House ads in newspapers rarely turn heads. They fill space, remind readers of a supplement or nudge a subscription. What independent creative agency Manja did for The Economic Times’ Eye on AI vertical is a different story altogether.
Eye on AI is ET’s dedicated weekly page on artificial intelligence, published every Tuesday since mid-2024. It covers how AI is reshaping industries – written squarely for ET’s business-minded readership. The challenge: getting readers to actually notice it amid a daily paper’s relentless flow of news and analysis.
Manja’s solution was elegant. Rather than running a conventional promotional ad, the agency turned ET’s own pages into the pitch. Each section of the newspaper – from Pure Politics to Smart Investing – carries a short, handwritten annotation completing a single sentence.
“Pure Politics is using AI to identify supporters, optimise fundraising and sharpen campaign strategy.”
“Brands and Companies are using AI to turn browsing habits into buying habits.”
The message lands without being explicitly stated: AI is transforming every subject ET covers, and Eye on AI is where that story lives every Tuesday. The handwritten style is a deliberate creative choice – less marketing collateral, more journalist’s margin notes scribbled in the heat of a deadline.
There’s a quiet irony at play too. Print is routinely cited as one of AI’s most prominent casualties. Here, it becomes the very medium making the case for AI journalism. As Manja co-founder Prajato Guha Thakurta noted, it was about finding a fresh advertising canvas in a 2,000-year-old medium. It worked.
