A pronunciation debate as the entry point

Conceptualised by 22feet Tribal Worldwide, the work leans on a detail that viewers in the three states will recognise. Telugu speakers call the festival Ugadi. Kannada speakers call it Yugadi. According to the agency, that difference was chosen as the starting point for the creative.

Vishnu Srivatsav, Chief Creative Excellence Officer at 22feet, is reported to have said “Small details make for big cultural differences” when describing how the team arrived at the idea.

Inside the Flipkart Ugadi campaign film

The film is directed by Karan Shetty of Mothership Productions. It features a humorous exchange between Telugu and Kannada speakers debating the correct pronunciation to unlock deals on the Flipkart app. The resolution, as trade press has reported, is a twist where both versions are rewarded rather than one side winning the debate.

For more work in the category, see the Campaigns of the World film and video section.

The microsite and the shopping layer

At the centre of the campaign is a dedicated microsite, ugadivsyugadideals.com. Users can enter their festive wishes on the site and unlock offers available through the Flipkart Ugadi Store. The offers, as communicated by the brand, cover traditional clothing, home decor, electronics, and festive essentials.

Amplification and regional reach

The Flipkart Ugadi campaign is reported to run across Meta platforms, with integrations on the Flipkart app and website. The focus sits with Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

A regional play, not a greeting film

The campaign uses the pronunciation debate as its hook, with a shared payoff at the end. The approach keeps Flipkart close to the regional, language-first work the brand has run around harvest festivals, including an earlier Pongal activation with 22feet.

Credits:
Flipkart Team (Client): Pratik Shetty, Viveka Sra, Jui Chahure
Agency: 22feet Tribal Worldwide
Production House: Mothership Productions
Director: Karan Shetty
Creatives: Vishnu Srivatsav, Shyam Nair
Business Team: Shikha Davessar, Yash Dabi, Zubin S., Akanksha Malhotra. Nancy Murjani
Producers: Kashif Memon, Tania Roy Choudhury

This campaign is about: Flipkart Ugadi campaign, Ugadi vs Yugadi, 22feet Tribal Worldwide, festive marketing India, regional advertising.

Key Elements of the Campaign:

• Cinematic Trailer: A high-production-value trailer mimicking Tamil cinema’s blockbuster style to launch the campaign, enhancing emotional connect and reach.
• Festive Storytelling: The campaign deeply integrates the festivity, moving beyond simple discounts to create a meaningful brand moment.
• Slogans: Key phrases include “Mannam Pongum, Flipkart Pongal” and “Pongum Pongal Deals,” emphasizing abundance and celebration.
• Digital Focus: Leverages social media and digital platforms for wide reach, aiming to make a cultural moment accessible and engaging for digital-first consumers.
• Interactive Microsite: A central feature where users time the Pongal pot’s boil, with better timings leading to better discounts, tying into the festival’s core symbolism.

The creative agency behind the Flipkart campaign- 22feet Tribal WW and Production house – Mothership Productions. To align with the major Tamil cinema releases that occur during Pongal, Flipkart launched the campaign via a full-blown theatrical-style trailer to match the scale and spectacle of the season.

Credits:
Client team- Pratik Shetty Meenal Maheshwari Jui Chahure
Creatives- Vishnu Srivatsav, Shyam Nair, Saloni Agarwal
Director- Karan Shetty
Executive Producer- Kashif Memon
Agency- 22feet Tribal Worldwide
Production House- Mothership Productions
Agency Business team- Vanaja Pillai, Shikha Davessar

This campaign is about:
Flipkart Pongal Blockbuster, Flipkart Pongal campaign 2026, Pongum Pongal Deals, Pongal marketing campaign India, Festive marketing campaign 2026, Interactive microsite, Gamified festive marketing, Digital festive campaign India, Pongal advertising campaign, Cultural storytelling, Flipkart festive sale campaign, Experiential digital marketing, Marketing campaign, Pongal deals online India, Best creative advertising campaigns 2026

 
About Mahindra Rise:
A technology & innovation-led, a global federation of companies, that provides a wide range of products, services & possibilities, enabling people to Rise.
 
Credits
Brand: Mahindra Group
Campaign: Women In Science
Creative: Vivek Bhatia, Srishti Singh, Sunny Jha, Varshabh Iyer, Shruti Parulekar, Gaurangi Gokhale, Bhavisha Kantaria, Debashish Ghosh
Business: Gaurav Magotra, Sapna Singh, Chitra Jalan, Naina Jaiswal
Production House: Mothership Productions

Tanushree Dutta, who in a recent interview, allegedly said that actor Nana Patekar behaved badly with her on the set while doing a song of a film sparked conversations around the well-known #MeToo movement in India. This movement gained a huge momentum on social media after the actor Alyssa Milano took to the social media in 2017 as one of Harvey Weinstein’s most vocal criticizers with the following tweet, “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

The various sexual assault and harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s along with the hashtag #MeToo became a rallying cry for women to raise their voice on social media who suffered sexual misconduct at some point in their lives. However, not many may know this but it was Tarana Burke, an African-American civil rights activist who founded the Me Too movement 10 years ago. She has been using the #MeToo slogan for more than 10 years and doing the necessary work, too.

