MMA Global India has unveiled the shortlisted nominees for the 12th edition of Smarties India 2023 Awards. The awards seek to recognise the most impactful and innovative marketing campaigns.
A total of 150 entries have made it to the final shortlist (see table below). Several new categories were introduced this year. Winners are to be announced at an event on October 5, 2023.
Jury chairperson Prabha Narasimhan, MD and CEO, Colgate-Palmolive (India), said, “Guiding the Smarties’ jury as chair this year has been a journey into the heart of India’s marketing future. The Indian marketing landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation and as the world becomes increasingly digital and complex, the role of skilled and innovative marketers becomes paramount. This year, we have seen a shift in the spotlight with previously less-ventured categories like creator, influencer, and celebrity marketing entries. I’m eagerly looking forward to this culmination of celebrating innovation, results, and the evolving future of marketing.”
Jury chairperson Sunil Kataria, CEO of Raymond Lifestyle, added, “The surge of submissions in innovative categories this year at Smarties Awards is nothing short of remarkable. Top categories like influencer and contextual marketing have taken centre stage, defining a new benchmark for personalised and interconnected industry work. With an emphasis on personalisation, AI, and CX, Smarties serves as a catalyst for the industry’s pinnacle. As Jury Chair, I’m eagerly awaiting the grand unveiling at the Smarties Gala.”
Moneka Khurana, Country Head of MMA Global India, said, “Smarties witness a sea of transformative submissions, embodying higher tides of change every year that redefine our industry. This year, the overwhelming response to our new categories made the judging process even more exhilarating. The shortlist is hence the result of extensive day-long debates, a true reflection of the prestige it brings for those who chase the X factor. Winning a Smarties signifies excellence beyond measure – a golden feather for any brand or agency.”
Smarties India’23 full shortlist:
| Category | Entry Name | Advertiser/Brand | Submitting Organisation |
| Brand Purpose / Activism | Search for Change | EssenceMediacom | |
| Iss Diwali, Thodi si Jagah Bana lo | A Film by HP India | HP India | Media.Monks | |
| Max Life-Protecting Future, Securing Present | Max Life | Madison Media | |
| Smart Farm | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India | |
| Vim Black | Hindustan Unilever | Mindshare India | |
| Cadbury Dairy Milk – Proud Sponsors of Groundstaff | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| The Biochar Project | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India | |
| Social Impact Marketing | Thumbstopping Beauty Biases | Unilever | Mindshare India |
| The Missing Chapter | Procter & Gamble | Essencemediacom | |
| Guardians of the Heart | Social Panga | Social Panga | |
| Bournvita #FaithNotForce | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| #SmileOutLoud | Colgate Palmolive India Ltd | Wavemaker | |
| Shush The Hush – Bleed Shamelessly | Organic by MSL | Organic by MSL | |
| The Biochar Project | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India | |
| “Maine Bola” – How Google Search empowered young Indian women to speak up to reach for their dreams | Google India | Toaster India | |
| Smart Farm | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India | |
| Diversity & Inclusion | Search for Change | EssenceMediacom | |
| Kaya – Beauty in Safety | Marico Limited | Kaya Skin Clinics | |
| UNCUT with PRIDE | Marico LTD. | Ogilvy And Mather | |
| Stop The Beauty Test | Unilever | Mindshare India | |
| Cadbury Dairy Milk #CheerForAllSports | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| EatQual 3.0 | Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd | DDB MUDRA GROUP | |
| Brand Experience | Aashirvaad Select Atta’s Journey from Occasional Indulgence to Everyday Essential | ITC | Performics India |
| Do what floats your boAt’ in the ‘Playground’_Amazon Ads | boAt | Amazon Ads | |
