Welcomes over 50 brand associations for Goafest 2023 

The Goafest Organising Committee is pleased to announce that India Today Group Aaj Tak and Disney Star have come on board as ‘Co-Presenting’ Sponsors of Goafest 2023, South Asia’s apex industry event that celebrates milestones in the media and advertising industry. The definitive annual festival for the advertising, marketing, and media industry which attracts over 2000 industry professionals, is scheduled to take place on 24th, 25th, and 26th May 2023 at the Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa.

Proudly supported by our esteemed sponsors – SonyLIV, JioCinema, News18 Network, Dangal TV, Zee TV / ZEE5, Silver Push, Convosight, Zee News, Hindustan Times, ABP News, Viacom18’s Sports18, The Hindu Group, Flipkart, Times Network, Dailyhunt, B4U, Tata Motors, Anymind Media, Inmobi / Glance, Sri Adhikari Brothers - Mastiii, The Times of India, TV9 Network, Criteo, OMS Digital – A part of the Times Group, Rajasthan Patrika, Mathrubhumi, Amazon Ads, Warner Media, MIQ, Sakal, Shemaroo, Avinashi Ads Outdoor, Eenadu, Vserv, IDPL, Vijayawani Dighvijay, Google, BigFM, Malayala Manorma, Radio City, Surewaves, Party Smart Himalaya, Dainik Jagran, MakeMyTrip, Sakshi, Amar Ujala Publications, Pudhari, AdOnMo, Ad Sydicate, Dainik Savera.

Speaking about partnering with Goafest 2023, Dinesh Bhatia – Group CEO, India Today Group said, “Goafest presents an opportunity for us to deepen our engagement with the industry. As South Asia’s largest festival for the creative sector, the undeniable growth and significance of this event inspires us. As partners, we eagerly await to welcome our industry once again as we celebrate the boundless potential of media and creativity in shaping the future.”

“Disney Star has always stood for inspiring a billion imaginations. And Goafest celebrates creativity bringing together India’s finest creative minds. We are delighted to partner with them and stage this inspiring festival of creativity,” added Minakshi Achan, Head-Network Brand & Creative Communications, Disney Star.

Prasanth Kumar, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO, South Asia, GroupM, said, "We are delighted to welcome India Today Group Aaj Tak and Disney Star, as our co-presenting sponsors to Goafest this year. Over the years, Goafest has become synonymous with creativity, innovation, and excellence, making it the perfect destination for brands to associate with and showcase their offerings. We look forward to successful partnerships with all our sponsors as we work towards creating an unforgettable experience for everyone present.”

Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2023 Organising Committee said “It is our pleasure to welcome Disney Star and India Today Group Aaj Tak as the Co-Presenting Sponsors for Goafest 2023. We are delighted to see how Goafest has strived to create a platform of unique opportunities for brands to align themselves with the media and advertising fraternity. We welcome all our sponsors on board and hope these partnerships inspire creativity, drive innovation, and elevate the industry as a whole.”

MullenLowe US and Squarespace Win Big In ADC 102nd Annual Awards Global Creative Rankings 

MullenLowe US New York and Squarespace New York led the way among top winners in the ADC 102nd Annual Awards Global Creative Rankings.

Based on cumulative points for all Cubes and Merits won, MullenLowe US New York was crowned this year’s ADC top-ranking global agency.  The agency won two Best of Disciplines – in Brand/Communication Design and Illustration – for “Something To Offend Everyone” on behalf of Brooklyn Film Festival.

Squarespace New York also had a strong year, winning a total of eight Gold Cubes, as well as Best of Discipline in Brand-Side  for “The Singularity”, working with Q Department New York, Final Cut New York, and Smuggler New York/Los Angeles.

