MAM
Some newspaper groups content with IRS 2013 findings
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The findings of the Indian Readership Survey 2013 may ultimately not be rejected outright. A substantial number of publishers of newspapers and magazines may not have found the readership findings worth rubbishing.
A group of 18 publication groups including The Times of India and The Hindu are very vocal in their complete rejection of IRS 2013 findings and have got to the extent of withdrawing from the IRS.
But the group’s attempts at having the IRS 2013 annulled could face resistance.
According to industry sources publication groups like The Hindustan Times, Rajasthan Patrika, Haribhoomi and Daily Thanthi have expressed satisfaction at the results of IRS 2013 and have accepted them.
These publication groups may decide not to follow an advisory issued by the Indian Newspaper Society on Tuesday for boycott of the IRS 2013 findings or not to use them for advertising sales.
The advisory was issued after the Media Research Users Council on Tuesday said it cannot decide on the ultimatum given by the INS for withdrawal of the IRS 2013 findings.
The advisory by INS suggested its members convey in writing to MRUC that they are withdrawing from any association with the IRS and urge MRUC, Readership Survey Council of India and Nielsen India, the conductors of the readership survey, to immediately cease and desist from using for the purpose of the survey the mastheads of their publications.
MRUC has said a meeting would be held with RSCI on 19 February to take a final view on INS demand.
MRUC has said all aspects of the study will be placed before the RSCI for helping the broader community of stakeholders convince themselves about the robustness and integrity of the IRS 2013 findings.
Meanwhile, INS expressed hope that the advisory issued by it would be acceptable to all its member publishers.
A senior INS office-bearer, who did not want to be named, denied that the INS advisory had been issued at the behest of the Times of India Group or was being followed only by that group.
INS sources told indiantelevision.com that the issue of whether the newspaper body or individual newspapers will take legal recourse against MRUC over the IRS 2013 findings was still not decided.
Responding to the INS advisory and notices in newspapers belonging to the group of 18 publishers, IRS Technical Committee chairman Paritosh Joshi said MRUC has already asked individual publishers to send in their complaints to MRUC directly and the council will individually respond to each of them. “So far, we have sent out six explanations and clarifications to the complaints sent to us by publishers individually. And will continue to welcome more (queries).”
The 18 publishing groups, in a joint statement, said, “The survey is riddled with shocking anomalies, which defy logic and commonsense. They also grossly contradict audited circulation figures (ABC) of longstanding.”
The 18 publishers are Jagran, Bhaskar, India Today, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Lokmat, Outlook, Daily News and Analysis (DNA), Sakshi, The Hindu, The Times of India, Amar Ujala, The Tribune, Bartaman Patrika, Aaj Samaj, The Statesman, Mid Day, Nai Duniya and Dinakaran.
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.