| Thumbstopping Beauty Biases | Unilever | Mindshare India | |
| Bridgestone Sturdo | Bridgestone India | Dentsu Creative | |
| “Maine Bola” – How Google Search empowered young Indian women to speak up to reach for their dreams | Google India | Toaster India | |
| Silk Secret Messages | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Angel One’s Shagun Ke Shares Campaign | Angel One | Qrius Creative Labs | |
| Instant Impact / Promotion | Swiggy’s User Acquisition Success through Paytm Ads | Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd. | Paytm Ads |
| Promotion of Zepto: 10 Min Grocery Delivery via Xerxes by Xapads | Xapads Media | Xapads Media | |
| Citadel Initiation Program Introduces 1MN Fans to a New Spy Universe | Amazon Prime Video | Interactive Avenues | |
| Oreo – SaveThe20Coin | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Swiggy Rescues “Foodies in Need” with a One-Click Install Experience on Glance | Swiggy | InMobi | |
| OnePlus 11 – #onefortherecord | OnePlus India | Interactive Avenues | |
| Customer Journey Marketing – Lead Generation / CRM | Surface Devices | Microsoft | Carat |
| Max Life Insurance drives 22% better quality lead generation through Amazon Ads | Max Life Insurance | Amazon Ads | |
| Gillette grew category penetration by 500%_Amazon Ads | Procter & Gamble | Amazon Ads | |
| Blinkit India’s Last Minute App CPA Campaign | Applabs Media | Applabs Media | |
| Modern Work | Microsoft | Carat Media | |
| MG Motors India Campaign | MG Motors India | Vserv AudiencePro | |
| Driving high ROI campaigns via Service Commerce for L’Oreal Professional Division | L’Oréal India Pvt Ltd | Wavemaker | |
| Product and/or Service Launch | Centrum becomes a bestseller in the Multi-vitamins category with Amazon Ads | Haleon India Pvt Ltd | Amazon Ads |
| Different strokes for Different folks | Philips | OMD | |
| Britannia Biscafe -Coffee Ka Better Half | Britannia Industries Pvt Ltd | GroupM Media India Pvt. Ltd. (Mindshare) | |
| Jeetega Bhai Jeetega Swadeshi Hi Jeetega | National Payments Corporation Of India | EssenceMediacom | |
| Launching Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India | |
| India’s First Leak Proof AC Launch | Godrej Appliances | Godrej Appliances | |
| Bringing Storytelling Back to the Heart of India | Mebigo Labs Private Limited | KukuFM In Association with Affle’s MAAS Platform | |
| Real-Time Marketing | KitKat X Love Breaks | Zenith Media | Zenith Media |
| Spotify India executes India’s first long-term Twitter trendjacking. | Spotify India | Interactive Avenues Pvt Ltd | |
| Maggi Monsoon Magic | Nestle India | Zenith Media India | |
| Cadbury Dairy Milk #CheerForAllSports | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Perk Disclaimers | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Thumbstopping Beauty Biases | Unilever | Mindshare India | |
| Creating a SCENT-SATIONAL Experience | Godrej Consumer Products Limited | Madison Media | |
| Omnichannel Marketing | #BeSensitiveToOralHealth: Dental health inclusivity campaign by Sensodyne on World Oral Health Day | Haleon | Publicis Media |
| How we hacked India’s biggest reality show to drive performance goals. | Vodafone Idea Limited | Wavemaker | |
| Amazon Fresh – Power of Proximity | Amazon India | Interactive Avenues | |
| Silk Secret Messages | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Search for Change | EssenceMediacom | ||
| ICICI Prudential MAAF Launch 2022 – Performics India | ICICI Prudential AMC | Performics India | |
| #FridayRelease | Coca-Cola India Private Limited | EssenceMediacom | |
| Cross Digital Media Marketing | Bijli Gul 2.0 – Power Off, Luminous On | Luminous Power Technologies Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker |
| Ghar Ek Mauka Ek – One Home One Chance | UltraTech Cement | Mindshare India | |
| Oreo- BringBack2011 | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Transforming YouTube from a view-only to a mobile-first creation destination | EssenceMediacom | ||
| The World’s Biggest Football Party Ever | Viacom18 Media Private Limited | GroupM | |
| Vim Black | Hindustan Unilever | Mindshare India | |
