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G-Shock unveils new television commercial featuring brand ambassador Tiger Shroff

G-Shock, the popular watch brand from Casio, has unveiled a television commercial that takes its #ChallengeTheLimits campaign forward. Featuring the recently appointed Brand Ambassador Tiger Shroff, the commercial highlights the challenging spirit of the actor and his journey to becoming a successful star and youth icon.

The television commercial finds the actor speaking about his personal journey, from being known as celebrity child to carving a niche for himself in the world of films, art, entertainment and glamour. His dance moves to fitness regime has been compared with the best in the Bollywood industry, yet it is his ‘challenging spirit’ that motivates him to take up experimental roles and constantly inspire him to deliver better than his best.

Kulbhushan Seth, Vice President, Casio India said, “With the latest television commercial, we have brought our ‘Challenge The Limits’ campaign alive by showcasing the personal story of our Brand Ambassador. The commercial further cites Casio as the new age companion for today’s millennials, who are willing to challenge limits and improve themselves. Casio G-Shock salutes their challenging spirit with a promise to be their trusted partner and stand by them through thick and thin.”

Challenge The Limits is a 360-degree integrated campaign that seeks to inspire consumers to push the boundaries and find new levels of performance just like G-Shock watches do. Life constantly throws challenges at us but the message to the G-Shock wearer is that no matter the odds, whatever the conditions, one must always exceed expectations, something the brand itself is famous for doing.

Charles Victor, Executive Director, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi said, “We’re absolutely proud to partner with this legendary brand in this big campaign made specifically for India. The story was a simple one and reflects the honest reality of today. There’s a lot of other exciting work coming, so keep watching.”

Xilam Animation taps Charles Courcier as Head of Digital Production

Award-winning French animation studio Xilam Animation has appointed Charles Courcier to Head of Digital Production. In this newly created position, Courcier is responsible for sourcing, developing, financing and producing original web series to expand Xilam’s presence on YouTube, in addition to growing the studio’s presence across AVOD platforms. Additionally, Courcier will develop animated web series targeted at adult audiences.  He is based in Xilam’s head office in Paris and reports to Morgann Favennec, EVP Global Sales Development.

Courcier joins from Amuse, a subsidiary of Millimages dedicated to digital production and distribution, where he served as Head of Digital Production. He was responsible for progressing the company’s global business strategy, setting up the internal studio and developing Amuse’s production pipeline. In four years, the Amuse team grew from three to 70 people, producing content and sharing it across video platforms where it notches up over 600M monthly views. Prior to then, Courcier held positions at Gaumont Animation and Sacrebleu Productions.

Xilam’s presence in the digital market continues to accelerate and the company recently hit a new milestone in its digital growth, reaching 10 million subscribers across its YouTube channels. This increase has been fuelled by the launch of a dedicated YouTube channel for Xilam’s hit preschool series Paprika in May called “Learn and Play with Paprika Twins!” featuring bespoke ‘learn and play’ content for pre-schoolers. Alongside this, Xilam launched a local channel for Oggy and the Cockroaches in India where the show is hugely popular among kids. In just a few weeks, the channel amassed 600k subscribers and over 150 million views.

Morgann Favennec, EVP Global Sales Development at Xilam Animation said: “We’re delighted to welcome Charles to the Xilam Animation team. His arrival comes at a hugely exciting time for our company as we continue celebrating success and growth in the digital arena. Charles’ wealth of experience in identifying original IPs which will engage international audiences, alongside effectively managing the production process, will enable us to significantly expand our online content offering for both young and adult audiences.”

Charles Courcier added: “As a leading animation studio with a fantastic portfolio of award-winning animated properties, I’m thrilled to join Xilam Animation and help build upon the studio’s success in the digital space. I look forward to working closely with the hugely talented team to develop a pipeline of strong, original IPs and engaging digital content which will not only resonate with Xilam’s existing fan-base but also with new audiences around the world.”

Genius Brands and Tankee On-demand forge cross content partnership

Genius Brands International, Inc. “Genius Brands” the global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia entertainment content for children, today announced a unique content partnership between its Genius Brands Network, which includes the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel and Baby Genius TV reaching 80 million U.S. households, and Tankee, Inc., the first safe, digital destination for kids ages 6-12 to enjoy gaming videos.

