stories capture travel’s power to transform lives. The prize isn’t just sightseeing, winners will co-design their itineraries with Scapia, ensuring each journey reflects their passions and personal goals.
The campaign launches with a digital film reminding young Indians that “there’s never a perfect time to take the leap,” a message backed by a high-impact social push and teaser content designed to spark wanderlust. With over 7,500 plus pincodes already in its user base and a growing suite of credit and travel-first features from rewards to visa services Scapia isn’t just funding trips, it’s reframing travel as an investment in self. For the chosen pair, 2025 won’t just be another calendar year, it’ll be the leap of a lifetime.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
