Mobile spend still below 50% of total digital ad spend for most marketers: MoMAGIC Report

India's biggest sporting tournament, the Indian Premier League, sees close to 130 million viewers every season, making it a marketing bonanza for brands. While cricket teams fight it out on the pitch, brands grapple for a share of the audience's mind space.

That's why, the country gets to witness some of the finest ads of the year during the IPL season. But in a sea of ads backed by large budgets and celebrities, only a few land an impact.

SCORE, an IPL spends effectiveness tracker by Synchronize, scoured through the ads that were released in the four weeks of IPL 2024. Through the survey conducted across 36 cities across metros, tier 1-2-3 towns and in NCCS A/B, SCORE ranked the 10 best-performing creatives during the IPL season thus far.

Using its proprietary construct CPS (Creative Power Score), SCORE gauged the effectiveness of each brand's IPL spends during this period. Each avenue and each type of brand (big spenders vs low spenders vs sponsors) were analysed separately.

“Over 200 brands are advertising on IPL 2024. These brands represent not just a diverse range of sectors/industries, but also various stages of the brand lifecycle. We see some iconic brands like Tata Salt / Pepsi / Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, sharing space with new age brands like Rapido / Groww / Tata NEU. This indicates that there is potential to break the clutter for any brand, provided that their campaign is consistent with the brand values, delivers a clear message, and is definitive in their call to action.” – V Sudarshan, CEO and Co-founder, Synchronize India.

"Crafting a successful marketing campaign for the IPL requires a deep understanding of the audience's preferences, the spirit of the event, and the dynamics of the platform. Depending on the industry that the brand operates in, and the brand’s values / promise, their campaign could have most of these attributes," Vishal Baghel, Director, Synchronize India.

Common trends among top ads

Brands that figured in the top 10 not only represent diverse range of sector but also those at various stages of their brand lifecycle, points out Sudarshan. "Iconic brands like Pepsi, Tata Salt and Cadbury have spared space with new age brands like Rapido and Groww," he notes.

The trend indicates for any brand to stand out among the 200 advertisers, they should go beyond just spending big money, according to the Synchronize CEO. "Any brand can have the potential to break the clutter, provided their campaigns are consistent with the brand values, deliver a clear message and are distinctive in their recall," he emphasises.

Sudarshan also pointed out that all the 10 ads featured in the list have clear storytelling, they feature celebrities, have humour at the heart of the campaign and are big on cultural references.

When it comes to using celebs for endorsement, Cadbury stands out in its approach. "The celebrity endorser's coach is in the focus," he notes.


The data currently includes all channels (TV and OTT). Thus far, ads of Tata Salt, Dream11, Sprite, Pepsi, Tata Neu, Airtel Xstream, Rapido, Groww, Lloyd and Cadbury  Dairy have made the cut.

Tata Salt (81)


Topping the list is Tata Salt with its ad that revived the iconic "Namak ho Tata ka, Tata Namak!" jingle topped the list with a CPS of 81. Conceptualized by Ogilvy, the campaign released in March includes a series of 11 light-hearted films showcasing the jingle’s presence in various moments of a consumer’s daily life.

Dream 11 (79)

Dream11's ad for IPL with an ensemble cast scored a CPS of 79. The ad was released mid March with cameos from the who's who of the celebrity world. The campaign film has been directed by Nitesh Tiwari, and conceptualized by Tilt Brand Solutions.

Sprite (78)

Sprite launched the ‘Joke in a Bottle’ with Kapil Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav as part of the nationwide campaign during the IPL season. With a CPS of 78, the ad has been conceptualised by Ogilvy.

Pepsi (77)

Pepsi, who has a long-standing connection with cricket, brought back its iconic ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ campaign, which was popular in the late 90s. Released in early March, the ad by Leo Burnett starring Ranveer Singh made it to the SCORE topper's list with a CPS of 77.

Tata Neu (77)



At 5th spot with a Creative Power Score of 77, Tata Neu's bite-size ads for its "Rukna Kyu" campaign are among the top ads for IPL 2024.

