Indian advertising fraternity achieved yet another milestone as the Abby Awards celebrated 57 glorious years at the GoaFest 2026. The first day of the advertising extravaganza reset everyone’s mood with a phenomenal performance by legendary Punjabi rockstar Sukhbir Singh. Everyone from young to old, grooved to the fantastic chartbusters of the Prince of Bhangra. With such an electric beginning, the advertising festival was officially inaugurated with the lamp lighting ceremony by the stalwarts of the fraternity. This occasion was also the perfect platform to pay tribute and remember the two iconic figures of Indian advertising – Piyush Pandey and Arun Nanda.
The inaugural session of Day 1 was about ‘Resetting Brand India: From Growth Story to Growth Strategy,’ where Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi – Chairman, Omnicom Advertising, India and Chairman Prasar Bharti along with Dr. Rajiv Kumar – Chairman of Paheli India Foundation and Former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog and Nikhil Sharma – Managing Director, Perfetti Van Melle, India spoke about India focusing on creating “Brands from India,” not just “Brand India.” The next session was all about ‘Resetting the Rules: Building Brands That Don’t Play Safe’ where Aman Gupta -Founder of boAt, Founder of OFF/BEAT, Shark of Shark Tank India Show explained the importance of letting the youth share their ideas for marketing and innovation to build brands better. The third session had Harmanpreet Kaur – Cricket Captain & Legend of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, in conversation with Mandira Bedi – Actor, Anchor, Author & Fitness Enthusiast speaking about her cricket journey and ‘Resetting the Limits of What’s Possible.’ The final session of Day 1 was by Dave Yang – Managing Director – SMB & Mid-Market – APAC, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions who introduced the Indian Prosumer and Reaching High-Value Professional Consumers through LinkedIn.
Just like Day 1 started with an electrifying act, it ended with an even better one with Publisher & Media Abbys at the Abby One Show Awards Powered by Z in association with Times Network. Jagran Prakashan Ltd. won Publisher of the Year while Coca Cola was adjudged the Client of the Year. While WPP Media won the Network Agency of the Year, it was EssenceMediacom that was named Media Agency of The Year and Tribes Communications Pvt. Ltd. won the Grand Prix for Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd’s The Barefoot Journey in the Micro Marketing sub-category. The day ended with a gala dinner and After Hours party with DJ Salil.
Written by Mohnish Modi, Content Head at MediaAvataar India