Dentsu Creative Isobar has won the creative mandate of Bandhan Bank. The private sector bank awarded the creative agency mandate following a multi-agency pitch.

Bandhan Bank has entered into this partnership at a time when it is aiming to strengthen its brand positioning and enhance engagement with its customers.

The bank is also said to be working to alter its communications strategy to align it with changing customer expectations and requirements, as well as increasing digital penetration.

The bank has been steadily expanding its product and services portfolio for the last few years.

As part of the mandate, Dentsu Creative Isobar will take care of brand strategy, creative development, integrated campaigns and storytelling initiatives for Bandhan Bank. The agency will also aim to craft a distinctive voice for the brand and help set up a communications platform to increase brand visibility, customer engagement and long-term affinity.

The bank is currently seeking to strengthen its relevance among millennials and Gen Z customers by tapping into culturally resonant storytelling and emotionally engaging campaigns.

“As Bandhan Bank evolves into a full-spectrum banking franchise, serving diverse customer segments across India, building a strong, distinctive and emotionally resonant brand remains a strategic priority for us. Dentsu Creative Isobar brings a compelling blend of creativity, cultural insight and strategic thinking, and we are excited to partner with them as we shape the next phase of Bandhan Bank’s brand journey,” a Bandhan Bank spokesperson said, as per reports.

“Bandhan Bank represents one of the most exciting growth stories in Indian banking today. We are delighted to partner with Bandhan Bank and look forward to creating work that is meaningful, memorable and capable of building enduring connections with consumers across India,” Sahil Shah, CEO, Dentsu Creative Isobar, added.

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~Blending human creativity with AI to accelerate ideas, enhance execution, and drive meaningful brand impact~ 

India, 16^th June 2026 – Social Panga, one of India’s leading integrated digital-first marketing agencies, co-founded by Gaurav Arora and Himanshu Arora, has announced the launch of intoai.studio, a dedicated AI-powered creative vertical.

The studio is built on the belief that original thinking will always begin with human curiosity, instinct, and taste. AI, if used right, doesn’t replace ideas but strengthens them.

intoai.studio operates at the intersection of creativity and computation. AI enhances research, sharpens insights, and accelerates execution allowing creative teams to spend more time where it truly matters in shaping ideas, refining craft, and building brands with depth and distinction.

The studio currently offers a wide range of AI-powered creative solutions, including AI Films, Performance-driven creative assets, Always-on content production, AI Avatars that can evolve into long-term brand IP, AI-led song production and AI-powered product photoshoots.

What sets intoai.studio apart is not just the use of AI, but how it is integrated into the creative process: building consistency, scalability, and adaptability into brand storytelling from day one. The studio is already working with brands including Hyundai, Bosch, LG, Nestle Maggi, Tally, IIFL, Saffola, Landmark and Yousta, among others.

Himanshu Arora, Co-Founder, Social Panga, said, “intoai.studio is designed to bridge the gap between what brands need to say and the speed at which the world moves. We are combining AI with human creativity to build content that not only drives visibility but delivers tangible business impact.” 

Gaurav Arora, Co-Founder, Social Panga, added, “We have always believed in deep vertical expertise and evolving with market dynamics. intoai.studio is a natural extension of this philosophy, bringing together data, creativity, and authenticity to drive meaningful engagement for brands. With intoai.studio, we are strengthening our integrated ecosystem, complementing the production excellence of The Yellow Shutter and the influencer reach of The Viral Union to elevate brand storytelling and campaign impact.

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(And His Tricks We Still Use Today)

We like to believe we make our own choices. We scroll, click, and buy because we want to. But the truth is far more unsettling. Many of the tools shaping our desires today were invented over a century ago by one man who understood the human mind better than most marketers ever will.

His name was Edward Bernays — the nephew of Sigmund Freud and widely regarded as the father of modern public relations and consumer marketing. While most people have never heard of him, his ideas quietly control large parts of how brands speak to us in 2025.

Bernays didn’t just sell products. He sold ideas, lifestyles, and social approval. He turned propaganda into a respectable profession and proved that influencing the masses wasn’t about logic — it was about emotion, psychology, and invisible manipulation. Nearly a hundred years later, his playbook is still being used, often more effectively than ever.

The Man Who Engineered Consent

Born in 1891, Bernays began his career working on Broadway promotions before serving in Woodrow Wilson’s propaganda office during World War I. After the war, he took what he learned about mass persuasion and brought it into the corporate world. He famously rebranded “propaganda” as “public relations” because the former had become too negative.

Bernays believed people were not rational beings but creatures driven by unconscious desires. By tapping into those desires — and making people believe the ideas were their own — he could shape public behaviour on a massive scale. His most famous campaign? Convincing American women that smoking was a symbol of female liberation by organising the “Torches of Freedom” march in 1929. Cigarette sales to women exploded.

Here are six powerful Bernays-inspired techniques that still dominate modern marketing:

1. Emotional Appeal Over Rational Facts Bernays understood that people buy feelings, not features. Today, brands rarely sell cars — they sell freedom, status, and adventure. Apple doesn’t sell phones; it sells creativity and belonging.
2. Creating Desire Through Social Proof Bernays mastered the idea that people want what other people want. Modern versions include influencer marketing, user-generated content, and “bestseller” labels. When everyone seems to be buying something, the rest follow.
3. Engineering Pseudo-Events Bernays loved staging events that looked like news. The “Torches of Freedom” march was a classic pseudo-event. Today we see this in viral product launches, influencer challenges, and brand-created “moments” designed purely to generate conversation.
4. Using Authority Figures & Celebrities Instead of direct selling, Bernays used trusted figures to endorse ideas. This evolved into today’s influencer economy and celebrity brand partnerships. A single post from the right person can move markets faster than any traditional ad.
5. Lifestyle Marketing & Cultural Engineering Bernays didn’t sell bacon — he sold the idea that bacon and eggs was the “proper” American breakfast (working with the pork industry). Modern brands do the same: they sell entire identities — the “clean girl aesthetic,” the “digital nomad lifestyle,” or the “quiet luxury” vibe.
6. Invisible Influence & Framing Perhaps Bernays’ greatest skill was making manipulation feel natural. He shaped the very language and context around products. Today, algorithms and personalised content have taken this to terrifying new levels, feeding us information that quietly reinforces what brands want us to believe.

