Brand Canvas: The ad guru's masterclass on making brands live on for life

Prahlad Kakkar's masterclass opened Brand Canvas 2026 with lessons on trust, emotion and storytelling, followed by workshops and four national qualifiers

Oftentimes an ad creator becomes a brand name. Prahlad Kakkar fits the description,  with his impact and ad campaigns . 

 

“Yehi Hai Right Choice Baby! Aha!” runs the jingle of a well-known soft-drink brand. The tune was coined years back but the moment one hears it, one knows it is Pepsi and Kakkar's brainchild. 

 

The grand premiere and introductory masterclass on branding and advertising by the ad-film director had a similar impact on students and other participants and was one of the major highlights of the Brand Canvas 2026 contest.

 

The inaugural session on February 14 established the core mood and energy of the event.

 

 

Kakkar shared his insights into the basics of advertising, naming a brand, how to build brand value through trust and pleasant relationships with customers, secrets in making a brand alive — trust, emotions, connectivity, content, promises and making it work for the consumer.

 

The ad guru came back later for a workshop — “From Brand Thinking to Ad Film Making” — where he guided students on story telling and creating compelling commercials ads. This provided a platform for the students to interact with Kakkar, which was evident after the students showed their enthusiasm during the session.

 

Kakkar is the founder of the Genesis Film Productions. He is the brain behind some of the most widely recognised ads which are close to our hearts — Maggi’s “2 minutes!”, Britannia’s “Ting Ting Ti Ting”, Limca’s “Zor ka Jhatka”, and Tata Tea’s “Jaago Re”.

 

The workshops and the brand-immersion sessions by the participating brands were followed by the evaluation process, which started with the Brand Canvas campus tours and progressed to the national qualifiers and the Grand Finale. The four national qualifiers were certainly the other big highlights of the contest.

 

The first national qualifier took place on May 23, when the selected teams showcased their ads on Manyavar before a jury that included Debdip Ghosh, global brand and product manager, Castrol; and experts from Business Standard.

 

The second national qualifier, conducted on the next day, showed up the teams selected for their ads on the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). These teams presented their work before the panel comprising Puja Upadhyay, deputy general manager, PFRDA; Anupam Ganguli, consultant; and experts from Business Standard.

 

The jury for the third national qualifier on May 30 comprised S Mitthra, brand manager, Milkymist; Ghosh; and experts from Business Standard.

 

Teams shortlisted on Milkymist demonstrated their ads before the jury.

 

In the final and fourth qualifier on May 31, participants selected for their ads on UTI Mutual Fund got an opportunity to present their offerings before a distinguished panel that included Sandeep Samsi, head (marketing, corporate communications and investor relations), UTI Mutual Fund; Ganguli; besides experts from Business Standard.