Mumbai: Indian tennis legend, 12-time Doubles Grand Slam champion Leander Paes, hosts our Indian special from Chennai. Chennai is heralded as the birthplace of Indian tennis, with the top Indian tennis families the Krishnans and the Armitrajs having been born here and the city hosts the only professional event in South Asia.

In this month?s show, we interview all the big names within Indian tennis. We profile the most successful Indian woman tennis player in history, Sania Mirza. CNN correspondent Mallika Kapur interviews Sania in Mumbai.

Leander takes us to Marina Beach where he used to train, growing up within the Britannia Amritraj Foundation. Here he interviews Vijay Amritraj about his family?s contribution to Indian tennis and his earliest memories of Leander as a young player coming through his academy. Leander then interviews the so-called ?Kings of Indian Tennis?, Ramanathan and his son Ramesh Krishnan, Leander asks them about their family legacy in the game. Ramanathan came closest to winning India?s first singles Grand Slam singles title back in 1960 and 1961, making the semi-final of Wimbledon twice and reaching World Number 3. Leander asks them both why India has never produced a singles grand slam champion. Ramanathan cuts straight to it, saying that kids aren?t trained hard enough from an early age, lack the physicality and mental strength. We visit one of the biggest academies in South India; the Triangle Tennis Trust to see what physical training takes place at grassroots level & Leander interviews one of the most promising players in the Indian game, Vishnu Vardhan, about the obstacles he?s faced coming through the system.

And finally, Leander takes India?s top player Somdev Devvarmann silk shopping and chats to him about his time training in the States and his hopes for his career.

Airtimes:

Thursday, February 23 at 1600
Friday, February 24 at 2300
Saturday, February 25 at 1400
Sunday, February 26 at 2300
Sunday, March 25 at 1400

*Airtimes are subject to change.

Mumbai: One of the Faastest men on wheels in the country and India?s brightest F1 prospect Armaan Ebrahim today joined the PUMA family amidst much fanfare at the PUMA Church Road store in Pune. Son of the ex-Indian F3 champion Akbar Ebrahim, Armaan Ebrahim is a motor racing prodigy who walks, talks and dreams motorsport.

At a very young age Armaan has become a name to be reckoned with in the world of motorsport. Armaan who is due to drive for Fan Force United in the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights Championship, is confident that this next step with the Indiana based team will push him forward to his ultimate goal of Formula 1 racing.

Rajiv Mehta, PUMA MD, South Asia said, "Armaan is a great addition to the PUMA family and reinforces our association with the year of speed that 2012 is for PUMA as a brand. We welcome Armaan and wish him success in his upcoming races. "

?PUMA is one of the most admired sports brands in the world that understands and appreciates sport, sportspeople and the spirit of sportsmanship. It is with great pleasure that I take my place of pride in this family; and hope that PUMA speeds me on in all my future endeavours and helps me make my country proud.? Said Armaan.

While at the store Armaan Ebrahim also flaggged off PUMA Faastest Indian challenge a hunt for India‘s Faastest to be held in 7 cities across India including Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi NCR and Chandigarh who will be sent to Zurich to meet Usain Bolt.

He adds ?To be faast is the ultimate thrill to move faster than the wind leaving all else behind. The need for speed is addictive and although I do this with the help of some of the fastest cars in the world, I envy those that can race with the world powered only by their feet and this is why it is my absolute pleasure to flag off the PUMA faastest Indian Challenge here today?

The PUMA Team bid adieu to the young motor sport star by wishing him all the best for the upcoming Lights Series and hoped that he would once again do the country proud!

MUMBAI: We all have hopes. It?s what equips us to deal with life?s trials and tribulations. We live in the hope that the world will become a better place sans inflation. We hope that we will have a government who?ll build a better future for our Nation. Each one of us has endless hopes....It?s this "Umeed" that keeps us going and propels us to stay ahead. On Zee TV?s dance reality show, Maruti Suzuki presents Dance India Dance, it?s time for us to put a smile on the faces of the contestants and help them achieve their dreams.. Yes, it?s that time of the season when DID is on the verge of announcing its BEHTAREEN TERAH (13) contestants. But who all should continue to remain in the show??? That key decision has been thrown open to the junta. Voting is our fundamental right. If we vote for free to choose our government, then why should we spend money to vote for our favourite reality show contestants? Taking this thought forward, Zee TV has taken an initiative which will directly impact the lives of its coveted viewers by making the entire voting process in reality shows free of cost. DID urges its viewers to pick up the phone and give a MISSED CALL to all their favourite contestants who deserve to stay in the show. Being the pioneer in Hindi General Entertainment space, Zee TV has had many firsts to its credit. And now through Dance India Dance Season 3, the channel has brought a ray of hope - ?Umeed? - into the lives of many of its viewers by making voting for the contestants absolutely devoid of any cost.