Highlights of the ADC 102nd Annual Awards Global Creative Rankings are as follows 

ADC 102nd Global Agency Rankings

1. MullenLowe US New York

2. VMLY&R New York

3. FCB New York

4. Dentsu Tokyo

5. Serviceplan Germany Munich

6. Performance Art Toronto

7. Rethink Toronto/Montréal/Vancouver

8. VMLY&R Mexico City

9. McCann New York

10. adam&eve DDB London (tie)

10. DDB Chicago (tie)

ADC 102nd Global Agency Network Rankings

1. VMLY&R

2. DDB Worldwide

3. FCB

ADC 102nd Global Brand-Side Agency Rankings

1. Squarespace New York

2. Spotify In-House New York

3. Google Brand Studio APAC

ADC 102nd Global Brand Rankings

1. Squarespace

2. Coors Light

3. The New York Times Magazine

ADC 102nd Global Non-Profit Client Rankings

1. Brooklyn Film Festival

2. PAWS NY

3. Flutwein

ADC 102nd Global Production Company Rankings

1. Smuggler New York/Los Angeles

2. Helo Los Angeles

3. Paulus Co. Ltd Seoul

ADC 102nd Global Music & Sound Company Rankings

1. JSM Music New York

2. Yessian New York

3. Human New York

ADC 102nd Global Highest Ranked Work

1. “Chillboards” by DDB Chicago with adam&eveDDB London, NORD DDB CPH Copenhagen, and Molson Coors for Coors Light

2. “Something to Offend Everyone” by MullenLowe US New York for Brooklyn Film Festival

3. “I Will Always Be Me” by VMLY&R New York for Dell Technologies and Intel

ADC 102nd Country Rankings

1. United States

2. Canada

3. Germany

4. China

5. Japan

ADC 102nd Annual Awards Regional Agencies of the Year are as follows.

ADC 102nd APAC Agency of the Year: Dentsu Tokyo

ADC 102nd Europe Agency of the Year: Serviceplan Germany MunichADC 102nd Latin America Agency of the Year: VMLY&R Mexico Mexico City

ADC 102nd Middle East & Africa Agency of the Year: Grid Worldwide Johannesburg

ADC 102nd North America Agency of the Year: MullenLowe US New York

The ADC 102nd Annual Awards Global Creatives of the Year, listed at the agencies and brands where they worked when the winning entries were produced, are as follows .

ADC 102nd Global Creative Rankings (individuals)

Creative (overall): Richard Brim, adam&eveDDB London; Rodrigo Jatene, DDB Chicago; Colin Selikow, DDB Chicago;  Ari Weiss, DDB Worldwide (tie)

Chief Creative Officer: Richard Brim, adam&eveDDB London; Rodrigo Jatene, DDB Chicago; Ari Weiss, DDB Worldwide (tie)

Chief Design Officer: Deb Bishop, The New York Times for Kids New York

Executive Creative Director: Colin Selikow, DDB Chicago

Group Creative Director: Zack Menna, Rich Singer, both MullenLowe US New York (tie)

Chief Marketing Officer: Michelle St. Jacques, Molson Coors

Art Director: Annie Jen, The New York Times Magazine New York; Ben Grandgenett, The New York Times Magazine New York; Borja Iciz, adam&eveDDB London

Copywriter: Jess West, Ken Bates, both DDB Chicago (tie)

Designer: Andrea Da Silva, Arlinda Shabani, both Serviceplan Germany Munich (tie)

Illustrator: Sofia Kyrimi, G Design Studio Athens

Photographer: William Etchebehere

Photo Editor: Noelle Flores-Theard, The New Yorker New York

Creative Technologist: Shan Jin, Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco

Director: Randy Krallman, Smuggler

Freelancer: Rang Li, Stockholm

The rankings can be viewed by Agency, Independent Agency, Brand-Side Agency, Network, Brand, Non-Profit Client, Production Company, Music & Sound Company, Highest Ranked Work, Country, Region, and Creatives (globally, and by region and country), using dropdown menus.   

Rankings methodology

Rankings in each category are calculated by the company that garners the most points overall for winning entries based on ADC Cubes, Merits and Special Awards, allocated as follows: Gold Cube 45 points, Silver 21, Bronze 9, Merit 3, Fusion Cube 90, Designism Cube 90, Best of Discipline 90, and Black Cube for Best of Show 135.  

