MAM
WinZO teams up with Ogilvy’s Piyush Pandey to boost brand presence
Mumbai: Homegrown social gaming platform WinZO is set to launch its multilingual brand campaign in close collaboration with Ogilvy chairman of Global Creative and executive chairman India Piyush Pandey. The campaign drives the brand’s core objective of delivering winning moments through a relatable social platform to over a billion Indians.
Through this campaign, WinZO aims to establish itself as the preferred destination for all interactive entertainment of Bharat.
The entire campaign theme and stories were conceptualised by Piyush Pandey. With this engagement, Pandey and Ogilvy will be bringing their plethora of experience to the new and rapidly growing industry of Gaming for the first time.
Commenting on the rationale behind the campaign, Piyush Pandey said, “It was great fun for me working on the WinZO campaign. Playing some game or the other is inbuilt in human nature. We’ve tried to get into real life and real ways of how each one of us, no matter what strata of society we come from, enjoy these moments. And from there comes the belief that WinZO gives you a lot of opportunities to play games that you thoroughly enjoy and get the kick of winning from. It’s been wonderful working on this campaign, and I hope our audiences enjoy watching the films.”
The campaign aims to capture the raw human emotions of competition, winning and associated delight that creates lasting social connections. These everyday conquests have been articulated and crafted into four humorous video stories by Ogilvy which will be launched as TVCs across digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram as well as other electronic modes such as TV, radio, OTT platforms, amongst others, to maximise the brand’s visibility among the billion plus audience of India.
Speaking about the new campaign, WinZO co-founder Saumya Singh Rathore said, “While the last decade belonged to e-commerce boost in India, this decade belongs to gaming and Interactive entertainment. India is at the epicentre of this rapidly growing trillion-dollar global gaming opportunity. As a leading player in the space, our partnership with Piyush and Ogilvy is symbolic of us recognizing and taking this responsibility of establishing gaming as a mainstream social activity. Piyush has not only helped build brands but also contributed in building large sectors through his campaigns over decades. We are excited to collaborate with him to achieve the same for the gaming industry and our brand.”
WinZO had launched the multi-media campaign #JeetneMeiKickHai last year which celebrated the ‘kick of winning’ in people’s daily lives and helped establish the brand’s relatability and recall value. The upcoming campaign, as an extension of the previous campaign, will expand on the theme of excitement experienced by individuals in social circles merely by small winning moments, bringing forth the spirit of the platform alive.
As a part of its brand development exercise, WinZO has also secured the principal sponsorships for two major Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) teams, Bengal Warriors and Gujarat Giants, as well as associate sponsorship for Patna Pirates. PKL is the second most followed sporting league in the country after the Indian Premier League.
MAM
Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