The Double-Edged Sword

Bernays’ methods built entire industries and transformed consumer culture. But they also raised serious ethical questions about manipulation, truth, and free will. In the age of social media and AI targeting, his techniques have become even more potent — and more dangerous.

The Enduring Legacy

Edward Bernays didn’t just teach brands how to sell products. He taught them how to shape culture itself. His greatest trick was making us believe our choices are entirely our own.

Next time you see a trend exploding, a lifestyle being sold, or an ad that somehow feels personally meant for you — remember the invisible hand that has been guiding consumer desire for over a century.

It still belongs to Edward Bernays.

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Zee5 has promoted Apoorva Mehandiratta from the post of Director, Marketing, to Vice President, Marketing. Apoorva currently handles marketing initiatives for Hindi and Marathi content, as well as overall content brand development across categories.

Speaking on the development, Apoorva said, “It has been an incredibly rewarding journey so far, and I’m thankful for the trust and opportunities that have shaped my growth over the years. As audiences continue to seek authentic and culturally rooted stories, I’m excited to contribute towards building stronger brand conversations and deeper viewer connections in this evolving entertainment ecosystem.”

Apoorva’s elevation comes on the back of her success in leading marketing initiatives for several originals and entertainment properties. She has managed to tap into her experience in audience engagement, content positioning and brand storytelling to fortify the platform’s connect with its viewers.

During her career, Apoorva has worked with companies like Balaji Telefilms, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, and Star India.

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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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Mumbai, 13 February 2026: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (‘Z’), India’s leading Content and Technology Powerhouse, has announced the launch of ‘Dilfluencer Moments’, an omnichannel solution aimed at helping brands navigate multi-screen engagement and achieve stronger reach and creative cut-through across platforms.

With media access becoming increasingly democratized, brands of every size can now purchase inventory with similar ease. However, this wider access has created a new challenge for marketers, that of achieving impact in a marketplace crowded with messages. With shrinking attention spans and rising clutter, visibility alone is no longer enough. Brands must look for ways to move from awareness to memorability, while driving both affinity and action.

To address this shift, ‘Z’ has introduced ‘Dilfluencer Moments’, a character-led, moment-driven media format that blends culturally rooted storytelling with measurable commercial outcomes. The format is designed to integrate brands into narratives audiences already follow, rather than interrupting viewing experiences. By building brand presence around trusted television characters on shows across the ‘Z’ bouquet of broadcast and digital platforms, ‘Dilfluencer Moments’ is designed to create integrations that feel organic and are emotionally resonant across India’s diverse markets.

‘Dilfluencer Moments’ is anchored in a television-first approach that begins with high-trust, high-recognition moments on linear TV and then extends into digital, social, and creator ecosystems. The objective is to help brands benefit from shareability and cross-platform velocity, using storytelling cues that audiences naturally carry forward into conversations, forwards, and participation across screens.

The format was recently demonstrated through the “TumHoLovely” campaign, launched on National Girl Child Day with the message, “Jab Life ko leti ho Lightly toh lagti ho aur bhi Lovely”. The campaign used character-led moments embedded across ‘Z’s Hindi and Marathi shows, with the narrative travelling organically across digital platforms through creator and community participation. A brand film featuring Sanya Malhotra further amplified the storyline, showcasing how TV-originated cultural cues can translate into broader engagement and virality.

Laxmi Shetty, Head – Advertisement Revenue, Broadcast & Digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., said: “As consumers turn away from interruption-led communication, advertisers need moments that feel culturally earned and emotionally authentic. Dilfluencer Moments is a new media format for marketers, delivering reach at scale through character-first content systems that seamlessly travel across platforms while connecting with audiences at a personal level. With Dilfluencer Moments, we are enabling advertisers to transform culturally rooted storytelling into brand love—powered by platform-agnostic distribution and ‘Z’s national scale.”

Kartik Mahadev, Chief Marketing Officer, ‘Z’ & Zee 5, added: “The Indian ad market has expanded steadily, not just in size but in access. Today, a 100 Mn brand and a 10,000 Mn brand can both buy impressions with equal ease. With nearly half of the 1-lakh crore ad market coming from video across Linear and Digital devices, ‘Access’ alone is no longer an advantage; ‘Affinity’ is. Affinity comes from storytelling, familiar characters and a relatable world and from moments that stay with audiences across screens. That’s where ‘Z’s ‘Dilfluencer Moments’ can be disruptive. While media choices still happening by platform verticals, a moment has the ability to travel horizontally across platform, organically and concurrently at scale. With our reach, our Dilfluencers and the emotional equity of our storytelling, we’re enabling brands to participate meaningfully in moments that audiences already love”

The “TumHoLovely” campaign illustrated how character-first storytelling can scale quickly across platforms, moving from television to digital social platforms, WhatsApp forwards, and real-world conversations within 24 hours. The campaign generated 35 million total impressions, with 20 million social and digital views, 2.5 million engagements, and over 1,000 comments.

For marketers, ‘Dilfluencer Moments’ is a way to embed brands into culturally relevant moments, generate organic engagement that supports genuine virality, distribute messaging at scale across platforms, and convert attention into long-term brand love and emotional equity.

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