AD Agencies
Taboola and Microsoft mark 10-year ad romance, dial up the partnership
MUMBAI: Let’s face it, relationships rarely last longer than your last smartphone battery—but Taboola and Microsoft are proving to be the power couple of digital advertising, celebrating their 10 anniversary. That’s practically a century in internet years! And just when we thought this match made in ad-heaven couldn’t get any hotter, Taboola is dialling up the romance, now serving ads across even more Microsoft apps, including your trusty email companion, Outlook, and your favourite work buddy, Office 365.
Taboola, known for turning ads into engaging conversations rather than annoying pop-ups, has long run ads on Microsoft’s digital giants like MSN, Edge browsers, and Windows experiences. MSN is already one of the world’s most visited news hubs, while Edge is that AI-powered browser we’ve all accidentally clicked on at least once—admit it, it happens.
Now, Taboola extends its clever AI-powered tech to the Microsoft 365 productivity suite, giving advertisers an unprecedented opportunity to connect with nearly 600 million daily active users. Yes, that’s almost twice the population of the United States—daily! Taboola helps digital properties monetise better, and advertisers reach audiences who are actually awake and paying attention, a rare combo these days.
“Reaching a decade serving ads with an industry leader such as Microsoft is an incredible milestone,” said Taboola CEO Adam Singolda. “Our collaboration has been established for the long-term, and on Taboola’s ability to help Microsoft provide richer experiences on its immensely popular digital properties. As we expand to offer advertising on additional Microsoft properties, we’re giving advertisers even more access to trusted, premium destinations that reach people across all different parts of their day as they’re actively engaged.”
Ten years down the line, Taboola and Microsoft are still making sweet digital music together. How’s that for relationship goals in a world filled with Tinder swipes and 30-second Tiktok romances?
AD Agencies
AdTrust Summit 2026 to examine trust, AI and Gen Alpha in advertising
Two-day summit in Mumbai to explore ethics, regulation and the future of advertising trust
MUMBAI: At a time when advertising is navigating a delicate trust deficit, the Advertising Standards Council of India is preparing to bring the industry to the table. On 17 and 18 March, the body will host the inaugural AdTrust Summit 2026 in Mumbai, a two-day gathering designed to spark conversation around responsibility, regulation and credibility in modern advertising.
The summit, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, will bring together leaders from advertising, media, technology and policy to examine how brands can build trust in a marketplace increasingly shaped by algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence.
In an age of deepfakes, dark patterns and blurred lines between content and commerce, the question is no longer just how brands capture attention, but whether audiences believe what they see. The AdTrust Summit aims to unpack that challenge.
Day one will turn its attention to the youngest digital natives. Titled Decoding Gen Alpha, the session will unveil ‘What the Sigma?’, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands Consulting that explores how children growing up in a hyper-digital environment encounter advertising and commercial messaging.
The report presentation will be delivered by Santosh Desai, founder and director at Think9 Consumer Technologies and a social commentator known for his insights into consumer behaviour. The discussion that follows will attempt to decode how Gen Alpha consumes media, interacts with brands and navigates the growing overlap between entertainment and marketing.
In a move that mirrors the subject itself, two Gen Alpha students will also join the conversation, offering a rare perspective from the generation advertisers are trying to understand.
The second panel of the day will shift the focus from observation to implication, asking what the report’s findings mean for brands, agencies and society. Speakers include Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant; Preeti Vyas, president at Mythik; and Abigail Dias, associate president planning at Ogilvy. The session will be moderated by Sonali Krishna, editor at ET Brand Equity.
Day two moves from insight to regulation. Under the theme From Compliance to Trust, ASCI will release its Ad Law Compendium, a comprehensive guide to India’s advertising regulations.
The day will open with a keynote by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman at ASCI and managing director at Pidilite Industries, followed by a chief guest address by Sanjay Jaju, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Legal experts from Khaitan & Co., including Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner, and Tanu Banerjee, partner, will present an overview of the current advertising law landscape in India and examine whether existing frameworks are equipped to deal with emerging technologies and formats.
Subsequent panels will explore issues increasingly shaping the industry’s ethical compass. Conversations will range from the limits of persuasive design and the rise of dark patterns, to the growing scrutiny brands face from digital creators and consumer watchdogs.
One session will also feature Revant Himatsingka, widely known online as the Food Pharmer, whose critiques of packaged food brands have sparked debate around transparency and corporate accountability.
Later discussions will turn toward media literacy among Gen Alpha, asking how children can be equipped to navigate a digital world where gaming, content and commerce are becoming indistinguishable.
The summit will conclude with a final panel on the future of advertising, bringing together voices from agencies, legal circles and technology platforms to discuss how innovation, intelligence and integrity can coexist.
For an industry built on persuasion, trust has always been its quiet currency. But as audiences grow more sceptical and digital ecosystems more complex, that currency is under pressure.
Events like the AdTrust Summit suggest the advertising world knows it cannot afford to take credibility for granted. The real challenge now is turning conversation into commitment.