Beginning July 2019, Genius Brands Network will launch a roster of Tankee Originals, including Minecraft Journey to the End, Octodad Dadliest Catch, PixARK Adventure, and Fairy Horse Quest, delivering a total of 75 episodes on the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel, which targets kids ages 6–11. Additionally, Tankee will launch content from Genius Brands’ Kid Genius Cartoon Channel across its free entertainment app, including the award-winning Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club and Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab.

“We pride ourselves on being a forward-thinking company, and this new partnership with Tankee offers us the opportunity to engage our audience across all mediums further, broadening our coverage into the gaming space with our content launch on Tankee’s award-winning platform,” stated Genius Brands’ Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. “The children’s media landscape has evolved so rapidly and dramatically over the past five years. With content platforms becoming increasingly diffused, we identified a vacuum in the market our Kid Genius Channel viewers are clamoring for, and we are thrilled to bring Tankee’s dynamic productions based on wildly popular video games to our streaming service.”

“We are honored to be partnering with Genius Brands and bringing Tankee Originals to 80 million households,” said Gerald Youngblood, co-founder and CEO of Tankee. “We created Tankee, the free entertainment app for kids 6-12, to give kids the videos they love from their favorite games like Minecraft while helping parents protect their kids from inappropriate content. We share in Genius Brands’ mission to give kids entertaining and age-appropriate shows in a safe environment and couldn’t be more thrilled to see Tankee’s original programming on the award-winning platform.”

Boux Avenue names new merchandising director

Lingerie retailer Boux Avenue has announced that Marks and Spencer’s Rachel Harley will join the brand as it is new merchandising director to complete its new management team.

Harley, who is currently head of merchandising for lingerie, swim, sleepwear, hosiery and active at Marks and Spencer, has been instrumental in leading a team of 50 people to drive Marks and Spencer’s market share growth in lingerie and will join Boux Avenue on June 13.

Boux Avenue owner and chairman, Theo Paphitis, said in a statement: “Rachel completes the new look Boux Avenue management team and with her specific expertise will ensure that the Boux Avenue brand is driven forward and reaches the next level through fresh ideas, products and energy.”

Harley has more than 15 years experience across clothing and lingerie, she started as a graduate at Topshop followed by 11 years merchandising at Marks and Spencer, and has in-depth knowledge of the planning, buying and trading complexities associated with multi-channel retailing, added the retailer.

Boux Avenue chief executive, Michael Kerr, added: “Rachel’s complete knowledge of the UK lingerie marketplace will be an asset to the brand. These skills combined with Rachel’s strength of leadership will ensure she will be able to add significant value to Boux Avenue from day one.”

Commenting on her new role, Harley said: “Boux Avenue is a fantastic brand and I am looking forward to getting stuck into the details alongside Michael, Zoe and the team and driving the brand forward. The lingerie marketplace is exciting and there are huge opportunities for Boux Avenue.”

Harley will report into Kerr, who was appointed chief executive in October 2018. Her appointment follows the arrival of Zoe Price-Smith from Hunkemöller earlier this year, who joined as brand and product director.

Launched in April 2011, Boux Avenue offers lingerie, swimwear, nightwear and activewear in an extensive size range from 6 – 18, with cup sizes available in 28 – 40, A – G. It has 30 UK stores and an e-commerce business.

Mondo TV announces YooHoo balloons deal with Grabo for Italy and Russia

Mondo TV, a major international player in the production, distribution and licensing of animated content, has announced a new license award for YooHoo, the highly successful property based on the hit Mondo TV and Aurora World co-production for children, YooHoo to the Rescue.

Grabo Balloons, a world-leading designer and manufacturer of inflatable products, will bring YooHoo, Pammee, Roodee, Chewoo, Lemmee and many other characters from the show to colourful helium balloons that can be used for parties, for presents or just for fun. The agreement covers both Russia and Italy, as well as the Italian-speaking markets of San Marino, Vatican City and Canton Ticino. We will see YooHoo balloons flying from September 2019 in Italy and not later than spring 2020 in Russia.

Grabo is a leading name in its market. Its innovative and revolutionary inflatable products, which are made out of mylar and foil and are filled with helium and air, are sold all over the world.

The strong interest in the YooHoo brand, inspired by the multi-million selling plush and YooHoo to the Rescue, has been further boosted by a renovated plush toy line based on the new series, along with the rollout of a licensing and merchandising programme across many other categories. There are several products launching or about to launch in territories worldwide from a number of licensees, including Panini (stickers, mini figurines, trading cards) and Nuvita (baby products).

