Ad Campaigns
Volkswagen Virtus unveils 360° campaign to boost premium mid-size sedan market
Mumbai: Volkswagen has launched a new campaign, titled ‘Hello Goosebumps’, for its sedan Virtus. Conceptualised by DDB Mudra Group, the film aims to plug in excitement and energy into the premium mid-size sedan segment by highlighting the thrill and joy of driving the new Volkswagen Virtus.
The striking, exhilarating and German-engineered new Volkswagen Virtus aims to reignite the premium midsize sedan with its ‘Big by’ design, performance, safety, connectivity, convenience and comfort. The Virtus is a true Volkswagen developed on the core DNA of the brand of build quality, safety and fun-to-drive experience and each element has been captured through the new TVC campaign.
Volkswagen’s media agency, PHD India, further elevated the launch campaign via its 360-degree incisive approach, covering all vital media channels, and crafting an effective marketing strategy. PHD was tasked with building enthusiasm and maximising outreach amongst its target audience to amplify the launch experience of Volkswagen Virtus.
The campaign kick-started on a high note with the ‘French Window Innovation’ in India’s top-read newspaper, The Times of India. Garnering scores of impressions across the country, this large-canvas innovation delivered high-visibility engagement that today’s audiences desire and was augmented by high-impact roadblocks on leading business and news digital publications to maximise reach and frequency.
The integrated campaign was further strengthened with an influencer marketing strategy featuring India’s leading mega influencers like Tamanaah Bhatia, Yami Gautam, Mrunal Thakur, and more, perfectly encapsulating the essence of Virtus’ tagline – ‘Hello Goosebumps!’ through their own personal and professional journeys.
Speaking on the campaign launch, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India head of marketing & PR Abbey Thomas commented, “With the launch of the new Volkswagen Virtus, our intention was to showcase the potential of the premium midsize sedan segment. The Virtus boasts of a striking design, exhilarating performance and German-engineered built and safety that has the ability to reignite the segment. Our communication positioning for the Virtus’ ‘Hello Goosebumps’ has been rightly captured by our partner DDB Mudra Group and amplified by PHD media in reaching out to our intended consumers. The combined efforts have elevated the excitement and thrill of driving sedans paving the way for an introduction truly befitting of the Virtus.”
DDB Mudra creative head – west Pallavi Chakravarti said, “This sedan looks like a dream and drives like one too. ‘Hello Goosebumps’ captures the essence of the Volkswagen Virtus in a simple, visceral campaign that every passionate driver will undoubtedly relate to.”
PHD Media India CEO Monaz Todywalla said, “Our partnership with Volkswagen gave us the opportunity to steer another big launch campaign to its true potential while staying true to PHD’s tradition of helping its clients make significant leaps in the marketing space. Utilising key strategies across all touchpoints to maximise reach, an outcome like this always gives us the impetus to continue building impactful experiences for brands like Volkswagen and elevate their marketing strategies to be a cut above the rest”.
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.