The thought of giving audiences an opportunity to choose the winner of a reality show through a public voting system as a concept was initiated by Zee TV for the very first time in 2003 for the show, Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj. After that, the concept of ?one mobile- one vote? was introduced during the time of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar in the year 2010, to avoid duplication while counting of votes made from the same number. Taking a step further, the channel has devised a method which nullifies the entire debate about voting being a money making mechanism between the channel and the telecom companies! This unique MISSED CALL voting system devised by Zee TV in Dance India Dance Season 3 will ensure that there?s no fallacy in choosing a winner and will also erase all doubts about the existence of any benefits to the channel in the voting process. The channel will incorporate the same in its future reality shows as well.

Said Mr. Akash Chawla, Head Marketing, National Channels, ZEEL, "With DID Season 3 - Voting Free, we are aiming for never before achieved viewer?s participation in the show. With this Missed Call voting system, every unique missed call will be counted as one unique vote thus making junta janardan the true adjudicator in deciding the fate of our show. Technology is helping us value the viewer?s point of view even further. I?m sure that with India being a price sensitive country, the decision of free voting is a welcome change to those who have hitherto refrained from participating owing to extra charges for an SMS to special numbers! There can be nothing more transparent than this mechanism in the decision of choosing the final winner of any reality show on ZEE TV!"

Here?s how the mechanism works - Every contestant in the Behterein Terah (Terrific 13) has been designated with an unique number. All a viewer has to do is dial that number and after one ring, the call gets disconnected automatically. The viewer gets an acknowledgement message that his vote for the particular contestant has been registered. In one week, a viewer can vote for a particular contestant only once. However he can vote for multiple contestants in the same week. The best part is you can call to vote your favorite contestant even if you have zero balance in your prepaid account. The mechanism has been already implemented effectively from 12th of February and has assisted in choosing the WILD CARD entrants of the show.

Dance India Dance has always believed in exploring unique initiatives on a large scale to build its brand equity. Be it the grand Carnival that was conducted on the streets of Mumbai during DID Season 2 or the unique ?Dance Mobs? that were conducted in malls, multiplexes, railway stations and streets of Mumbai and Delhi during the launch of DID season 3 or the very recent Licensing & Merchandizing deal that the show has done with apparel giant Reebok to further build the brand with the new and exclusive DID clothing line available at Reebok stores across India ?hence proving that there is no bigger brand for Dance in India than Dance India Dance!

Mumbai: Mumbai?s favorite newspaper Hindustan Times returned with it?s unique, popular and inclusive initiative on January 28 this year. Last year on 29 January 2011, Hindustan Times Mumbai created No TV Day and made the entire city come to a standstill. What started as an HT initiative became a people?s movement in Mumbai. That made Mumbai the only city in the world to have it?s own special day. Hindustan Times called upon Mumbai to switch off TV and be open to the immense possibilities that their relationships and the city had to offer.To drive the message, TV OFF. MUMBAI ON, Mudra Max-OOH planned and executed an effective OOH media campaign for No TV Day (NTD)beginning 13 Jan 2012.The agency deployed a wide mix of OOH media namely Billboards, Gantries, BQS, DBQS, Pole kiosks, Inside train branding, Bus back/side panels, station branding & Domestic Airport branding.

Considering the growing population preferring air travel these days, a few interesting media vehicles inside domestic terminals (cutouts on conveyer belts & standees at strategic locations)were deployed.

To break through the clutter, Mudra Max -OOH executed a couple of innovations at marquee sites in Mumbai (Juhu Koliwada & Mahim Causeway).

Innovation 1: This was executed at Mahim Causeway (one of the important congregation points for vehicular traffic in Mumbai), the idea was to create the NTD facebook homepage on a billboard.The way one updatestheir statuses, likewise there was a daily change in the status & the number of growing facebook fans on the billboard. The status updated continued was for 5 days as a build up towards No TV Day.

Innovation 2: This was executed at Juhu Koliwada / Juhu Tara Road (one of main arterial roads of Mumbai), since the core essence of NTD is TV OFF, MUMBAI ON, this execution tried to bring that alive on a billboard by showing a father ? son having fun in a park. Father pushing the swing, while the kid enjoys being on it & the copy read as ?TV OFF, FUN ON?. The swinging movement on the billboardcaught a lot of attention & was really talked about.

Like last year Hindustan Times organized a plethora of activities on Jan 28,encouragingMumbaiites to step out of their homes and explore the citythey love with their family and friends.The activities ranged from school painting competition attended by around 34000 children with their parents, helicopter rides, and exclusive discount deals at more than 400 outlets in the city, heritage rides, dance workshops and many others.

Across the city around 250 housing societies registered for the No TV Day Best Society contest. A city specific treasure hunt was organized across three zones in Mumbai (western suburbs, Navi Mumbai and South Mumbai). While 1300 participants raced against time to reach the finishing point, 3 winners were selected in each zone. The engagement with Mumbai was sustained in the social media spaceas well with the HT Mumbai No TV Day Facebook page and a special microsite. In just 3 weeks, 1.5 lakh new fans were added to the No TV Day Facebook community taking the total strength to 2.5 lakh fans.The Facebook page also generated 6.5 million unique impressions and was the among the top branded Facebook pages in India in terms of engagement. On Jan 28th, the strong buzz about the initiative resulted in No TV Day featuring among the top trending topics nationally on Twitter.