| The big-bang Blue launch in India | Nestle | Zenith Media | |
| Social Media Marketing | Let’s not just greet but meet this Diwali | Coca-Cola India Private Limited | EssenceMediacom |
| Silk Secret Messages | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| HERSHE’23 Women’s Day Campaign | Hershey’s India | White Rivers Media | |
| #FridayRelease | Coca-Cola India Private Limited | EssenceMediacom | |
| Chicken Big Mac – The only icon that matters | Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd | DDB MUDRA GROUP | |
| 5 Star Mush Detector | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| #10on10 You Trimmer | Philips | OMD | |
| Creator / Influencer / Celebrity Marketing | Doritos Sizzlin’ Hot | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India |
| Vim Black. Fake Product, Real Impact. | Unilever | MullenLowe Lintas Group India | |
| Perk Chaapless Champion | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Amazon FashionUp | Amazon India | Interactive Avenues | |
| When Lakme ‘winged it’ with Ankush | Hindustan Unilever | Mindshare India | |
| “Maine Bola” – How Google Search empowered young Indian women to speak up to reach for their dreams | Google India | Toaster India | |
| How Nivea created 100,000+ influencers for life in just 2 months! | Beiersdorf | OMD | |
| Gaming, Gamification & E-Sports | Thums Up Charged – Interactive Gaming Video | Coca Cola | Anymind (POKKT) |
| In-Play Mobile Ad Technology Delivers Sweet Success for Hershey’s Jolly Rancher Campaign | Hershey’s | Digital Turbine Inc | |
| THE NET PRACTICE OF STOCK TRADING | RKSV Securities Pvt Ltd | Mindshare India | |
| Thumbs Up’s Gamified Audio Engagement Campaign-T20 WC’2022_EssenceMediacom x Amazon Alexa x Amazon Ads | The Coca-Cola Company | Amazon Ads | |
| ConFUSEing Controller | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| TVS Apache RR310 X Asphalt Airborne 8 | TVS Motor Company | TVS Motor Company | |
| Data Insights / Contextual Marketing | Smart Farm | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India |
| Oreo Recipes – Baker’s Republic of Oreo | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Different strokes for different folks | Philips | OMD | |
| B Natural-A ‘Made in India’ brand acquires No.1 position on Amazon | ITC Limited | Amazon Ads | |
| Domino’s Mobile App campaign | Jubilant FoodWorks | Vserv AudiencePro | |
| Bringing Storytelling Back to the Heart of India | Mebigo Labs Private Limited | KukuFM In Association with Affle’s MAAS Platform | |
| Programmatic | Nutrichoice World Diabetes Day | Britannia Industries Pvt Ltd | GroupM Media India Pvt. Ltd. (Mindshare) |
| Urban Company: CPI Campaign Via Xerxes | Xapads Media | Xapads Media | |
| Garnier Men grew 43% above category growth using Amazon DSP | L’Oreal India | Amazon Ads | |
| Levi’s: Iconic Pair, Iconic impact | Levi’s | Levi’s in association with Affle’s mediasmart platform | |
| Instant delivery, Impeccable impact: Swiggy Instamart | Swiggy Instamart | Swiggy Instamart in Association with Affle’s mediasmart platform | |
| Bringing Storytelling Back to the Heart of India | Mebigo Labs Private Limited | KukuFM In Association with Affle’s MAAS Platform | |
| Audio / Voice / Sonic Branding | Alexa Originals: Driving music association for the HP Pavilion range | HP India | Amazon Ads |
| Mother Dairy Cow Milk | Mother Dairy | mCanvas Advertising Pvt. ltd. | |
| Halloween Treasure Hunt with AJJ | Perfetti Van Melle India | Wavemaker | |
| Amma, is the baby crying? We heard it too! | Nobel Hygiene Pvt Ltd. | Madison Media | |
| JioSaavn X Center Fresh Valentine’s Day | Perfetti Van Melle India | JioSaavn | |
| JioSaavn X Limca Sportz | Cocacola | JioSaavn | |
| Experimental / Innovation Technology | Cadbury Celebration – Connected Rakhi | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker |
| Serving the underserved in healthcare with Artificial Intelligence | Bayer Consumer Health Division | Mullen Lowe Lintas Group | |
| Chupa Chups Halloween Campaign 2022 | Perfetti Van Melle India | Perfetti Van Melle India | |
