Sports
Pink Parade 2026 puts women’s strength centre stage in Mumbai
Ace Blend and On Tour rally runners to rewrite fitness myths
MUMBAI: The sea breeze at Breach Candy Promenade carried more than just the scent of salt on Sunday morning. It carried a message. Strength has no stereotype.
Pink Parade 2026, a 5 km community run hosted by Ace Blend in partnership with On Tour, brought together Mumbai’s fitness enthusiasts in a spirited show of solidarity for women’s health. From first-timers to seasoned runners, participants laced up not only to clock miles but to challenge long-held assumptions around women and supplementation.
The morning began with a guided warm-up session between 7.15 am and 7.30 am, before the run set off at 7.30 am sharp. Clad in exclusive Pink Parade T-shirts and fanny packs, runners turned the promenade into a moving ribbon of colour and camaraderie.
Post-run, the energy flowed into Greenr, where participants cooled down over smoothies infused with Ace Blend’s Pink Creatine. The product, central to the event’s theme, seeks to reposition creatine from a male-dominated gym supplement to a broader performance ally for women. Its distinctive hue comes from Polish tart cherries, known for supporting rest and recovery.
While creatine has traditionally been marketed towards men chasing muscle gains, growing research points to its wider benefits, from muscle recovery and cellular energy production to potential cognitive support. Pink Parade used the power of community to underline that performance is not defined by gender, but by goals.
Ace Blend founder Shivam Hingorani, said the initiative was about more than a single morning run. “For us, Pink Parade was not just a run, but the start of a movement. For years, creatine has been marketed in a narrow way. We want to normalise conversations around women’s performance, not just in the gym but in daily life. Supplementation cannot be defined by gender, it is defined by ambition.”
The collaboration with On Tour, a community-driven run club known for energising Mumbai’s urban fitness scene, ensured strong turnout across age groups, including entrepreneurs, content creators and wellness advocates. The result was an atmosphere that felt equal parts race day and rallying cry.
Beyond the finish line, Pink Parade 2026 sparked conversations around strength training, recovery and reclaiming pink as a symbol of power rather than pigeonhole. In doing so, it set a brisk pace for a future where fitness narratives are broader, bolder and built on science rather than stereotype.
Sports
IPL 2026 shows widening gap between CTV and TV advertising trends
Ecom leads CTV with 39 per cent, 30 plus shared categories, distinct advertiser mix.
MUMBAI: If cricket is the same on every screen, advertising clearly isn’t. A new analysis by TAM Sports reveals a widening gap between Connected TV (CTV) and linear television advertising during IPL 2026, with brands and categories playing very different innings across platforms. On CTV, digital-first categories dominated. E-commerce media, entertainment and social media led with a commanding 39 per cent share, followed by e-commerce services at 11 per cent. Smartphones and cars each accounted for 6 per cent, while air conditioners contributed 4 per cent highlighting a strong tilt towards tech-led and high-consideration categories.
Linear TV, in contrast, leaned heavily into mass-market staples. Mouth fresheners topped the chart with 14 per cent, closely followed by e-commerce services at 13 per cent. Financial institutions held a 6 per cent share, while paints and e-commerce wallets each stood at 5 per cent, reflecting a more traditional advertising mix.
The divergence extends to advertisers as well. On CTV, Star India (JioHotstar) led with a dominant 39 per cent share, followed by Google at 17 per cent. Havells India, Renault India and Reliance Consumer Products rounded out the top five with smaller shares. Linear TV saw Google in the lead at 12 per cent, with Reliance Consumer Products at 10 per cent, followed by Vishnu Packaging and Havells India at 6 per cent each, and K P Pan Foods at 5 per cent.
Despite these differences, there is some overlap. The study identified 30 plus common categories and 25 plus common advertisers across both platforms, based on 22 matches analysed. Shared categories included e-commerce media, e-commerce services, mouth fresheners, paints and cars, while common advertisers featured Star India (JioHotstar), Google and Reliance Consumer Products.
Yet, exclusivity tells the sharper story. CTV saw over 20 exclusive categories and 30 plus unique advertisers, including smartphones, credit cards, fast food outlets and hotels, with brands such as Renault India, Tata Motors and Voltas featuring prominently. Linear TV, meanwhile, had 15 plus exclusive categories and 20 plus advertisers, including chocolates, jewellery, perfumes and mortgage loans, with names like Cadbury India, Skoda Auto and Amul in the mix.
The findings point to a structural shift in how advertisers are approaching big-ticket sporting events. While linear TV continues to deliver scale and familiarity, CTV is emerging as a playground for digital-native categories and more targeted brand storytelling.
In the IPL’s advertising game, it seems the format may be the same but the strategy is anything but uniform.
