MAM
Thumbs up asks people to #TakeCharge
MUMBAI: As the new Thums Up Charged makes it way to shelves across India, Coca-Cola India has launched a new campaign called, #TakeCharge featuring ever-energetic actor and Thums Up brand ambassador Ranveer Singh.
The new campaign builds further on Thums Up’s unique expression of masculinity and belief that heroism is a choice for us to make and an opportunity to take. The campaign conveys that for any challenge that demands heroic action, the hero needs to get charged to rise up to that occasion.
The TVC opens to an international car race event where the protagonist is seen ready to hit the track in his car which is inscribed with the ThumsUp Charged logo. Focused on victory, with his ThumsUp Charged by his side, he starts manoeuvring his way past the other cars. Just as he’s about to take the lead, the car in front of him loses control and brings our car to a halt. Shaken but determined, the protagonist takes a gulp of his ThumsUp Charged and sets off to finish the race. As he charges ahead and victory is almost in sight, his gearbox jams. Epitomising the ‘Never Give Up Ever’ attitude, he puts his car in reverse and races to victory in a photo-finish.
ThumsUp Charged is the first-ever variant of Thums Up that was recently launched by Coca-Cola India to celebrate 40 years of Thums Up. The company will be rolling out a series of initiatives including consumer-led engagement campaigns along with exciting marketing campaigns with its brand ambassadors through digital, social, traditional, and outdoor media channels.
Coca-Cola India and South West Asia Director, Colas marketing Ajay Bathija says, “ThumsUp TVCs are all about seeking thrill, adventure, exhilaration and excitement and Ranveer Singh as a brand ambassador embodies all of that perfectly. The ‘#TakeCharge’ campaign is about taking the controls of life in one’s hands and overcoming adversities by not giving up hope. Our TVC captures this attitude and we are confident that the campaign will resonate well with all Thums Up lovers.”
Actor Ranveer Singh mentions, “I distinctly remember when I first tasted toofani Thums Up and since then it has become my favourite cola. It’s an honour to be the face of this brand. The ‘Take Charge’ campaign is very close to my heart as I constantly push boundaries and don’t believe in quitting when a challenge is thrown my way. Challenges keep me going in life and make me strive harder to achieve my goals. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the campaign; it was an invigorating experience to perform as a car-racer.”
Leo Burnett creative head Sainath Saraban adds, “ThumsUp Charged has an extra thunder in it just the kind of push that somebody needs to take his or her achievement to the next level. Even though the story is set in a massive car race that makes for grand theatre, it is an intensely personal journey about how a huge victory starts within your own self. When I wrote this film, I wanted to leave the viewer with a message that worked at a product level and was inspirational as well. If there’s one thing we want people to do after being exposed to this communication, it is to take charge.”
#TakeCharge is a 360-degree campaign that will leverage mass-media on larger-than-life outdoor sites in the core markets of the product. The campaign also leverages key social media platforms of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
