Brands
Zlade Ballistic ropes in Milind Soman as brand ambassador
Mumbai: Zlade, one of the fastest growing men’s grooming brands in India, has onboarded celebrated supermodel and actor Milind Soman as the brand ambassador for their Zlade Ballistic range, a dynamic assortment of below-the-belt grooming and intimate hygiene products.
With the multi-faceted Milind Soman coming aboard, Zlade Ballistic aims to strengthen its presence in the men’s intimate grooming and hygiene segment by creating awareness around the importance of ‘manscaping’ among its target audience in India.
This collaboration will see national heartthrob Milind Soman taking centerstage as Zlade Ballistic rolls out an elaborate campaign that involves social experiments, droolworthy photoshoots, and what is touted to be one of the quirkiest and most interesting ad films to grace digital platforms.
To mark this association, the brand released some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage to kick-off the campaign through its YouTube and social media channels. In this video, Milind is seen in an animated, candid conversation about manscaping with his manager. Considering that intimate grooming, pubic hair removal, and intimate hygiene for men have always been tricky and conventionally taboo topics, Milind cleverly uses humour to draw attention towards the subject, also involving the general public to chip in with creative ideas.
Speaking about the importance of creating awareness around manscaping or men’s intimate grooming, Zlade co-CEO & co-founder Suraj Chaudhari said, “There is a tendency in our society to avoid conversations about intimate grooming and hygiene. It is important to us as a brand to normalise the notions people have about manscaping (and create awareness around the subject and the problems or infections the lack thereof can lead to). Milind Soman has always been the epitome of health and fitness and he has never been shy to call a spade a spade. These aspects of his personality, along with his undying popularity across age groups and genders, make him the ideal fit for Zlade Ballistic. Zlade’s association with him will make Indian men more aware of their intimate grooming and hygiene habits. As a company, we aim to introduce manscaping to India and revolutionise the men’s intimate grooming landscape.”
Always known to speak up about issues that matter, model, actor, and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman said, “Feels good to be a part of this campaign by Zlade Ballistic! They are a purpose-driven Indian brand that is pioneering change in the men’s grooming segment; intimate grooming in particular. With a shared vision, Zlade Ballistic and I want to throw light on societal stereotypes when it comes to pubic hair, manscaping, and intimate grooming, and spark a necessary and candid conversation about below-the-belt grooming habits since it ties directly to hygiene, lifestyle, intimacy, and more. I’m delighted to be a part of this initiative.”
With a range of hair removal and intimate hygiene products already in the market, Zlade co-CEO & co-founder Mihir Vaidya said, “With the new Zlade Ballistic range of hi-tech trimmers, we are constantly innovating and making below-the-belt grooming safe, hassle-free, and convenient. Our collaboration with Milind Soman will help us amplify awareness around this category as well as our products across markets. We are thrilled to have him on board.”
The brand, rapidly growing into a force to reckon with in the Indian grooming and personal care industry, also recently conducted an interesting social experiment to understand India’s take on manscaping. The interactive vox-pop engaged random people in candid discussions around intimate grooming, men’s intimate hygiene, pubic hair, sexual intimacy, and women’s preferences towards men’s below-the-belt grooming.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
