Fast food giant Burger King has awarded its creative mandate to the Kinnect agency. The mandate is valid for India and will include elements like brand strategy, creative communication, digital storytelling, and culture-led campaigns.

The mandate has been awarded after the brand received pitches from some of the industry’s leading names. The selection of the agency was done after a highly-competitive process.

Burger King is now aiming to strengthen its connect with Gen Z and millennial audiences across India. The agency is expected to further establish the brand as the go-to burger destination for young India.

Kapil Grover, group chief marketing and digital officer at Burger King, said on the development, “In India, Burger King has established itself as a culturally relevant brand with a differentiated tone, driven by off-centre humour and a fresh perspective on Gen Z and millennial consumers. As we approach our next phase of growth, we are happy to partner with the Kinnect team, who have done some outstanding work with our core TG of Gen Z and millennials. Kinnect will bring in the sizzle to our sauce, and we look forward to clutter-breaking, TG-relevant, insight-driven work in the days to come.”

Chandni Shah, CEO of Kinnect, stated: “Burger King is one of those rare brands that has built both product love and cultural relevance at scale. What makes the brand so exciting for us is that it understands modern brand-building. It doesn’t just participate in culture, it contributes to it. As a brand, it has consistently shown the courage to be distinctive, entertaining, and sharply relevant to young audiences. We’re thrilled to partner with them at such an exciting phase of growth.”

Kinnect CCO Neville Shah added, “Burger King is a great opportunity to do great work and make it part of the conversation.”

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Advertising legend late Piyush Pandey was on Monday conferred with the Padma Bhushan award posthumously. Piyush Pandey was 70 when he passed away last year on October 23 due to health issues.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Piyush Pandey’s wife Neeta Joshi at Civil Investiture Ceremony – I at the Rashtrapati Bhawan yesterday.

As per a release, Padma Bhushan was awarded to Piyush Pandey for his transformative and decades-long contribution to Indian advertising and creative communication.

Pandey entered the advertising field in 1982 with Ogilvy & Mather (now called Ogilvy India). He started working in the field as trainee account executive but later shifted to the creative side.

Pandey is credited with transforming the Indian advertising through many of his campaigns, including Asian Paints’ ‘Har Khushi mein rang laaye’, Cadbury’s ‘Kuch khaas hai’, and Fevicol ads including the iconic ‘Egg’ campaign.

Pandey brought laurels to the nation when in 2004, he became the first Asian to be appointed as jury president for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

For his creativity and achievements, Pandey during his career received many other recognitions as well, including CLIO Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) and the Padma Shri.

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~ Brands, Indie agencies, emerging Under 30 talent and Tier 2 & 3 markets lead delegate registrations for the festivals 19th edition ~ 

May 16, 2026; Mumbai, India: Having secured strong interest from leading industry voices and sponsors, Goafest is now gearing up to welcome a truly PAN-India delegation which includes a robust turn-out from Tier 2 and 3 markets.

Leading the delegate registrations are brands and clients, independent agencies and young talent from across the industry. Participation from creative and media agencies, production houses, technology platforms, publishers, and broadcasters, etc. reinforces Goafest as the industry’s leading platform for dialogue, networking, and collaboration.

Goafest 2026 will bring together 60+ industry voices for 20+ knowledge sessions and nearly 15 immersive masterclasses across 3 days under a single roof. Conversations will dive deep into the ideas reshaping advertising, media, marketing and creativity today further reaffirming the festival’s relevance.

Sessions at Goafest will tackle topics around the rise of AI influencers, the future of data ownership, impact of evolving consumer behaviour, changing media habits, and new pathways for business growth. All conversations are designed to challenge traditional perspectives and spark fresh thinking.

Speaking on the same, Srinivasan K Swamy, Executive Group Chairman of R. K. Swamy Ltd and President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India, said, “The strong delegate participation this year reflects the diverse value Goafest offers to the industry. Whether it is knowledge sessions, masterclasses, awards, or new-age IPs like Advertising Rocks, Advertising Plays or simply networking, Goafest simply delivers on these expectations. We remain committed to ensuring that every person who is a part of Goafest finds meaningful value and that the festival continues to serve its purpose of innovating for our clients and contributing to their growth.”

