Brands
Virat Kohli and Gionee celebrate milestones
MUMBAI: A brand that has managed to make a good impact in the Indian market is smartphone player Gionee. Coming to the Indian market with its unique offerings, and further getting celebrities to endorse them, Gionee has emerged as a favourite brand of Indians; and has done so in a very short span of time. The campaign has begun with an aggressive burst on OOH media nationally and will be followed by print, digital and radio too.
The smartphone brand has now achieved a new milestone where it has got 1.25 crore users using its products. To celebrate the feat, Gionee has announced the launch of a nationwide integrated campaign that has been conceptualized and executed by Mullen Lintas Delhi. The objective of this campaign is to announce this unique milestone and also let the consumers know about Gionee’s stature amongst its competitors.
To promote this milestone to the masses, Gionee has brought on board the Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli. Known as the milestone man himself, it was an apt partnership between Virat Kohli and Gionee where together they are shown celebrating milestones in their own unique way. Given Gionee’s aggressive ambition to move towards market leadership, this is a well-timed association as Virat Kohli perfectly mirrors what the brand is aiming to achieve.
Gionee marketing head Nomit Joshi said, “Gionee has reached a milestone with 1.25 crore patron base in India and the Indian cricket skipper who is creating new milestones and records was roped in as the brand ambassador. The Captain’s arrival on-board allowed us to highlight our milestone and also the partnership was mutual.”
Mullen Lintas NCD Shriram Iyer said: “Gionee and Virat Kohli – both ambitious, both hard working and currently both are on an exciting trajectory in their own respective fields. We believe it’s a perfect match to begin a great partnership.”
Mullen Lintas Delhi executive director Syed Amjad Ali says: “The campaign is aimed to make a big announcement. At the same, getting Virat Kohli on board illustrates Gionee’s leadership ambition. He is clearly a role model today and inspires millions of people. To begin with, this campaign announces Gionee’s achievement of getting 1.25 crore smartphone users. There are many more lined up and will be unveiled soon.”
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
