MAM
Welspun India is official partner for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019
MUMBAI: Welspun, home textile manufacturers, is collaborating with Kings XI Punjab to be its official partner for the 12th season of Indian Premier League (IPL). The tie-up with one of the favorite teams in IPL will provide an edge to Welspun’s Quik Dry towels, and create brand awareness amongst the cricket fans across the country.
Kings XI Punjab CEO Satish Menon said, “We are happy to announce our association with Welspun and delighted to partner with a brand of this stature. We look forward to a great IPL season.”
As the official partners of Kings XI Punjab, the cheerleaders will encourage the crowd using the ‘Quik Dry’ Towels as a prop and keep up the energy levels of the viewers. In addition to this, Welspun will place its logo on the dresses of cheerleaders. Towels have been a vital auxiliary to all the iconic dance moves of Bollywood. Building on this element further, Welspun will organise contests on multiple digital platforms, requesting the audience to participate and submit their unique dance moves, using Welspun ‘QUIK DRY’ towel. The cheerleaders will perform the best dance steps shortlisted, during the IPL match. Through the course of the IPL season, Welspun will hold an array of contests on multiple mediums, where participants will get a chance to win autographed merchandise and entry tickets to the matches.
Welspun India CEO domestic business Manjari Upadhye said,” It is our first ever association with IPL and we are excited to showcase our QUIK Dry Towels on this platform. Welspun’s Quik Dry towels with the brand proposition of, “Jaldi Sukhe Jaldi Sukhaye” caters to the Indian masses and IPL on the other hand, is the most viewed cricket event world-over and in India. Given this undisputable synergy, we chose to partner with Kings XI Punjab which has been the one of the favourite teams in the Indian Premier League. Through this association, we wish to leverage the combined brand synergies to create greater engagement with our customers, both existing and potential.”
After achieving success globally in the home-textile industry, the company is now all set to leverage its presence in the Indian market with the new range of towels priced at Rs 249. With this initiative, Welspun looks at replicating the success of its international market in India by reaching out to 36 crore viewers. This partnership will provide a powerful edge to Welspun to connect with the masses through the sport and medium that unites a diverse set of people.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