YooHoo to the Rescue also has a strong and growing presence in the Italian market, through Kimbe (live characters and events), Edizioni Playpress (magic albums), and Mondadori (chapter books and a special ‘YooHoopedia’ guide to the show and its characters) and Icam (Easter eggs).

YooHoo to the Rescue, a 3D CGI 52 x 11’ animated children’s show is a co-production between Italy’s Mondo TV and Aurora World. It launched globally as a Netflix Original Series on March 15, 2019. It is also being shown on free-to-air channels in Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain and Portugal.

YooHoo to the Rescue is a funny, exciting and beautifully designed animated series with strong environmental themes, in which YooHoo and his friends travel from the magical forest of YooTopia to Earth to confront threats to nature and wildlife, meet many different endangered animal species from around the world and make new friends along the way. 

Valentina La Macchia, Mondo TV Licensing Director, says: “The continuing growth of YooHoo has been underlined by this important agreement covering two major territories. We’re looking forward to the launch of these colourful and appealing YooHoo balloons and to many more announcements in the coming months.”

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announces the publication of comicbook legend Stan Lee’s “A Trick of Light”

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) announced it will publish A Trick of Light, one of the last creative works by comicbook legend Stan Lee, on September 17, 2019. Years in the making, and his first novel for adult readers, A Trick of Light inhabits Stan Lee’s Alliances, an entirely new universe created in a unique partnership between Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, Ryan Silbert’s Origin Story, and Luke Lieberman. Joining Lee in the writing of the novel is the celebrated author Kat Rosenfield.

A Trick of Light is a superhero origin story about the unlikely friendship between Cameron, a gifted young man struggling with newfound fame after a freak accident gives him the ability to manipulate technology with his mind, and Nia, a hacker and coding genius with a mysterious past. The two must combine their powers to fight the dangerous physical and online forces threatening to wipe out the human race. The novel tells the story to be revealed in a global Audible Original event later this month.

“Our yarn is filled with tantalizing technologies that will make you hunger for tomorrow, while our characters strive to find the answers today,” wrote Stan Lee in his introduction to A Trick of Light. “They’ll ask the questions we all have about love, friendship, acceptance, and the search for a higher purpose.”

“When Stan Lee passed away last fall, the world lost a genius whose fountain of creativity kept flowing to the very end,” says Bruce Nichols, SVP, Publisher, at HMH. “We are so grateful that one of his final projects was his first-ever novel for adult readers, and we are proud and excited to be publishing it this fall.”

Stan Lee is known to the world as the man whose superheroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the entertainment industry. His co-creations include The Avengers™, Spider-Man™, X-Men™, as well as hundreds of others. Lee was the Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment®, which he co-founded with production partner Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman. (All trademarks are owned by Marvel Entertainment, LLC.)

Chacha Chaudhary back with new episodes

Popular cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma’s creation and hugely popular Indian comic book “Chacha Chaudhary” is all set to come back with new series of episodes. The show will be aired on Hungama TV from Monday to Friday from 1.30pm to 7.00pm and bi-weekly on Yotube every Friday at 3.00pm.

KickO unites music legends on World Music Day to bring music closer to children!

Rsearch says that music helps release the “happy chemical” in human body, infact we are programmed to be happier when we listen to music. And on the occasion of this World Music Day, destination of unlimited happiness, Sony YAY! Is all set to celebrate the magical gift of music and spread unlimited smiles amongst its young fans.

On the day when the world celebrates music, Sony YAY! aims to ensure that children from different walks of life strengthen their musical connect and not miss out on this magical form of art. A unique initiative kick-started by the channel, witnessed KickO, the superhero from Suncity bringing together legends such as A.R Rahman, Badshah, Sonu Nigam, Shaan and many more. The  music maestros extended their support to the movement by gifting autographed musical instruments from their prized collections to children from an NGO, helping them come closer to the opportunity of exploring their passion in music.

