MAM
WARC 100 declares Mullen Lowe Lintas as top creative agency
Mumbai: Annual ranking of the world’s 100 best campaigns and companies based on their performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions, The WARC 100, has named MullenLowe Lintas Group, India the Top Creative Agency in the World.
The agency is the first to claim the number one position as Top Creative Agency in the World for two consecutive years. Following at number two is Droga5, NYC with Ogilvy, NYC being ranked number three. Additionally, the MullenLowe Group global network has retained its 4th place position as Top Creative Network for the second year in a row.
The WARC 100 study focuses on marketing that makes a difference, driving business performance or changing consumer behaviour, and the rankings are compiled from over 2,200 winning campaigns from 87 different global competitions.
Commenting on the achievement, MullenLowe Lintas Group Group CEO Joseph George said, “2015 was a milestone year for the agency with over 60 awards for creative effectiveness alone. This year too began well for us, being declared the Agency of the Year at Effies India in January. And now this WARC 100 recognition 2 years in a row further demonstrates the primacy of delivering ROI for our clients as our singular pursuit, as indeed in our belief in the type of work we want to deliver for our clients.”
Adding to its list of achievements, of the three campaigns that have been selected from India in the top 20, two of them were from MullenLowe Lintas Group. ‘Kan Khajura Tesan’, which was ranked number one last year remained in the rankings at number nine this year while Idea Cellular’s campaign ‘No Ullu Banaoing’ was ranked number 17. Havells Appliances ‘Respect Women’ also managed to find a place in the table as it was ranked number 25 in the list.
The above recognition builds on the recent success that has been witnessed by MullenLowe Lintas Group which has a host of accolades against its name including Agency of the Year 2015 by Effie India, the Most Effective Agency in APAC by Effie Effectiveness Index, The Agency of the Year – AMES 2015, The Agency of the Year – U&AP Awards 2015, Runner-up International Agency of the Year by Ad Age and also put up India’s best ever performance at the Jay Chiat Awards twice in two years.
Brands
Pre-seed funding fuels nailinit, India’s new-age nail care brand
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund backs Gen Z-focused beauty startup
MUMBAI: nailinit, a community-first nail care startup targeting Gen Z and millennials, has raised Rs 2.5 to Rs 3 crore in a pre-seed round led by Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund and Marsshot VC, alongside a clutch of consumer, technology and operator angels.
Backed by entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund is betting on nailinit’s attempt to give India’s nail care aisle a long overdue makeover. The fresh capital will be used to deepen distribution across quick commerce and D2C channels, build its community engine, and accelerate product innovation in a category that is high frequency but still light on strong brands.
Founded by Tanishq Ambegaokar and Shubham Singhal, nailinit is positioning itself at the crossroads of beauty, self-expression and culture. The brand wants nails to be more than a finishing touch. It sees them as a canvas for identity, content and commerce.
“At nailinit, we are building for a generation that sees beauty as self-expression, not just routine,” said Ambegaokar. “The nail category in India has largely been underserved by strong brands. This capital allows us to invest in product depth, community and distribution in a thoughtful and long-term way.”
Singhal added that while the brand’s tone may be playful, its operating focus is sharp. “This round strengthens our supply chain, expands our digital footprint and enables disciplined execution as we scale.”
The funding round drew notable angels including Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, Arjit Johri of Marsshot VC, Yash Jain, formerly of NimbusPost, Karan Jindal of Meta, Jivraj Singh Sachar of ISV Capital, Nishank Jain of Accel, Yashvardhan Kanoi, Ashwarya Garg of HYPD, Venus Dhuria of Phot.AI and Amishi Parasrampuria of The Whole Truth.
Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund fund manager Gauri Kuchhal, believes the opportunity lies in shifting habits. “Nail care remains underpenetrated in India, with consumers relying on time-intensive salon visits. As convenience and self-expression gain ground, press-on nails can unlock more frequent and experimental usage. Nailinit is well-placed to expand beyond press-ons into adjacent categories.”
The brand is currently the only nail care player in India blending product-led retail with a dedicated kiosk at Jio World Drive in Bandra, where customers can walk in for services while discovering the range. It has also built early traction across quick commerce platforms such as Zepto and Blinkit, with a launch on Instamart in the pipeline, and is available on Amazon, strengthening its omnichannel presence.
In a space long dominated by salon chairs and scattered labels, nailinit is attempting to file, shape and polish the category into something sharper. With fresh funding in hand, the startup is setting out to prove that in beauty, small details can make a bold statement.
