Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) announced the winners of SMARTIES India 2026 at its Gala on Oct 9, 2026 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, recognising marketing that brings together creativity, technology and media to deliver measurable business impact.

SMARTIES is MMA’s global awards platform for modern marketing effectiveness, built to recognise work where innovation and creative strength translate into significant business impact. Run by this leading industry body across markets, it combines a marketer-only Grand Jury with a wider pre-screening jury drawn from brands, agencies, publishers, technology companies and the broader ecosystem.

Moneka Khurana, MD & BOD, MMA India, said:

“SMARTIES India sets a new benchmark every year, and 2026 goes further. We witnessed 2x growth in entries, with insurgents and homegrown brands actively leading alongside category leaders. The winning work showcases what creativity, technology and media deliver together when held to commercial accountability. That is the standard SMARTIES exists to set, and we will keep raising the bar on effective advertising.”

India’s 2026 program came into the finale with strong momentum. Growth was especially pronounced across personalization, AI-driven creative, video, creator marketing and commerce, while new categories and four new Industry Awards widened recognition across emerging capabilities and local brand leadership.

Titan’s “Made in India. Made for the Screen.”, with Amazon Ads, secured Best in Show, while “Airtel – The Safe Network” received the Juror’s Choice Award of the Year. The Industry Awards recognised excellence across advertisers, brands, agency networks and specialist capabilities, with L’Oréal India, Titan Company Limited, Amazon Ads, WPP Media, Ogilvy India and Talented among the honourees.

Rohit Dadwal, CEO & BOD, MMA APAC & Global Head of SMARTIES, commented:

“Across local markets, regions and globally, SMARTIES gives us a unique view of how marketing effectiveness is evolving. India has become an increasingly significant part of that picture, with the 2026 program posting its strongest growth yet. What stands out is the breadth of work connecting cultural understanding, creativity and technology to measurable growth. These winners add not just recognition for India, but evidence and learning to a global benchmark for effective modern marketing.”

Industry Award winners

The expanded Industry Awards framework introduced Juror’s Choice Award of the Year, National Advertiser of the Year, Local Brand of the Year and Specialist Agency of the Year, widening recognition for brand leadership, specialist capabilities and sustained effectiveness.

The winners emerged from a multi-stage review assessing strategy, execution, creative quality and business impact. The jury was chaired by Rajneet Kohli, Executive Director Foods, Hindustan Unilever Limited; Sairam Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer, Bombay Shirt Company; Geetika Mehta, Managing Director, NIVEA India; and Arvind R P, Chief Executive Officer, Lenexis Foodworks Pvt. Ltd.

Rajneet Kohli, SMARTIES India 2026 Jury Chair and Executive Director Foods, Hindustan Unilever Limited, remarked:

“SMARTIES work that stood out began with a clear understanding of the consumer and followed through with evidence. Whether the idea used AI, creators or commerce, the question was the same: what did it change for the brand and its customers? Congratulations to the winners for answering that question with clarity and conviction.”

Brands and agencies leading the winning work

Titan led the brand Gold tally, followed by Colgate India and Pedigree. Airtel 5G and Razorpay also secured Gold across multiple categories, while Philips India and Procter & Gamble India earned Gold recognition across their brand portfolios.

Wavemaker India led the agency medal tally, with EssenceMediacom India and Mindshare India also among the most awarded. Amazon Ads secured the largest share of Gold credits across the winning work. OMD India, Starcom India and Talented were among the agencies recognised with Gold in multiple categories.

Across the wider medal tally, Amazon, Google, L’Oréal India, UltraTech Cement, Mondelez India, PepsiCo India and Myntra were also prominent winners.

Geetika Mehta, SMARTIES India 2026 Jury Chair and Managing Director, NIVEA India, shared:

“The value of a campaign should outlast the moment it creates. This year’s SMARTIES winners remind us that cultural relevance and new technology are most powerful when they build a distinctive, trusted brand. Congratulations to the winning teams for showing how an understanding of people can translate into both brand preference and business progress.”

What the winning work signals

Several of the strongest campaigns proved their effectiveness across objectives. Titan’s “Made in India. Made for the Screen.” earned Gold across Brand Experience, Omnichannel Marketing, Short or Long Form Video and Partnership, PR & Branded Content Excellence. Pedigree’s “8x New Customers: AI Predicts Pet Parents” and Colgate’s “Oral Health Movement” each took three Golds, while Airtel’s “The Safe Network” and Razorpay’s “Break to Build” also won Gold across multiple categories.

AI recognition extended beyond creative execution. Pedigree’s winning work spanned customer growth, AI-powered insights and integrated e-commerce. Colgate’s Oral Health Movement was recognised across audience engagement using AI, customer experience and AI-driven creative excellence. Razorpay’s Break to Build earned Gold in both social media and innovative use of AI in advertising.

The new categories connected content and commerce to effectiveness. Titan’s “Made in India. Made for the Screen.” won Partnership, PR & Branded Content Excellence, while Cadbury Celebrations’ “Brothers Who Care: Redefining Rakhi on Q-Commerce” won D2C / E-commerce Marketing Excellence.

Sairam Krishnamurthy, SMARTIES India 2026 Jury Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Bombay Shirt Company, said:

“Consumers experiencing your brand and consumers converting to your brand are not separate tasks. A strong idea must carry through from discovery to the decision to buy. The winning work shows why commerce, media and customer experience need to work together. Congratulations to the teams turning that connection into measurable growth, rather than treating each channel as an isolated success.”

Why the win travels beyond the Gala

Beyond the trophy, SMARTIES is designed to turn winning work into an industry benchmark. The SMARTIES Business Impact Index (BII), released in partnership with WARC, is the first and only global index designed to identify and rank agencies, advertisers, brands and solution providers driving significant business impact. Results also contribute to wider industry recognition through WARC Media 100 and RECMA, extending the value of a SMARTIES win beyond a single awards night.

The Gala followed MMA SMARTIES Unplugged India 2026, where jury leaders and practitioners examined the strategic choices, execution and measurement behind effective marketing. Together, Unplugged and the Gala connected recognition with learning, celebrating the work while exploring what the wider industry can take from it.

 
Arvind R P, SMARTIES India 2026 Jury Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Lenexis Foodworks Pvt. Ltd., commented:

“What set this year’s winners apart was not just a bright idea or creativity, but the commercial acumen behind the work. The best work married bold creativity with sharp use of data and technology, and then showed results that would hold up in any boardroom. That is the true spirit of the SMARTIES.“

Explore the complete SMARTIES India 2026 winners list, including Gold, Silver, Bronze and Industry Awards here.

Annexure: Gold winners by category

Purpose Driven Marketing

Impact Marketing

Media and Growth

Creative & Innovation Impact