Ad Campaigns
Superfans inspire Mountain Dew’s new campaign Jakad Ke Pakad
Mumbai: This cricketing season witnessed the emergence of debutant talent and the celebration of emerging cricketers on the field by superfans. Cricket fans across the country prompted Mountain Dew on this surge of love for the newcomers which led the brand to take notice and launch a unique digital initiative, ‘JAKAD KE PAKAD’, that is inspired by the voice of fans and true events.
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The debutants have displayed a fearless attitude during the current cricketing season and their jaw-dropping acts have seen the mushrooming of many super fans across the country that were spotted across stadiums. These fans have gone all the way in supporting their new heroes with one thing in common – inspiring them to be fearless as they shape their future careers. These enthusiastic displays resonated deeply on social media, with influencers amplifying the message by sharing images of the fans. Large numbers of cricket fans reached out to Mountain Dew as no other brand has manifested stories of courage in the face of adverse challenges. The campaign ‘JAKAD KE PAKAD’ extends the brand’s iconic ethos, presenting a compelling narrative that honours the bravery and perseverance of debutant cricketers and encourages them to overcome their fears.
The campaign film showcases a new cricketer gearing up to step onto the field. As he buckles up, doubt begins to creep in, but he fights through his thoughts, grabs his bat, and walks out with his head held high, overcoming his fear with a resolute look on his face. This transformation from apprehension to courage emphasizes the importance of embracing challenges and pushing beyond limitations to achieve greatness.
The film recognises the immense courage required by debutant cricketers to set foot on the field, constantly under pressure to prove themselves and perform their best. It reiterates Mountain Dew’s belief of ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ that signifies that in the face of any challenge, there are two choices: either succumb to fear and turn back or overcome fear and move ahead. It is this choice that sets real heroes apart from the rest.
Speaking on the campaign, Mountain Dew, PepsiCo India category head Akankshaa Dalal said, “During the ongoing cricketing season, seeing superfans encouraging the newcomers to overcome fear with courage was a powerful reminder of what we as Mountain Dew stand for. It was truly humbling to see consumers repurposing the brand’s tagline of Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai, reinstating that our message resonates deeply with them, and this inspired us to create a campaign that celebrates the courage and determination of debutant cricketers. This new campaign is dedicated to superfans and the newcomers of this season. The fans for cheering on the ones who need their support more than anyone else; and the newcomers to whom we acknowledge that first-time fear can be overwhelming. We hope this digital campaign and film will connect with our consumers across the country and shower their love and support on these trailblazers during the ongoing cricket season.”
As the campaign unfolds and gains further traction, Mountain Dew® will score partnerships with young as well as veteran cricketers to amplify the ‘Jakad Ke Pakad’ messaging forward. The campaign will go live across Digital and E-Commerce platforms.
Mountain Dew is available in single and multi-serve packs across modern and traditional retail outlets and across e-commerce/quick-commerce platforms.
NATIONAL: Amazon Ads has laid out a sharply tech-led vision for the advertising industry in 2026, arguing that artificial intelligence, streaming TV and creator partnerships will combine to turn brand building into a more precise, performance-driven business.
At the heart of the shift, the company says, is the fusion of AI with Amazon’s vast trove of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, allowing advertisers to move beyond blunt reach metrics to campaigns designed around real customer behaviour.
“The future of advertising is not about reaching more people, but the right people with messages that resonate,” said Amazon Ads India head and vice president Girish Prabhu. “By combining AI with deep customer insights, we help brands move from broadcasting campaigns to having meaningful conversations wherever audiences spend their time.”
One of the biggest changes, according to Amazon Ads, will be the collapse of the wall between media planning and creative development. Retail media, powered by first-party data, is increasingly shaping everything from brand discovery to final purchase, pushing marketers to design campaigns around audience insight rather than internal instinct.
AI is also moving from a support tool to a creative engine. Agentic AI, which automates and accelerates production, is expected to make high-quality creative accessible even to small businesses, compressing weeks of work into hours and giving challengers the ability to compete with larger brands on speed and scale.
Behind the scenes, AI-driven analytics will take on a bigger role in campaign optimisation, identifying patterns, spotting opportunities and recommending actions that would previously have required teams of analysts.
Streaming TV is another big battleground. With India’s video streaming audience now above 600 million and connected TV users at 129.2 million in 2025, advertisers are set to treat streaming not just as a branding channel but as a performance engine, measured increasingly by sales, sign-ups and bookings rather than just reach.
Finally, Amazon Ads sees creators and contextual advertising reshaping how brands tell stories. Creators will act less like influencers and more like long-term partners, while scene-aware ads on streaming platforms will allow brands to insert hyper-relevant offers into the flow of what viewers are watching.
Taken together, Amazon Ads argues, these shifts mark a move towards advertising that is both more human and more measurable, where AI handles the complexity, and creativity does the persuading.