The initiative saw globally acclaimed artists and role models for children providing signed instruments, to introduce them to the joys of music. Right from Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician, A.R. Rahman’s keytar, to singer Sonu Nigam’s tabla set, and singer Amaal Malik’s ukulele, the movement struck the right chord among the YAY-fans. The enthusiasm and the willingness shown by the artists to be a part of this wonderful community initiative was heartening. The response it generated over the last year and the impact it had in benefitting scores of kids from different walks of life to learn music and realize their dream, has definitely attracted more like-minded celebrities pledging their support to the cause. Almost all of them shook a leg with KickO, posed for pictures and shared their thoughts on World Music Day. They echoed the channel’s sentiments on the importance of music and how it truly transcends and unites everyone. Through this collaboration, the kid’s entertainment channel aims to help children and add another ray of sunshine in their lives.

The complete list of the signed musical instruments is as follows:

 

Artist Instrument
A.R. Rahman Keytar
Sonu Nigam Tabla set
Shaan Guitar
Badshah Ukelele
Sunidhi Chauhan Violin
Amaal Malik Ukelele
PalakMuchhal Djembe
Arko Mukherjee Tambourine
RJ Meha Kapoor – 104.8 Ishq Guitar

Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head, Sony Pictures Networks India, Kids’ Genre commented, “Music is something that instantly gives a happy vibe to everyone. The face of a kid lights up once music starts playing. At Sony YAY! we constantly invest ourselves in making the channel the destination of unlimited happiness and this is exactly the reason we started this initiative. Through our World Music Day initiative, we aim to bring music closer to the lives of the kids. We are overwhelmed by the response garnered by the initiative especially from esteemed artists who pledged their support to this movement. By donating the personally signed instruments, we wish to assist kids in their musical journey. We’d like to thank everyone for their support”

RHS and Wax Lyrical present Wildscents – a new home fragrance range

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has announced Wildscents – the latest range in a highly successful partnership with Wax Lyrical, the UK’s largest manufacturer of home fragrances.

Wax Lyrical’s new RHS Wildscents range is a collection of floral-inspired candles and reed diffusers that follows the popular homeware trend of incorporating insect and wildlife elements into the home. All Wax Lyrical products are 100% fragranced and made in England in the heart of the Lake District. Each candle and diffuser, all of which come in a fine china vessel with gold detail, is available in four scents: fresh and floral Water Lily and Bergamot; lush Black Cherry and Rose; warm and refreshing Oriental Orchid and Cedar; and vibrant Sunflower and Amber.

The range will reach retail this summer. It is expected to be stocked by a number of garden centres, including the Klondyke Group, Pennells Garden Centre, Wentworth Garden Centre, Gordale Garden Centre, Van Hagues, Tong Garden Centre, Bosworth Garden Centre and Four Seasons Garden Centre. It will also be available on the Wax Lyrical website.

The core market for the Wax Lyrical RHS ranges is mainly adult females with a strong interest in gardening and interior design and decoration, but there is also a strong secondary market of gift buyers of both sexes from young adult up.

The product design and packaging of the Wildscents range features original botanical illustrations hand-picked from the RHS Lindley Collections, the world’s finest collection of botanical art and literature, along with the RHS logo. For every product sold, Wax Lyrical makes a contribution to the RHS.

The RHS has worked with Wax Lyrical, re-creating beautiful British garden fragrances in a number of products, for over ten years. Other highly successful collaborations include the RHS Fragrant Garden range, which is still available, and the RHS Classic Garden range.

Warren Gell, Commercial Director, Wax Lyrical, says: “The RHS has been a marvellous partner to Wax Lyrical for more than ten years, and continues to inspire fragrances and product designs that are both unique and popular. We are delighted to be working with the RHS once again on the Wildscents range.”

Cathy Snow, RHS Licensing Manager, says: “Wildscents is another winning fragrance concept brought to vibrant and appealing life by Wax Lyrical in these candles and diffusers. Our partnership with this leading UK manufacturer of home fragrances has always delivered marvellous results and will, I’m sure, continue to do so as it enters its second decade.”

Firefly ropes in ‘Booba’ to its licensing portfolio

D Sparrow has chosen Firefly Brand Management to be its North American licensing agent for the “Booba” animated series.

The children’s preschool series airs on Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and iTunes in U.S. markets. It follows the adventures of a little creature called Booba.

“We are delighted to be working with the 3D Sparrow team and ‘Booba,’” says Cynthia Modders, chief executive officer, Firefly Brand Management. “We love the sensational success this unique series has maintained and look forward to introducing ‘Booba’ to our licensing partners to share the many potential product possibilities offered by the unique and compelling brand of the ‘Booba’ character.”