Airtel Xstream Fiber (77)

The ad for Airtel Xstream Fibre tied up with Tata Neu, scoring 77 on the CPS. The ad has been conceptualised by Fundamental. The air ranked 6 on the list of top-performing IPL ads of 2024.

Rapido (76)

Ride-hailing company, Rapido's 2024 IPL campaign clinched 76 on CPS. It has been crafted by boutique creative agency The Other Half and features short 15-20 second films with a humorous twist. The ad stood at the number 7 spot of SCORE's top-performing ads this year so far for IPL 2024.

Groww (75)

At number 8 is the financial services platform Groww app's campaign for IPL, which scored 75 on CPS. The ad film explores the benefits of using Groww as an investment solutions provider. The launch of the campaign coincided with the start of the 2024 edition of the cricket tournament.

Lloyd (74)

The AC brand Lloyd with a score of 74 launched its IPL 2024 ad campaign with star couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in the first week of April. The campaign has been conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup and claimed the 9th place among the top 10 IPL ads.

Cadbury Dairy Milk (73)

Cadbury Dairy Milk's "Thank You, First Coach" campaign aimed to laud the efforts of the people who shaped India's top batsmen. The campaign spotlighted the mentors of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, expressing gratitude for their services. It is a campaign series in 2-parts conceptualised by Ogilvy India. It took the 10th place on SCORE's list of top-performing IPL creatives with CPS of 73.

A daily tracker module using the DAR (Day after recall) methodology, tracked the brands recalled across all avenues (TV and OTT ads and associated spends, logos on the ground, jersey logos etc.). The fieldwork was conducted using the Unomer mobile market research platform.

Anupama Ramaswamy, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide India, Ashish Chakravarty, Executive Director, and India Head of Creative, for McCann Worldgroup and Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer Publicis Groupe, South Asia and Chairman, Leo Burnett, South Asia, join as Jury Chair for Still Digital category, Audio category, and Film (below 1 minute) category respectively, at The Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show.

Anupama Ramaswamy, Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide India has been appointed Jury Chair of Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in the Still Digital category.

Ashish Chakravarty Executive Director, and India Head of Creative, for McCann Worldgroup

has been appointed Jury Chair of Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in Audio category.

Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer Publicis Groupe, South Asia and Chairman, Leo Burnett, South Asia has been appointed Jury Chair of Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show in Film (below 1 minute)category.

“I have always believed that an award is as good as its jury. This year too, the Abby Awards powered by One Show have a stellar line up of both domestic and international luminaries as Jury Chairs, across 23 categories. Over the last 2 years the number of women jurors have been significant, and this year, with over one-thirds being women masters of their craft. To win recognition from such respected Jury Chairs is a matter of immense pride for the AdClub, the participating agencies and brands.” said Ajay Kakar, Chairperson, Awards Governing Council, Abby Awards 2024 powered by One Show and Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club.

The Abby Awards will be held on the 29th, 30th, and 31st of May during Goafest 2024.

Priyagold has come up with a new campaign to create curiosity around the new range of Snakker biscuits among the Gen Z audience. 

“With the launch of the new biscuit, the brand innovatively coined the term ‘Snakk’ to strike a chord with the youth. Resonating with their interest, Priyagold aspires to make Snakker biscuits synonymous to snacks. The video features brand ambassador Kiara Advani to tap the interest of youngsters. The popularity of the actress, coupled with her active social media presence bodes well for establishing a strong connection with the Gen Z audience,” the company said in a release.

Through the video posted on the celebrity’s social media platform, the brand created curiosity by showcasing the actress involved in baking a cake with secret ingredients. This keeps the audience hooked by compelling them to guess the favorite snack of the actress.  Ultimately, the brand launched the roll-out of a video by Kiara Advani revealing the launch of the Snakker biscuit.

For driving mileage around the campaign, the brand also roped in relatable comedy influencers to amplify awareness. In the process, humor and wittiness were infused to the campaign to foster deeper connection with the audience. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mannas Agarwwal, Priyagold's Director, said, "The campaign is designed to appeal to Gen-Z audience and that is why we incorporated the term “Snakk” for Snakker Biscuit which has two meanings, one means a Snack to have when hungry and other is referred to someone who is attractive or appealing. It is very important that we do ad campaigns which appeal to the younger demographic because they are becoming our largest consumer segment.”

