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Tabu gets packing
Part of Tabu’s job now, is to spread the Tetra Pack message. The actress is
brand ambassador for the company for packed milk and food cartons. Tabu holds up
a Tetra Pack in the TV commercial and asks, “I only use good milk in cartons. Do
you?” The company has launched TV and print commercials to convey to its
consumers the message that the milk available in cartons is free from harmful
bacteria. “The aim is to educate consumers about the benefits of carton milk,”
says Jayshree Sundar, executive director, Leo Burnett. Tetra Pak started
operations in India in 1997 and does packaging for brands like Nestle, Amul,
Mother Diary, Parle, Coca-Cola India, Dabur Foods and Glaxo. |
Summer fizz
She normally raises the temperature. But this
summer, Aishwarya Rai is set to cool things down as Coke’s ambassador. After a
year-long break, she is part of their new campaign. Her new ads with actor
Rajpal Yadav and Haryanvi lyrics are already a hit and the tagline ‘Thanda
Ash-Cash’ is catching on. The ad opens with Yadav as a coolie and Deepti Daryani
as a sweeper on the railway platform. Yadav then sees Ash on the platform
television, explaining the new promo. He slips into a dream where he wins a trip
to Hollywood with Aishwarya. The recognition gets him the desired love from
Daryani. Cool. | |
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Young
turks: No truck with the past
The young guns of Parliament let off some steam at the sprawling Parliament
campus recently. Dressed in trim white kurtas, led by Rahul Gandhi, they sat
under a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in silent protest. It was their first public
demonstration against being “gagged” because of disruptions in Parliament over
various issues. While the waste of time and money in past years because of such
disruptions has agitated many in the past, the young MPs were also upset that
they were at the Lok Sabha to learn but were not being given a chance with the
constant walk-outs. “We also want to speak!” “Do not demolish democracy!” and
“Do not gag our voices!” said their black and white banners. Twenty-six Congress
MPs were present, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Navin Jindal, Ajay Maken,
Sachin Pilot, Kuldip Bishnoi and Jitin Prasada.
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Logan revs up for India
Mahindra & Mahindra has entered into an agreement with
French major Renault to manufacture and sell Logan cars in India. The Rs 700
crore venture to be called Mahindra Renault plans to sell the mid-size Logan in
the country by 2007. While the company has planned to produce 50,000 cars a
year, the pricing and the petrol-diesel product mix details are still being
worked out. India will be the sixth country that will produce the Logan after
Romania, Russia, Morocco, Colombia and Iran. While M&M has a commanding presence
in the utility vehicles segment, with the launch of this C-segment car they are
expecting to compete with Maruti, Ford, Hyundai and Honda. | |
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Connect call
Mobile service provider Airtel has come up with a whopper
of marketing campaign. They have broughttogether actor Shah Rukh Khan and
cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for a brand new commercial directed by MAD films. A
showdown campaign is also on for its subscribers across all 21 Airtel circles.
The 150 winners of the campaign will be part of The Sachin Team vs The Shahrukh
Team entertainment games in Mumbai. Airtel believes Shahrukh’s values of being a
self-made actor, his success and glamour and Sachin Tendulkar’s dedication,
innocence and performance have emerged as a clear brand fit for the brand.
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Lata in the sky with diamonds
Not gold. Not platinum. For Lata Mangashkar only diamonds
will do. Having sung more than 20,000 songs, Lata Mangeshkar now has a surprise
for her fans. She will be designing as well as endorsing ornaments for the Adora
brand. Every piece will carry her signature. Diamonds are her “grand passion”;
she bought gold jewellery for her mother and a diamond ring for herself from her
first pay. Since 1949 she has been keenly interested in looking at and buying
diamonds. “Designing jewellery is my hobby, wearing diamonds my passion. I don’t
wear too much jewellery but when I do, it’s got to be diamonds,” she says |
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Launching Rural Inc
In an attempt to make rural India a land
of entrepreneurs, a young group of professional graduates has set up its very
own venture. Keeping their corporate ambitions on hold, these graduates from
fields as diverse as MBA, rural management, IT and literature have come together
to create team Dhritii (courage). By promoting and developing micro enterprises
and increasing the efficiency of existing or potential small-scale industries,
they are gearing to create a GenNext pool of entrepreneurs. It is in Assam that
their programme is in full swing. They have got together local labour in
interiors regions like Barpeta and Darrang to organise the processing of
arecanut leaf into disposable plates and bowls.
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BSKYB is the limit
India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan is
planning a television channel for the Indian diaspora in Britain. Says Prasar
Bharati Corporation CEO K.S. Sarma: “If all goes well, the new British channel
will take off in around three months. Talks are on with BskyB, the UK-based
media conglomerate headed by James Murdoch (son of Australia-born media baron
Rupert Murdoch), for a tieup. The new channel will cater to over one million
Indians settled in Britain and include ethnic programmes directed at specific
communities like Gujaratis, Punjabis and Bengalis.
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