| Ghar Ek Mauka Ek / One Home One Chance – Conversational AI | UltraTech Cement | Mindshare India | |
| Smart Farm | PepsiCo India Pvt. Ltd. | Leo Burnett India | |
| Airtel Metaplex – World’s first multiplex in Metaverse powered by WEB 3.0 technologies | Bharti Airtel Limited | EssenceMediacom | |
| Live (Streaming) E-commerce | Shikhar Super Chat – Unilever’s Sales Rep of the Year! | Hindustan Unilever | Mindshare India |
| OnePlus 11 5G smartphone Launch Livestream_ Amazon Ads | OnePlus | Amazon Ads | |
| Spatial / AR / VR / NFT / Metaverse Tech | Airtel Xstream Fiber AR -Superfast speed for everyone’s needs | BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED | EssenceMediacom |
| How Nivea created 100,000+ influencers for life in just 2 months! | Beiersdorf | OMD | |
| Volvoverse – First ever reusable & sustainable platform | Volvo | Mindshare India | |
| Kamaverse | Raymond Consumer Care Ltd. | Madison Media | |
| Integrated Ecommerce Innovation | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 & Fold4 Smartphone launch_Amazon Ads | Samsung | Amazon Ads |
| Out of the Box’ campaign_Asian Paints & Amazon Ads | Asian Paints Ltd. | Amazon Ads | |
| RYZE Nicotine Gum becomes a bestseller on Amazon. in | Ryze | Amazon Ads | |
| Centrum Revolutionary Launch – \”Best Seller\” Tag in Multivitamin Category in 6 months of Launch | HALEON | Publicis Media | |
| Cadbury Silk Valentine’s Day 2023 Gamified Engagement campaign_Wavemaker x Amazon Ads | Mondelez International, Inc. | Amazon Ads | |
| Ensure Diabetes Care’s methodical media strategy led to a 400% increase in consideration share on Amazon | Abbott | Amazon Ads | |
| O2O / New Retail / Innovative & New Tech Sales Channels | Cetaphil: The Multiscreen Journey Of Nurturing Lives | Galderma | Galderma In Association with Affle’s mediasmart Platform |
| Sprite helps commuters in traffic “stay chill†through an instant purchase mobile campaign | Sprite | InMobi | |
| Out of the Box’ campaign_Asian Paints & Amazon Ads | Asian Paints Ltd. | Amazon Ads | |
| American Tourister: Crossing Boundaries, Connecting screens | American Tourister | American Tourister In Association with Affle’s mediasmart Platform | |
| Nerolac connects digital users with local dealers, impacts online to offline performance | Nerolac | InMobi | |
| Taking the Omnichannel Route: Dell Hyperlocal Campaign | Dell Technologies | EssenceMediacom | |
| Customer (CX) / User Experience (UX) & Design | Madbury 4.0 Duet (India unites together to co-create next favourite Cadbury flavour) | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker |
| Cadbury Dairy Milk #CheerForAllSports | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| How Nivea created 100,000+ influencers for life in just 2 months! | Beiersdorf | OMD | |
| Unveil Your Big Year Through Music | Aditya Birla Group (Corporate) | Mindshare | |
| Zomato Wins Millions of Hearts on Glance | Zomato | InMobi | |
| Silk Secret Messages | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Personalisation | Perk Disclaimers | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker |
| Cadbury Silk Valentine’s Day Unforgettable Love Tips | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Badtameez Dil’-Personalized Show Launch campaign_Amazon miniTV | Amazon miniTV | Amazon Ads | |
| JioSaavn X Center Fresh Valentine’s Day | Perfetti Van Melle India | JioSaavn | |
| Bijli Gul 2.0 – Power Off, Luminous On | Luminous Power Technologies Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker | |
| Reigniting the Passion for Rummy in India | First Games by PayTm | First Games In Association with Affle’s RevX Platform | |
| Short or Long Form Video | Bournvita #FaithNotForce | Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. | Wavemaker |
| Noise ka ‘Case to Banta Hai’ _Amazon Ads | Noise | Amazon Ads | |
| Dolby India – Suna Kya? Dekha Kya? | Dolby India | Tonic Worldwide | |
| No More Missed Calls | ITC Limited | White Rivers Media | |
| Where the heart is S6 | Asian Paints | Madison Media | |
| India Coffee Stories – Hyundai TUCSON | Hyundai Motor India Limited | Havas Media – Content |
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