MakeMyTrip has launched two new brand films featuring brand ambassadors Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. These films showcase the simplicity and convenience of booking flights and hotels for international travel with MakeMyTrip, catering to both first-time international travellers and seasoned travellers, the company said in a release.

There is a lot to consider when choosing flights and hotels for international travel, which often leaves travellers with decision fatigue or uncertainty. Whether it is a traveller’s first international trip or yet another one, the two new brand films pick up unlikely scenarios to deliver the message of convenience.

Raj Rishi Singh, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Business Officer - Corporate, MakeMyTrip said, “We at MakeMyTrip believe in making the world more accessible, one trip at a time. In the past few months, we have introduced a suite of tools, features and benefits, some of them industry-firsts, designed for every international traveller, be it a first-timer or a seasoned globetrotter. Our aim is to ensure that everyone can partake in these benefits, making their travel booking and post-sales experience seamless and enjoyable. Our new films highlight the value addition we bring to the table, demonstrating how MakeMyTrip can be a game-changer when it comes to international bookings.”

The first film presents Alia and Ranveer as a newlywed couple on their wedding night, still trying to find their footing with each other. The conversation veers towards both sharing their apprehensions about their “first-time”. As film unfolds, viewers find out that the ‘first-time’ in question is in fact their first time travelling internationally.  As a solution, they turn to MakeMyTrip for their flight and hotel bookings, both taking on the planning/research responsibility equally and with great enthusiasm.

In the second film, viewers are drawn into the middle of a suspenseful scene – where Ranveer Singh, playing an international spy/agent, unearths the location of a most wanted person. When Alia Bhatt, his commanding officer, discloses that the mission is in London, Ranveer, with his humorous style, argues that the criminal should be let go as ‘he isn’t bad at heart’ to save himself an international trip. Alia’s character senses his apprehensions and introduces him to the MakeMyTrip international booking experience, highlighting its ease and tension-free experience.

This campaign was conceptualized by the creative agency, Moonshot and films have been written by Devaiah Bopanna, Puneet Chadha and Deep Joshi.

FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2561 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, declining by 1.54% from Rs 2601 crore in the same quarter last year. The company posted net profit of Rs 2508 crore for the quarter ended December, 2023. 

The company spent Rs 1616 crore on advertising and promotions in Q4FY24. The expense saw a jump of 23.26%. The company spent Rs 1311 crore on advertising in Q4FY23. For the quarter ended December 2023, the company's advertising and promotion expenses stood at Rs 1626 crore. 

HUL also announced a key change in its management committee. The company appointed BP Biddappa as Executive Director, Human Resources and Chief People, Transformation and Sustainability Officer for South Asia. Biddappa will also join the HUL Board as a Whole Time Director, subject to shareholder approval. Anuradha Razdan, currently Executive Director, Human Resources, HUL and Chief HR Officer, South Asia will be appointed to a global role as Chief Reward & Organization Development Officer for Unilever from June 1, 2024. 

Welcoming Biddappa back to India, Rohit Jawa, CEO and Managing Director, HUL said, “An accomplished HR leader with over three decades of experience, Biddappa comes with immense knowledge of transformation and organizational development. I am glad to welcome him to the HUL Leadership and I am confident that his able guidance and leadership will help transform the business to progress further on our future-fit agenda.” 

Thanking Anuradha for her contribution to the business, Rohit said, “Anuradha is known for her ability to shape and deliver a strategic business-focused people agenda. She has played a key role in the HUL Leadership Team over the past five years. Her appointment to a senior leadership role for Unilever is yet another testimony to the powerhouse of talent we have in India.”

Corona India has launched a campaign to introduce its sunset view rating system for luxury hotel rooms. The system is now being piloted at a selection of luxury hotels including the CGH Brunton Boatyard, Niraamaya Surya Samudra and Brij Laxman Sagar located in Kochi, Kovalam and Pali respectively.