And today, after Tanushree Dutta’s scathing polemic against the actor’s alleged misbehaviour, several women are again taking to the social media to reveal the dirty doings by men of high status in the foyers of advertising. The list contains high-profile names from the advertising industry. Their doings are now no more curtained-off but brought to the fore as allegations and testimonies continue to spread like wildfire on social media.
May men who have been called out on social media for shameless acts of sexual indecorum are on the verge of getting ousted from agencies. Also, many of them have stepped down from their coveted seats or designations after the #MeToo movement has publicized their sexually transgressive behaviour. For instance, 4 of the well-known men in the advertising fraternity have stepped down after many women told them off on social media for sexual misconduct while riding the sweeping #MeToo movement. Dentsu Aegis’s Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, Kartik Iyer and Praveen Das were some of the big names to have relinquished their positions as creative barons from Happy Creative Services (owned by Dentsu). Further reports also confirmed a fourth big name that made it to the sexual harassment list, Dinesh Swamy of iProspect India, who also had to call it quits.

Dasgupta, the senior creative director at Happy Creative Services was well-known around his bro-code industry circle as a good creative mind. Now, he is allegedly reported to have been a crude sexual predator by at least four women. Similarly, there are allegations against the agency’s Chief Executive Officer, Kartik Iyer and Managing Director, Praveen Das.

Several Twitter users have tweeted about the various horrors of sexual impropriety that they have had experienced at the hands of some coveted names in the industry, and are leaving no stone unturned to call out their names on social media and also launch a tirade against agencies that have still not taken any action against the reported offenders. We have listed some of them below. (Twitter handles and tweets)

Growing up in India, casual creepiness is considered very okay. But it’s not. And the first person we need to tell that to is ourselves. One such incident happened to me when i was starting off in advertising and constantly brushed aside thinking it was okay.

— Elisha (@e_lisha) October 5, 2018

If you’re working in advertising and come across this man, run. Run for your fucking life. Saying this out of personal experience.#TimesUphttps://t.co/KHQ6yhz2Io

— ???????? (@Kalamwali_Bai) October 5, 2018

Four women at Happy (an ad firm in Bangalore) on email.

Vile vile. pic.twitter.com/gkLA1F5ZOT

— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 10, 2018

Last but not the least; we would like to conclude this article with the official press releases from some of the big advertising agencies.

Happy Mcgarrybowen

“Dentsu Aegis Network has always believed in providing a safe environment at our workplaces which is free from any kind of harassments. We have an internal committee constituted as per the rules prescribed under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 to look into any complaints in this regard. Certain incidents have just come to our notice involving senior members of Happy that allegedly took place few years ago, when Happy was not a part of DAN (Dentsu Aegis Network).

“An inquiry into these alleged incidents has already been initiated. Dentsu Aegis Network does not and will not accept anything but professional behaviour at our workplaces. We have a zero tolerance policy towards any kind of harassment at our workplaces and we are committed to speedy redressal of any complaints raised in this context after following due process, as advised by the internal committee.”

iProspect India

“With more than 50 percent of our staff being female employees including the agency CEO, iProspect has always believed in providing a safe working environment for all. We have an internal committee adhering to Vishakha Guidelines. It is unfortunate that one of our recently recruited employees has been named in the #MeToo movement for an incident which is alleged to have happened a few years ago during his tenure with his previous employer. We have a zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment at workplace and we will immediately be conducting an inquiry regarding this.”

Dentsu Webchutney

“Omkar Sane worked with us at Dentsu Webchutney between 2014-2015. During his time here, we received official complaints about his behaviour from two employees. Post the investigation which started the next day, he was let go from his position and the office immediately. And the company hasn’t worked with him in any capacity since then.”

DDB Mudra Group

“On Sunday, an accusation of behaviors and actions that violate our code of conduct was levied against an individual at our agency, anonymously via a public post on a social media site. The accusation stands in stark contrast to our values and standards at 22feet Tribal Worldwide and at the DDB Mudra Group more broadly, where it is our primary responsibility and commitment to provide our associates with a safe, fair and dignified workplace. Within hours of being notified yesterday, we initiated the process of verifying the allegations and getting them investigated.”

Publicis Communications

We have taken note of the incidences reported in the tweets. We are deeply concerned by the seriousness of these allegations and are investigating them on priority. We will ascertain facts of the matter and see that the outcome is fair and just, and appropriate actions are taken as per the Company’s policy. We re-iterate that Publicis India has a zero-tolerance policy towards any type of workplace misconduct or abuse of power or harassment.

Creativeland Asia

“We have seen some of the rumors spread by certain individuals in anonymity linking the agency with events. CLA has a great gender diverse working culture, we are one of the most secure and coveted creative agencies to work for. CLA has a robust system completely independent of the management to redress, assist and support, complainants having the employees interest at its heart.”

Medulla Communications

“On Friday, one of our employees was accused on social media of misconduct that is against our policies. As an organisation, we have a majority of women employees and are extremely conscious of and against the issues brought alive under #MeToo. Yesterday itself we initiated a conversation with our female employees (through other senior women employees) to see if any of them have faced any such issues in any way. None of them so far have raised any issues with any of our male or female employees. We are also investigating these particular complaints on social media but so far none of the women who have complained are working or have worked with WYP and Medulla or our affiliates in any way.”

Having said it all, the #MeToo movement continues to set the alarm bells ringing among the advertising folks in and around the country.

This article is about:
MeToo Movement, Tanushree Dutta, Nana Patekar, film, Alyssa Milano, Harvey Weinstein, Sexual Harassment, Advertising, Sexual Assault, Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, Kartik Iyer, Praveen Das, Dentsu, Dinesh Swamy, iProspect India, Happy Creative Services, Happy mcgarrybowen, Dentsu Aegis Network, Medulla Communications, Creativeland Asia, DDB Mudra Group, 22feet Tribal Worldwide, Dentsu Webchutney, Advertising Agency, Digital campaign, Awareness campaign