Co-presented by Mediakart and Powered by LinkedIn and Spotify Advertising, Goafest takes place on May 20, 21 and 22, 2026 at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, Goafest 2026.

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May 14, 2026; Mumbai, India: Setting the stage for one of the most promising editions of South Asia’s premier advertising, media and marketing festival, Goafest 2026 today presents a stellar line-up of speakers, industry visionaries and entertainment personalities who will collectively champion discussions and conversations around the 19^th edition’s theme ‘Reset for Growth’.

The three-day festival will reflect the theme through a series of sessions that will tackle key industry shifts like the impact and influence of artificial intelligence, dilemmas around data ownership, evolving media consumption, the emergence of new media platforms, the greater need for measurement, and the role of creativity in powering business growth.  With 60 speakers across 20 sessions, Goafest 2026 ensures a thorough representation of key voices from across the advertising, media, marketing, technology, and business ecosystem.

Some of the most significant leaders expected to take the Goafest 2026 stage are Prasar Bharati’s Chairperson, Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi (Omnicom Advertising India),  NITI Aayog’s Former Vice Chairman, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Santosh Desai (Think9 Consumer Technologies), Advertising veteran Eugene Cheong (Euge Publishing), and Bollywood legend Rakesh Bedi.

Besides advertising and media industry leaders, this year Goafest will have a wider representation from the client ecosystem and brand custodians including Nikhil Sharma (Perfetti Van Melle, India), Aman Gupta (boAt), Rohit Kapoor (Swiggy), Chandan Mendiratta (Zepto), Veetika Deoras (IHCL), Tuhina Pandey (IBM), Tarun Bhagat (PepsiCo) Riya Joseph (Britannia Industries), Harsh Deep Chhabra (Godrej Consumer Products), Darshana Shah (Aditya Birla Capital), Prasun Kumar (MagicBricks), Punit Dharamsi (Association of Mutual Funds in India) Rajiv Dubey  (Dabur India), Shubhranshu Singh (Marketing Leader & Ex CMO), Arpan Biswas (Ajio), Ajay Kakar (Adani) and Jahid Ahmed (HDFC Bank)  among many more.

Leading the technology-led conversations are Satya Raghavan (Google India), Haran Ramachandran (Spotify), Neha Markanda (ShareChat). Ensuring entertainment is not amiss, Prince of Bhangra, Sukhbir Singh and Singer Neeti Mohan will also take the prestigious Goafest stage.

Bringing diverse themes into focus, Goafest will also witness sports personalities like the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Harmanpreet Kaur, Entrepreneur and Sports Leader, Preeti Jhangiani; Parvinn Dabass (Pro Panja League), Former Indian National Football Team captain and goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan, Indian Kabaddi Player Rahul Chaudhari, Sameer Pathak, (Pickleball World Rankings) and Actor, Anchor, Author & Fitness Enthusiast, Mandira Bedi.

Mohit Joshi, Co-Chair of the Goafest 2026 Organising Committee and CEO, Havas Media Network India said, “We are witnessing a shift in consumer behaviour, new technology adoption and a lot more in India and world over. As the industry evolves, growth can only come from embracing fresh perspectives, cross-industry collaboration, and conversations that may seem tough in boardrooms. The breadth of perspectives through our speakers across all stages will surely mirror our industry’s dynamics while looking for opportunities that unlock growth.”

“The agenda this year reflects the urgent realities of our industry. ‘Reset for Growth’ isn’t just a theme; it is a call to action – one that has sparked stronger client participation than ever before. Over the three days, we will hear from voices across the entire ecosystem – from AI and data to storytelling and brand-building. GoaFest 2026 will not just be a platform for celebration, but also for meaningful dialogue, collaboration and future-shaping ideas.” added Rohit Ohri, Founder, Ohriginal & Member, GoaFest Advisory Committee

Scheduled to take place on May 20, 21 and 22, 2026 at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, Goafest 2026 festival will centre conversations around reinvention, with a strong focus on how brands, agencies and platforms must reimagine, refine, and rebuild in an increasingly complex technology-driven ecosystem.

View the complete agenda on https://www.goafest.com/agenda

Register for via https://goafestreg.tecogis.com/MasterClassApp/masterclass

For more details on delegate passes, sponsor line-up and complete speaker list, visit www.goafest.com

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In India, nobody asks for adhesive. They ask for Fevicol. That kind of brand recall takes decades to build, and brilliant advertising to sustain.