There were various partners who joined in this initiative. These include organizations like Railways, Prince of Wales museum, MTDC, over 300 schools?.etcand brands like Surf Excel, Toyota, Lays, Micro Technologies and Scrabble.

Mandeep Malhotra, President, Mudra Max (OOH, Retail, Experiential), ?NO TV DAY is an annual property built by HT and we required to createa history connecting the brandwith Mumbaikars. Our aim was to establish a property better and louder than the last year?s campaign. In a city dominated by competitors, it was an indispensable task to keep Mumbai ?On? for a quality life. We along with HT, aleading national daily of India delivered the message effectively and took OOHfrom the position of a reminder medium to a call for action platform.?

Says Ajay Dang, Marketing Head (West and South), Hindustan Times, ?Very few times does an initiative by a brand/ newspaper becomes a people?s movement. Hindustan Times has added an important day in the calendar of Mumbai when the city pauses and takes time to reconnect to important relationships be it family and friends or the city that we call home.?

Mumbai: McDonalds redefines lunch in India, with yet another value offering to its customers and a reason enough to start the New Year with a smile. Milestone Brandcom, a leading and fastest growing integrated OOH brand communications agencies in India, creates a dramatic announcement of the offer with meticulously planned teaser followed by a reveal communication & special reinforcements announcing the offer hours everyday.

Under the McValue - Super Lunch Super Deal offer any one can enjoy one Burger, one Coke and one Fries pack for Rs.55/- in Mumbai.

"The communication strategy put into practice Out-of-Home was to first tease & excite the audience about ?something? that McDonalds was up to, and about to change with ?Lunch will never be the same again? message," said Hanoz Patel, Founder Member & Managing Partner at Milestone Brandcom. To build up the anticipation until the offer launch, we installed a 36-hour reverse timer showing hours, minutes & seconds on 3rd Jan 2012 until it zeroed in at noon on 5th January 2012.

The offer so great needed a rather dramatic reveal approach, for which the agency employed a bell ringer to ring in the new offer on a giant bell installed on mobile billboard & hoardings at some of the prominent & busiest junctions in the city like Mahim Causeway, Peddar Road junction, etc. The giant bell was rung at an interval of every 1-hour between noon & 3pm on the day of the offer launch and continued for the entire campaign period.

"In addition to just creating awareness of the offer with the reveal campaign, we also went the extra mile to bring further reinforcement around the offer hours everyday between noon & 3pm". A giant clock was mounted on a hoarding, showing people the actual time; and when the clock would strike noon, 1, 2 & 3pm the arms would point to a Burger, Coke & Fries conveying the McValue Offer hours in the simplest but innovative ways. A reminder alarm was also set for every hour between noon & 3pm everyday, for the entire campaign period.

The campaign was executed across 6 cities including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad & Baroda. A media plan encompassing 310 media touch points spread well across a selection of formats covering high traffic & footfalls along arterial roads, neighbourhood proximity and transit media & junctions. The media touchpoints comprised of - billboards, unipoles, gantries, bus shelters and display boards inside high footfall density stations.

"Since it was an offer starting midday, the plan was heavily skewed towards morning traffic movement for better recall for action relevant to the midday offering." added Patel.

Commenting on the campaign, Rameet Arora, -Senior Director Marketing (West and South) - Mc Donald?s India, said, "It?s always exciting to be doing innovation. It?s the difference between a good and a great campaign. I believe the work done on out of home in Mumbai was a critical success factor in a most successful launch."

MUMBAI: This Republic Day, UTV Action is all set to take action a notch higher with the legendary superhero Batman. Upholding its brand proposition of bringing the biggest action heroes and best Hollywood action content to viewers, UTV Action showcases the epic thriller ? The Dark Knight? on 26th January at 8.45pm.

Building up the thrill of the movie is an innovative trade activation which has branded stickers of the malicious Joker?s famed statement ? ?Why so serious?? ? pasted in washrooms across 11 agencies in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Viewers can also win interesting Dark Knight 3D posters by answering a simple question on the UTV Action FB page.

Speaking on the acclaimed movie, Manasi Sapre, Programming Head, UTV Action said, ?One of the most celebrated superhero films ? The Dark Knight - sees Christian Bale return to the role of Batman and Heath Ledger don the ghoulishly gleeful Joker which won him the well deserved Oscar. Director Christopher Nolan returns with a darker, more powerful and action packed plot in his latest Batman instalment. With extraordinary special effects and talented performances, Dark Knight is an action extravaganza sure to be enjoyed by action aficionados who can now watch the film for the first time in Hindi on Indian television.?