e-commerce
Lycos extends deal with Yahoo! for enhanced search advertising, expects 10 per cent higher topline
New Delhi: Global Internet brand Lycos today announced the extension of its deal with Yahoo! for enhanced search advertising by one more year. The contract leverages Lycos; services to increase the reach of Yahoo! search and content offerings. Contextual advertising offerings of Lycos will in turn increase.
This relationship – that allows LYCOS to serve globally on all platforms including search, mobile and other contextual advertising – is expected to increase LYCOS’ turnover by 10% in FY2016-2017.
The enhanced form of search advertising is a type of contextually targeted platform which allows online search advertisers to buy keyword-targeted traffic from sources other than search engine results pages.
Lycos Internet Limited had reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 1957 crore and a net profit after tax and minority interest of Rs 342.22 crore for the year ended March 31, 2015 (FY-2015). For the nine month period ended December 31, 2015, the company reported revenue of Rs 1782 crore reflecting a growth of about 18 per cent over the corresponding year ago period, and a net profit after tax and minority interest of Rs 321 crore.
e-commerce
Instamart and Duolingo launch street spell check campaign for Instaprint
Duo the owl fixes signboard typos across cities to showcase instant printing.
MUMBAI: If spelling mistakes had a sworn enemy, it might just be a bright green owl with a printer. Instamart has teamed up with language learning platform Duolingo for a quirky nationwide campaign that turns everyday spelling errors into a public spectacle while promoting its instant printing service, InstaPrint. The playful activation takes aim at the many misspelled shop boards and public signs scattered across Indian streets. From “saloons” that promise haircuts rather than drinks to menus and posters peppered with punctuation mishaps, the campaign sends Duolingo’s mascot Duo on a mission to restore linguistic order.
Armed with Instamart’s instant printing feature, Duo prints corrected versions of the mistakes on the spot and pastes them over the originals. The result is a series of humorous street interventions that have quickly begun circulating on social media.
Photos and videos of the grammar correcting owl have been widely shared online, with amused users reacting to the unexpected spell check patrol. One user joked, “Ab ayega na maza bhidu,” capturing the internet’s delight at the unusual campaign.
Behind the humour lies a practical message. The activation is designed to showcase the capabilities of Instaprint, Instamart’s printing service that allows users to print documents and posters almost instantly.
The company says the feature is meant for everyday needs such as printing resumes, visa documents or last minute posters without the usual scramble to locate a print shop.
Instamart introduced Instaprint in 2025 across select metropolitan cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. The service allows users to order printed materials directly through the platform, extending the quick commerce model beyond groceries and household essentials.
By combining Duolingo’s famously persistent owl with India’s street level spelling quirks, the campaign taps into the internet’s long running fascination with grammar mistakes while demonstrating a real world use case for instant printing.
After all, in a world full of typos, sometimes what you really need is a quick printer and a very determined language teacher.