If the same entry wins multiple awards within a discipline, the points for the highest award in that discipline is counted towards “of the Year” awards.

Points are only awarded to agencies listed as Primary and Secondary on entries.  If several agencies are listed under Primary and Secondary, the points are divided among them.  

A total of 11,198 pieces were entered from 59 countries and regions in the ADC 102nd Annual Awards.  Agencies, studios, freelancers, brands and production companies in 32 countries were awarded a total of 106 ADC Gold Cubes, 120 Silvers, 162 Bronze and 390 Merits this year.  

The top five countries for winners are the US with 367, Canada and Germany with 75 each, China with 74, and Japan with 38.

A complete showcase of all ADC 102nd Annual Awards Cube and Merit winners can be viewed here.

The One Club awards shows each have their distinct focus. The ADC Annual Awards maintain their long-running concentration as the champion for craft, design and innovation, while The One Show judges focus on creativity of ideas and quality of execution.

Celebrating five glorious years of creating exclusive OTT content, ZEE5 Global at a star-studded event in Mumbai, India titled, ‘Hooked to 5’, revealed an expansive line-up of titles featuring originals in Hindi and regional languages, sequels of cult-favourite series, big-ticket direct to digital releases, blockbuster post-theatrical launches and intriguing docu-series

For the slate, ZEE5 Global has partnered with prominent creators like Dharma Productions, Salman Khan Films, Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, Bhanushali Studios, The Viral Fever (TVF), Goldie Behl’s Rose Audio Visuals, Applause Entertainment, Sudhir Mishra, Vikas Bahl, Vivek Agnihotri, and Nagraj Manjule, to narrate stories featuring powerhouse performers like Salman Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Sonali Bendre, Arya, Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, and many more

ZEE5 Global, the world's largest streaming platform for South Asian content, today unveiled a highly anticipated, blockbuster content slate with a line-up of 111+ titles spanning across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi and Marathi. Keeping the audiences ‘Hooked to 5’, the star-studded event was held in Mumbai, India. Staying true to its promise of consistently delivering compelling entertainment content, the slate features an extensive array of genres, from avant-garde thrillers and adrenaline-pumping action to captivating dramas, light-hearted comedies, and fantasy adventures.

The new slate is designed to elevate the content viewing experience with enhanced choices across formats, genres and languages. The lineup also showcases ZEE5 Global’s significant focus on regional content with titles in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi and Marathi. Pushing the boundaries of creative storytelling to democratize access to quality entertainment, ZEE5 Global has expanded its ecosystem through partnerships with prominent content creators and cinematic maestros such as Dharma Productions, Salman Khan Films, Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, Bhanushali Studios, The Viral Fever (TVF), Applause Entertainment, Goldie Behl’s Rose Audio Visuals, Vikas Bahl, Vivek Agnihotri, Nagraj Manjule, and Sudhir Mishra, along with powerhouse performers like Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Huma Qureshi, Arya, Parambrata Chatterjee, Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Radhika Apte amongst others. The platform’s content portfolio builds a high level of excitement as it brings the world of entertainment to consumers’ screens across the globe, in multiple languages, with diverse emotions and endless experiences to get hooked on to.

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global, stated, "We celebrate an incredible 5 years of ZEE5 Global this year, growing from strength to strength to becoming the No.1 South Asian platform with viewers from nearly every part of the world coming to our platform to watch content in their preferred language, be it Hindi or Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam or others. We’re thrilled today to unveil our highly anticipated new content slate of 111 titles especially curated to bring these discerning audiences an all-new slate of exceptional stories across languages, genres and formats that promise to not only entertain and enthrall but also bring them a little closer to home.”

Mr. Punit Misra, President – Content & International Markets, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. said, “As we celebrate ZEE5 @5 and reflect upon why and who we exist for, we realize that today’s youth celebrates life for its variables as opposed to its constants. They seek not to be bracketed with singular identities set in stone, but to be multi-dimensional and ever evolving. At ZEE5, it is our unwavering mission to stand shoulder to shoulder with our viewers on this path, celebrating their multi-dimensionality through stories that ignite their imagination, stoke their dreams, shape their beliefs and inspire their very being.”

