Brand Canvas 2026: Four briefs, 78 teams, 10 finalists, one winning story

The first national advertisement film contest organised by Business Standard's edtech arm brought together B-school students to create commercials based on real brand briefs

Excellence met ambition as BSmart crowned the winners of Brand Canvas 2026, the first-ever national advertisement film contest organised by the educational technology (edtech) arm of Business Standard.

 

Celebrations began at VIT Business School, Vellore, as Team Power Rangers from the college made history by winning the inaugural edition of the Brand Canvas challenge, one of the country’s leading advertisement and branding competitions. Their advertisement film for UTI Mutual Fund (MF) conveyed a simple but important message: investing through the right channel can help investments grow.

 

Kristu Jayanti University’s Airport Road campus in the Silicon City of India hosted the grand finale of the mega event on Tuesday, where the top 10 teams battled it out to clinch the coveted title and earn their place in the ultimate moment of pride and glory.

 

Buzz Builders from RK University, Rajkot, were the first runners-up, while Team Fourth Element from XIME Kochi emerged as the second runners-up in the advertisement film-making challenge. Buzz Builders’ film for the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) captured the importance of retirement planning and the need for a steady income to keep life running even after retirement. Fourth Element’s advertisement film for UTI MF depicted how saving methods have evolved over the years, from piggy banks to the use of financial instruments. 

Team The Buzz Builders from RK University, Rajkot, came second at the Brand Canvas 2026 grand finale in Bengaluru on Tuesday | Photo: BSmart

 

The road to glory was never an easy one for these teams. They had to outperform some of the country’s best young talent in an intense competition and successfully cross several stages of the national talent hunt, which began with campus visits in February and March, moved to the national qualifiers in May and culminated in the grand finale.

 

The grand finale featured a panel discussion on ‘AI — A Collaborator or Disruptor in Branding?’ Corporate leaders from UTI MF, PFRDA, MilkyMist, and Havas Creative Network, along with an academician from Kristu Jayanti University, formed the panel. The discussion was followed by the evaluation of the top 10 teams and, finally, the declaration of the winners.

 

Organised by Business Standard’s edtech platform BSmart, Brand Canvas 2026 is a national-level advertisement film contest in which business school (B-school) students had to create 30-second commercial advertisements based on real briefs provided by four well-known brands in the country — PFRDA, UTI MF, Manyavar, and MilkyMist Capella.

 

The talent hunt kicked off with an introductory session in February by advertising film guru Prahlad Kakkar, who has shaped some of the country’s most recognisable advertising campaigns.

 

This was followed by brand-immersion sessions with experts from PFRDA, UTI MF, and MilkyMist, who explained the advertisement briefs and addressed students’ questions.

 

Students turned up in large numbers to participate in the contest in teams of four. Each team chose one advertisement brief from among the four brands on a first-come, first-served basis and made an advertisement film to meet the specific objectives of the respective brand.

 

The evaluation process began with the Brand Canvas campus tours, during which juries comprising professionals from the advertising and branding industry, representatives of participating companies, academicians from leading B-schools, and experts from Business Standard travelled across the country. The passion and excitement among the students were palpable.

 

Seventy-eight teams advanced to the national qualifiers, which were held over the past two weeks. Participants got an opportunity to present their advertisements before a panel of experts from Business Standard, the participating brands, and some of the country’s leading companies.

 

Although every competition must end with the declaration of winners, Brand Canvas 2026 put top-notch creativity on display, with some of the country’s brightest young talent bringing sharp ideas and fresh perspectives to the brief. All the participating teams produced spirited work despite the constraints of cost and equipment involved in making commercial advertisements.

 

Many of these films have already attracted attention and are being viewed and shared as they appear on the social media platforms and other channels of the participating brands, BSmart and Business Standard.

 

Besides opening up new horizons through assignments and collaborations with leading brands, the contest gave students a platform to interact directly with some of the biggest names in branding and advertising, including Kakkar himself. It is an experience they can cherish for a lifetime.

 

They can be proud of having chosen to participate in the contest — and say, “Yehi Hai Right Choice, Baby”.