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Star Gold adopts mobile ad technology to promote Bol Bachchan
MUMBAI: Star Gold had utilised mobile advertising technology M-AdCall to promote the premiere of Bol Bachchan wherein the user was offered one minute of free talk time for viewing a video advertisement for 30 seconds.
M-AdCall allows one to watch a video whenever a number is dialed or a wallpaper or song is downloaded and helps bring advertising to handsets to increase itsbrand outreach.
The Hindi movie broadcaster had built awareness for the premiere of Ajay Devgn-Abhishek Bachchan starrer film Bol Bachchan on MTS subscribers through M-AdCall powered by Astute. The technology is currently being offered by MTS and Tata Docomo, but is expected to be adopted by all operators in the near future.
Star Gold GM Hemal Jhaveri said, “Bol Bachchan on M-AdCall was a great way of driving awareness for the Blockbuster Premiere on Star Gold. The user initiationprocess coupled with the engagement of this technology is far greater and unique than the unsolicited calls/SMS promotion which is usually the norm.”
Leading mobile marketing company, Madhouse India COO Vinod Thadani says, “Mobile is an exciting, fast-growing category, but it‘s still a very small piece of theoverall ad pie, contributing only about 10% of the digital advertising spends in India. However, with the steep rise in mobile internet users and ever revolutionizing features and applications, this industry holds a huge opportunity for advertisers, and M-AdCall may just be that innovative technology to drive the new era of mobile advertising in India."
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