Corona’s unique campaign around stunning sunset views is set to capture every traveller’s heart. Conceptualized in partnership with Digitas India, part of Publicis Groupe India, the campaign enables luxury travellers to check out the sunset rating of iconic hotels across the country on CRED Escapes, a luxury travel platform for India’s 1%.

“With nearly 90% of people in cities spending their time indoors, the allure of sun tourism has been on the rise. Recognizing this trend, Corona India set out to create a unique solution—a sunset visual quality rating system akin to a Michelin Star for restaurants. This innovative approach guarantees travellers the opportunity to witness nature's wonder with certainty, transforming fleeting moments into cherished memories,” stated a press release.

“We all believe in taking a moment from our busy everyday lives to enjoy the beauty of sunsets. If a hotel room can guarantee impeccable service and a host of amenities, why can’t it promise a great sunset view? With The Corona Sunset View, we aim to forever reimagine how people experience sunsets - relaxing and unwinding with their friends and enjoying a cold Corona served with a lime,” said Vineet Sharma, Vice President Marketing & Trade Marketing, AB InBev India.  

“We’ve all been to that one hotel where everything is perfect, and yet been disappointed with the sunset view after spending a considerable amount of time and money planning a holiday. The Corona Sunset View combines unique scientific data and predictive modelling to solve a real-world problem, ensuring that sunset seekers can enjoy their moments with certainty, and making Corona the reference point for the world’s most beautiful sunsets,” said Abraham Varughese, Chief Creative Officer, Digitas India.

Homegrown brand Patanjali, owned by Ramdev Baba and Acharya Balkrishna, has been rapped again by the Supreme Court for the size of its “apology” which was reportedly smaller than its contentious ads.

It all started in July 2022 when the company printed a large ad for Patanjali Wellness, disparaging Western medicine titled “Misconceptions spread by allopathy: Save yourself and the country from the misconceptions spread by pharma and medical industry.”

Attack on allopathy

In an elaborate print ad, Patanjali raised concerns about the "side effects" of allopathic drugs and claimed that its own medicines were backed with scientific research by India's sages like Charak, Sushrut, Dhanvantri and the eponymous Patanjali.

Talking about lifestyle diseases such as BP, diabetes, thyroid, eye-and-ear diseases, arthritis and other incurable diseases, the company claimed to offer "permanent relief" from the ailments.

Terming his remarks a "criminal act" under IPC section 499, in May 2022, IMA sent a Rs 1,000 crore defamation notice to Patanjali, demanding that Baba Ramdev apologise.  

It filed a petition in the Supreme Court over the disparaging ad in August 2022. The first hearing on the matter happened in November 2023, when Patanjali was warned against using terms like "permanent relief" under the 1954 act to sell its products.

In January, an anonymous letter notified the Chief Justice of India about Patanjali's continued violation of its assurance to the court.

After pulling up the errant company, SC asked Patanjali to issue a printed apology, the size of which is the current bone of contention between the apex court and the company.

Patanjali has a long and chequered history of misleading ads much before the 2022 print advertisement.

Coronil ad

The Ayurvedic brand first squared off with the litigant—in February of 2021 when the coronavirus pandemic was at its zenith.

The yoga guru released a scientific research paper on the “first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19”, brand name Coronil launched by Patanjali.

The company claimed that the Coronil tablet received a certification from the Ayush Ministry as a COVID-19 treatment support as per the World Health Organization’s (WHO) certification scheme.

IMA expressed its shock over the “blatant lie of WHO certification.” WHO later clarified that it did not review the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for coronavirus.

'Fairness' cream ad

Patanjali courted controversy in January 2018 over a beauty cream ad, which listed dark complexion as a skin ailement. The company blamed the snafu on a translation issue, stating that the term Patanjali approved was "Skin Complications."

Cooking oil ad

Patanjali is perhaps the only company to invoke patriotism to sell its cooking oil brands when in August 2017, it bizarrely claimed that all profits from the products go to charity. The company urged "all patriotic Indians" to buy its cooking oil and perform their "patriotic duties."