Through advertising brilliance, Pidilite Industries has managed to establish Fevicol as the product to trust: by students, by carpenters, and by everyday Indian.

Much of that credit belongs to Ogilvy and adman Piyush Pandey, who have created many memorable ads for the Fevicol brand. Remember the bus packed so full that passengers rode sitting on the roof but no one fell despite the vehicle being on a bumpy rural road. That was the brilliance which the creative brain of Piyush Pandey and the adhesive brand managed to co-create.

Pandey passed away last year but he left behind a final script that has now come to life with Fevicol’s latest ad campaign – ‘Kursi Pe Nazar’.

The theme of the campaign is the evergreen kursi (chair).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJ2lZmomPg

Kursi in India doesn’t only mean a piece of furniture; it refers to the throne, the seat of the all-powerful – not just in government corridors but also offices, institutions, homes, schools and just about everywhere.

It’s a human tendency to eye growth and for those in jobs, their eyes are set on the next promotion. The goal is the all-powerful kursi.

It could be a manager’s chair for the worker, CEO’s kursi for the faithful, CM’s chair for a long-time MLA, or the PM’s chair for the popular political leader.

Aspiration in India has always had a shape, and that shape is a seat/chair/kursi. The ad beautifully reflects that desire: the goals we set for ourselves at our workplaces, the destinations reflected in coveted chairs.

The ad film captures this by showing a junior school teacher eyeing her principal’s chair (position), a junior police officer keeping his eyes on the senior cop’s chair, a carpenter eyeing his boss’s kursi, and more.

The jingle carries it forward with the kind of ease that only looks simple.

The craft with which the ad has been filmed, the everyday examples used, the narrative and the jingle – all come together to build another masterpiece in Indian advertising.

This one carries that same signature, and the extra weight of being a final word from the man who built it.

The kursi Pandey occupied in Indian advertising remains, for now, unchallenged.

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30 January 2026 | Mumbai, India + New York, USA – In a landmark move set to redefine the future of creative excellence in India, The Clio Awards and Kyoorius today announced a strategic partnership that brings together two institutions united by a shared belief in the power of creativity to shape culture, business, and society.

Creating Tangible Global Pathways for Indian Agencies

At the heart of this collaboration is a commitment to deliver meaningful, practical benefits to India’s creative, advertising, communications, and marketing ecosystem.

The first initiative of this partnership actively helps the Indian creative community take their work to the global stage. Kyoorius will sponsor 50% towards entry fees to the 2026 Clio Awards for all entrants of the 2025 Kyoorius Creative Awards and 2025 Kyoorius Design Awards.

“Partnering with the Clios allows Kyoorius to strengthen its presence as a friend to the industry, by continuing to open doors for Indian agencies and creators,” said Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder and CEO of Kyoorius. “This is not just about awards. It’s about building real bridges between India and the global creative ecosystem, and ensuring India’s best work gets the visibility and recognition it deserves.”

“India is one of the most dynamic and influential creative markets in the world,” said Nicole Purcell, CEO of Clios. “Partnering with Kyoorius enables us to strengthen our long-term commitment to the region, engage more meaningfully with the Indian creative community, and expand opportunities for their work to be celebrated globally-across the Clios and through our owned platforms, including Muse and Ads of the World by Clios.”

Beyond Awards: A Long-Term Vision

The collaboration is designed to extend well beyond awards, trophies and ceremonies. Over time, the Clios and Kyoorius will explore opportunities across platforms and initiatives, ranging from learning and talent development to thought leadership and global exchange, creating pathways that bring the Indian industry closer to the international creative community shaped by the Clios.

What This Means for India’s Creative Industry

At a time when Indian agencies, brands, and creators are producing work of growing global relevance, the Clios–Kyoorius partnership provides:

• Global benchmarking for Indian creative and effectiveness work
• Increased international visibility for Indian ideas and talent
• Credibility and rigour through globally aligned judging systems
• Concrete pathways for Indian winners to participate in global awards
• A stronger bridge between India and the world’s creative capital

This partnership signals a clear intent: to ensure that Indian creatives and creativity is not only celebrated locally, but recognised, respected, and rewarded on the global stage.

Expect more announcements in the weeks to come.

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