MAM
Varun Dhawan shows off his Lux Cozi undergarments
MUMBAI: Lux Cozi is all set to reiterate its position within the youth with its second TVC starring Varun Dhawan. With this film, the brand takes a step forward to increase its exposure and strengthen its connection with the masses.
In the new TVC, conceptualised by Soho Square and shot in Budapest, Varun exemplifies the proposition of comfortable playfulness. He does so by flaunting the innerwear through smooth, effortless moves. His adrenaline-filled chase and carefree antics are complemented with upbeat music.
Lux Industries chairman Ashok Todi says, “Besides being talented and versatile, Varun has a stature and appeal that resonates well with Lux Cozi’s philosophy of ‘Suno toh apne dil ki’. The response to Varun’s association with the brand has been phenomenal – the TVC crossed 1.5 million views in just four days.”
For the second leg of the campaign with Varun, the agency had to carve a niche in the minds of the audience and the challenge was to resonate with their temperament, while seamlessly incorporating Varun’s style and fashion sense.
Soho Square Mumbai ECD and creative head Anuraag Khandelwal mentions, “Most Indian celebrities shy away from showing themselves in the actual underwear. But Varun was absolutely comfortable and confident in doing so. This helped us make a better connection with today’s youth that is comfortable in their own skin. We also found that Varun embodies the characteristics that we want the brand to stand for. And with this TVC, we were able to marry all of them in an emotionally engaging, fresh and surprising manner.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