Commenting on the new slate, Ms. Nimisha Pandey, Chief Content Officer – Hindi Originals, ZEE5 said, “As ZEE5 reaches its 5-year milestone, we are creating ourselves, one story at a time. It is our endeavour to take our viewers on a journey where they explore multiple dimensions within themselves. It gives us immense joy in bringing stories and characters that take our audiences to new worlds and emotions, that they can sometimes relate to and sometimes escape with. The new slate that we’ve curated brings forth fresh seasons of our most loved series and some new titles that we hope audiences will enjoy. We’re working with some brilliant creators who share our vision and passion of broadening the horizons of storytelling.”

Since its inception, ZEE5 Global’s content strategy has pushed the boundaries of creativity and diversified its slate with real, relatable, and authentic storytelling to strengthen its position as the go-to multilingual entertainment platform for entertainment seekers everywhere. Bringing a bouquet of genres, the much-awaited line-up features sequels of prominent original series like Sunflower S2, Taj: Reign of Revenge, TVF’s Humorously Yours S3 and Aam Aadmi Family S4, The Kashmir Files Unreported, Duranga S2, Mithya S2, The Broken News S2, Guneet Monga’s Gyarah Gyarah (11:11), Sudhir Mishra’s Crime Beat, Direct to digital movies Manoj Bajpayee’s Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai and Silence 2, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Haddi and Love is Blind, Pankaj Tripathi’s Kadak Singh, Huma Qureshi’s Tarla, Sunny Deol’s post-theatrical Gadar 2; and power-packed regional titles like Vetrimaaran and Vijay Sethupathi’s Viduthalai - Part 1, Arya's Kathar Basha Endra Muthuramalingam, Nagraj Manjule’s Ghar Banduk Biryani, and more. ZEE5 Global has bolstered its library with marquee content across languages to solidify its presence across markets and establish a stronger connect with audiences across age groups.

DaMENSCH's new campaign ‘#MadeForAdults’ invites men to embrace their grown-up selves

Taking the moment marketing game a notch up by jumping on the viral Wes Anderson trend, DaMENSCH’s newly launched campaign #MadeForAdults is a cheeky wink to adulthood. Through the digital film, DaMENSCH is asking men to grow out of the cartoony, less-than-functional innerwear and choose effortless comfort and quality instead.

#MadeForAdults is a multi-dimensional campaign that celebrates adulting, and all the glorious things that come with it. Growing up from funny boxers is one part of that journey. And this story is told through ‘adult’ content-vertising, featuring a collection of clowns caught in hilarious situations because of the boxers they chose to wear.

The campaign video starts with a light-hearted scene of a clown wearing barely functional banana-printed innerwear as pants which is good for nothing. The other clown is just about to confess his love when suddenly his pajama slips, revealing his embarrassing heart-printed boxers - sure to make you smile. A hearty laugh awaits as a cute dog chases a third clown wearing bone-printed innerwear in the next scene. The video ends with accrediting the work to bizarre characters like ‘unimpressed waiter’ and ‘moneyless patron’ to playful frame names like ‘Afternoon Delight-ish’, “Bus Stop to Kolkata”, keeping the viewers gripped till the very end.

Commenting on the same, Anurag Saboo, Co-Founder of DaMENSCH said “Once you wear a DaMENSCH, it’s not easy to go back…this is what our customers swear by and tell us. We thought a good story that can grab the attention of grown-up men and remind them to allow their innerwear to also grow up would be fun and quirky. The #MadeForAdults campaign intends to wake men up to choose premium, innerwear that’s crafted with innovation and delivers superior comfort and functionality. With of course, grown up designs.”

