MAM
Wunderman Thompson and Turtle weave peace with ‘THE LYNCHING’ on Durga Puja – Powerful Puja Film
MUMBAI: India, the land of a thousand gods and goddesses is facing a devil of its own. Fuelled by rumours, borne of intolerance and spread on social media, incidents of hate crimes across the country are on the rise. And a mere mobile phone in one’s hand has now become the most dreadful weapon of destruction. Leading to hundreds of innocent people falling victim and losing their lives to these mindless cases of ‘mob lynching’ over the last few years.
Turtle, one of India’s most progressive fashion brands partnered with Wunderman Thompson to raise awareness around this menacing social evil looming large in the country. For this, the agency chose the perfect platform – social media, where such issues thrive and are spread to create havoc. And the ideal occasion – Durga Puja, the country’s most celebrated religious festival was picked to release the film. And then, on Mahalaya, the auspicious day that marks the arrival of Goddess Durga, the Goddess of Power, this intriguing film was launched.
Needing around 3 months of painstaking animation, every frame of this 2min 17sec film is a bed of fabric with photo-realistic textures and patterns. Animated meticulously and layered with a goose-bumping soundtrack this film builds a dystopian, avant-garde world of evil with a noir feel. The essence of the message is delivered in a way never seen before and the threads of peace and harmony is woven in the hearts of every viewer.
Taking about this film, Senthil Kumar, Chief Creative Officer, Wunderman Thompson said, “THE LYNCHING : A film that celebrates the arrival of the Goddess with a powerful message for the nation. If art can move people this one will give you the shivers. An Ode to Keep the Faith that threads us together as One. It’s a human story that will be shared by millions and surely the most relevant film this festive season. We are thankful to a brave client – Turtle for bringing this masterpiece to life on the auspicious day of Mahalaya, when the medium is the message.”
The Creative Team is led by the Executive Creative Director of WT Kolkata Arjun Mukherjee who has also Directed this film and the amazing art and Illustration is by Saptarshi Dey, Music by Prabuddha Banerjee. Dipthanshu Roy Anurag Aneek Soumya and Team in the Kolkata office Wunderman Thompson South Asia.
‘The Lynching’, created by Wunderman Thompson for Turtle, was released in September 2019 on the occasion of Durga Puja.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
