ITV News
Pepsi signs Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda for new youth campaign
Gen Z actors tease campaign with playful ‘Pepsi Vanity Trailer’ reveal.
MUMBAI: When the teaser promised the “biggest trailer yet”, the internet expected a movie drop. Instead, it got a fridge full of cola. Pepsi has brought Gen Z actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda into the Pepsi family, signalling the start of a new youth focused campaign from Pepsico India. The duo will headline the brand’s upcoming campaign, which kicked off with a social media teaser that quickly turned into a playful pop culture moment.
Ahead of the official reveal, the two actors sparked curiosity online by hinting at their “biggest trailer yet”. The twist, however, was a clever bait and switch, instead of a film preview, the reveal showcased a fully decked out Pepsi Vanity Trailer, turning the idea of a “trailer” into a literal pop culture hangout space.
The branded trailer, styled with industrial inspired interiors, signature Pepsi visuals and a fully stocked Pepsi refrigerator, was designed as a youth friendly social space blending fandom, lifestyle and the brand’s playful attitude.
Pepsi has historically positioned itself at the centre of youth culture in India, frequently collaborating with emerging talents who resonate with younger audiences. By onboarding Panday and Padda, the brand is leaning into a generation that consumes and shapes pop culture in real time through social media and digital platforms.
Pepsico India Brand Lead for Pepsi Cola Mohak Bhatia said the announcement was intentionally designed to cut through the clutter of traditional brand partnerships. “Pepsi has always partnered with gen next talent who shape youth culture rather than simply reflect it. With two of the biggest Bollywood debuts of 2025, we didn’t want a routine announcement. Flipping the idea of the ‘biggest trailer yet’ felt like a fresh way to shake up social feeds,” he said.
For Panday, the association marks a personal milestone as he begins his journey in mainstream cinema. “Pepsi has always been the heartbeat of cool in India. Being associated with the brand at this stage of my journey feels incredibly special,” he said.
Padda echoed the sentiment, describing the campaign as a natural fit. “Pepsi embodies that fearless confidence I live for. The campaign feels playful, spontaneous and full of energy,” she said.
The collaboration reflects Pepsi’s continued focus on aligning with emerging youth icons and tapping into the evolving dynamics of pop culture conversations in India.
ITV News
Maciej Traczyk named commerce director at WPP Media
Seasoned digital leader to drive commerce growth, AI innovation
WARSAW: In a move that signals its continued push into integrated commerce, Maciej Traczyk has been elevated to commerce director at WPP Media, building on a track record of blending data, technology and performance marketing into business growth engines.
Traczyk steps into the role after a high-impact stint as organic and performance director and earlier as organic performance director, where he quietly stitched together cross-channel strategies while keeping a firm grip on P&L. His work went beyond optimisation dashboards, shaping AI-led solutions and search innovations that delivered measurable outcomes for global brands such as L’Oréal, Nestlé, Toyota, Colgate-Palmolive, Garmin and Allianz.
Before his current chapter, Traczyk honed his craft at Wavemaker and MEC Wavemaker, where his career arc reads like a playbook for modern digital leadership. From SEO and content analytics manager to SEO and technology lead, then head of ecommerce, and later head of ecommerce and performance, he consistently expanded both remit and impact. Along the way, he integrated ecommerce, performance and organic search into unified teams, championed marketplace strategies and led large-scale digital transformations.
His portfolio spans an eclectic mix of clients including IKEA, Huawei, Nikon, Henkel and Husqvarna, reflecting both breadth and depth in navigating global and local market dynamics.
Colleagues describe him as a builder of bridges between disciplines, equally at ease with code, content and commerce. From designing the OneSearch collaboration model to rolling out AI-driven tools and training teams, his approach has been as much about culture as capability.
With commerce increasingly becoming the connective tissue of modern marketing, Traczyk’s elevation suggests WPP Media is doubling down on leaders who can turn complexity into clarity and clicks into customers.