Unlike traditional commercials, the DaMENSCH digital ad relies solely on visuals and sound to convey its message. The absence of dialogue creates a captivating experience that transcends language barriers, allowing viewers from diverse backgrounds to connect with the brand's narrative. By celebrating the journey from funny to supremely breezy boxers, DaMENSCH invites customers to embrace their adulthood and experience the ultimate comfort and style.

CNN Worldwide has appointed Phil Nelson to lead the network’s international business operations and its work with commercial partners outside of the United States.

As Executive Vice President of CNN International Commercial (CNNIC), Nelson is responsible for all international Advertising Sales, Content Sales & Licensing and Commercial Distribution revenue, as well as related client solutions functions including the award-winning Create brand studio and world-class digital and data operations. In this role, Nelson also works with partners across the Warner Bros. Discovery business on areas such as CNN International’s distribution strategy and collaboration on digital operations and ad sales to provide more opportunities for brand partners to access news and other genres across the portfolio. Nelson becomes part of CNN Worldwide’s leadership team and reports to the network’s Group Executive Vice President of Business Operations & Strategy, Chris Marlin. 

As CNNIC’s Chief Operating Officer since 2019, Nelson led operational and international growth initiatives while managing advertising sales support functions. In that time he put in place the framework for CNNIC’s Audience First ad sales strategy, took CNN content onto new platforms, and grew the portfolio of CNN’s international affiliate business with broadcasters and publishers around the world as well as its commercial distribution footprint with hotels and airlines. Major initiatives in Nelson’s time at CNNIC to date include the introduction of CNN International onto Connected TV platforms in Europe, the launch of the CNN Apparel business in Asia, licensing the rights to Great Big Story, and the expansion of the CNN branded channel portfolio with additions including CNN Brasil, CNN Prima News and CNN Portugal. 

Prior to joining CNN, Nelson was Managing Director, Turner North Asia and South East Asia Pacific, overseeing all aspects of Turner’s business in these regions. He had previously held other business development and strategic planning roles at Turner since joining in 2010 and has significant digital experience from his time at AOL, where he was Managing Director for AOL Asia. In addition, Nelson holds an MBA from Harvard University and, prior to entering the corporate sector, was a commander in the US Navy.

CNN is making additional key changes to CNNIC’s executive leadership team as it evolves its client offering:

Cathy Ibal is named Senior Vice President, Advertising Sales, to oversee all CNN’s international advertising sales. A proven commercial leader with 22 years’ experience at CNN, Ibal has a track record of leading global teams and developing innovative advertising and brand solutions for a wide range of clients – from major luxury and blue chip brands to travel and tourism and other private and public sector partners.

Rob Bradley is appointed Senior Vice President, Digital Revenue, Strategy & Operations, with a remit that includes everything related to the digital ecosystem for CNNIC – revenue, operations and commercial strategy. In addition to his CNNIC role, Rob is part of the CNN Digital leadership team and will lead CNNIC’s collaboration with WBD’s international business operations on digital projects and utilising best practice in advertising technology and solutions

CNNIC’s sophisticated capabilities in creative, data, revenue strategy and client services are all being brought into one unit under the leadership of James Hunt, Senior Vice President, Global Client Solutions. This will include a joined up offering for partners across CNNIC’s award-winning Create Studio and the Audiences & Data unit along with client servicing, events and strategy functions.

 “For journalism to flourish, it’s imperative that we have a robust effective commercial operation to fund the work that CNN does around the world every single day,” said Chris Licht, Chairman and Chief Executive of CNN Worldwide. “To that end, I am delighted that Phil and his executive team are taking the reins at CNNIC to lead us into a new era of working with our commercial partners.”

“CNNIC has an incredible track record in unlocking value for both CNN and our commercial partners across a wide range of sectors,” said Phil Nelson. “As we look to the future, we are creating new ways for partners to work with CNN that enable advertisers to engage with our audiences wherever they consume CNN and for broadcasters, publishers, Out of Home partners and platforms to access and leverage our world-renowned content and journalism. In a fast-changing media landscape, we are combining the best of CNN’s content and commercial offering in an innovative way that reflects client and market needs as well as audience expectations.”