MAM
Seet & Elsky form Amity Entertainment
MUMBAI: Media industry veterans Richard Seet and Stephen Elsky have formed Amity Entertainment, a multi-faceted production, distribution and licensing company using financing secured from New York investment firm Angelo, Gordon & Co.
In creating Amity, Seet and Elsky acquired the assets to Tadpole Entertainment and two film libraries. These acquisitions provide Amity with an initial catalog consisting of two franchise properties – The Big Comfy Couch and the Ernest feature films – and over 120 feature films including several dozen desirable but previously undistributed martial arts titles.
“This is just the beginning of our mission to make Amity Entertainment one of the industry’s pre-eminent forces in production, distribution and licensing. Angelo, Gordon’s backing has allowed us to initiate a number of other acquisition, co-production and distribution negotiations, and we expect to be adding many additional properties to our portfolio in the months ahead,” said Amity chairman and CEO Richard Seet.
Elsky, who was named president and COO, added, “With the acquisition of The Big Comfy Couch, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary on PBS stations, and the addition of the Ernest franchise, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, we have two very successful properties on which to build the company.”
“This is Angelo, Gordon’s first private equity investment in an entertainment content company. With the proliferation of entertainment distribution both in the US and overseas, we see tremendous value in the long term build up of a content library and are delighted to be sponsoring Richard and Steve in this effort,” Angelo, Gordon & Co managing director Josh Brain.
Tadpole Entertainment markets the pre-school children’s program The Big Comfy Couch and has rights to distribute and license the Ernest feature films and other properties. Amity’s movie library features such stars as Tom Hanks, Kim Basinger, Jack Nicholson, Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins and Burt Lancaster.
Seet is a media industry entrepreneur. He was most recently founder and chairman of Seet Kummerfeld Prieb, a New York-based investment management and advisory company with transactions concentrated in magazine publishing, custom publishing, marketing/media information services and media support services. He previously CO-founded Qiosk.com which provided digital distribution of interactive magazines. He began his career as a principal with The Carlyle Group, following a stint as faculty research associate at the Harvard Business School.
Elsky is a 40-year veteran of the entertainment industry. Most recently, he led the successful re-launching of The Big Comfy Couch to PBS stations in the United States. Previously, Steve served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of High Five Entertainment and spent 12 years with Hearst Entertainment, where he was senior vice president. He began his career at United Artists Television where he served for 13 years and was general manager of operations.
MAM
India wins big at the 2025 Global Best of the Best Effie Awards
The Womb and McCann India take home Global Grand Effies, putting Indian advertising on the world map
MUMBAI: Indian advertising just had its moment. At the 2025 Global Best of the Best Effie Awards, the most rigorous test of marketing effectiveness on the planet, two Indian agencies beat out campaigns from over 130 markets to claim Global Grand Effies, the sport’s equivalent of a world championship medal.
The Womb won for Piramal Finance with a campaign called “NEEYAT: India’s Real Credit Score,” a purpose-led push that took direct aim at systemic bias in the credit sector and reframed how creditworthiness is measured. McCann India won for ESAF Small Finance Bank with “Saving Her Savings,” a campaign centred on financial inclusion for marginalised women. Both wins came from a shortlist of 47 contenders, all of whom had already won gold or grand prizes in their home markets. Only 11 Global Grand Effies were handed out across seven markets. India got two.
The highest honour of the night, the Iridium Effie, awarded to the single most effective marketing campaign in the world, went to eos Products and Mischief @ No Fixed Address for “Women’s Shave.” Remarkably, it was their second consecutive year taking the top prize.
Other global winners included Oreo and Mondelez International for “Oreo Codes” in commerce and shopper marketing, Flamin’ Hot and PepsiCo for “Poker Face” in experiential marketing, and ALDI Australia for “Shop ALDI First” in retail.
The Best of the Best is no ordinary awards show. Entry is restricted to campaigns that have already won a gold or grand Effie at a national level, making it, in effect, a champions’ league of marketing effectiveness. Indian agencies are no longer just brilliant at cracking local markets. They are now setting the global standard.
The world’s best advertisers had better start paying attention.
