Brands
World Media Awards: Maxus India recognised for Tata campaign, wins gold in ‘automotive’
MUMBAI: Maxus, a part of GroupM, has bagged Grand Prix at the World Media Awards 2017 for their campaign “From Zica to Tiago” for Tata Motors. The campaign also won the Gold in Automotive category for the campaign.
The campaign was created when Tata’s new car Zica was just 3 weeks away from the launch and the World Health Organization declared Zika, the virus as a global emergency. Consumers started associating Zica, the car with Zika, the virus and it was becoming a great threat to the brand image.
Maxus conceptualized, created and implemented a three-stage approach to overcome the challenge and thus launched the ‘Fantastico Name Hunt’. In just three days, the campaign reached 48 million people across 22 target markets. 640,000 engaged and 37,000 names were submitted – garnering $410,000 of earned media coverage along the way. Google searches for ‘Zica’ totally dropped and ‘Tiago’ surged, showing that consumers were on board with the change.
An elated Maxus South Asia managing director Kartik Sharma said, “This is one of the best examples where a crisis situation is turned into a great opportunity for a brand.”
Within four months of the launch, Tiago received more than 1,20,000 test drive requests which is three times more than any Tata car launch in the last decade. The World Media Awards are designed to benchmark the best in international advertising and communication strategies.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
