How Dram Bell Used Kevin Pietersen and Zero Media Spend to Win Gold at India's Biggest Advertising Festival

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 1: Most brands spend years building the credibility to win at India's biggest advertising festival. Ardent Alcobev did it in their first attempt.

Dram Bell Blended Scotch Whisky won its first Gold at the ABBY Awards 2026 during Goafest, India's largest advertising, media and marketing festival, for a campaign that entered a brand new market with no advertising budget, no conventional media, and no announcement of any kind. On purpose.

"#NorthStarKP was born from a simple question," says Debashish Shyam, CEO of Ardent Alcobev. "How do you make an entire market come looking for you without saying a word?"

Founded as a joint venture between Rajasthan Liquor Ltd. and industry veterans Debashish Shyam and Jatin Fredericks, with former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen as marquee investor, Ardent Alcobev was built around a vision: to bring the world's finest bottled-in-origin spirits to India with international quality and accessible pricing. Dram Bell is their flagship brand. #NorthStarKP is the campaign that put both on the national map.

What makes the story more remarkable is who Debashish trusted to build it with. When Ardent Alcobev launched, they didn't go looking for an established agency with a long client list and a trophy cabinet. They called Tejali Shete, founder of Roll Dot Agency, a Mumbai and London-based independent that was just getting started. Two startups figuring it out together, building the brand with limited resources, learning the market, and waiting for the moment that would change everything.

That moment came when Dram Bell was ready to enter North India.

The ambition was clear. And so was Roll Dot's response to it. Rather than asking for more, they came back with an idea that made the budget irrelevant. An idea that turned the constraint into the campaign's greatest strength.

"Roll Dot Agency didn't come back with a smaller version of the campaign we wanted," says Debashish. "They came back with something none of us had thought of. And the moment they presented it, we knew."

In a category where alcohol advertising is legally restricted, Roll Dot arrived at an insight that unlocked everything: human curiosity is the one media channel that cannot be regulated. So instead of announcing Dram Bell's North India launch, they made North India announce it for them.

Debashish posted a cryptic message on X. Kevin Pietersen, marquee investor with 3.5 million followers, responded with a Bollywood meme and an unexplained hashtag. Then another. Then another. The former England cricket captain had seemingly switched personalities overnight, abandoning his usual voice entirely and communicating exclusively in internet native and famous Bollywood memes with no explanation offered. North India didn't know what to make of it. Half the internet was convinced his account had been hacked. The other half couldn't stop watching to find out.

"I loved every second of watching North India try to figure out what was going on, people kept asking if my account had been hacked. Luckily, it didn't!" says Kevin Pietersen. "Dram Bell deserved a launch that nobody would forget. I think we delivered that."

The reveal landed the following day to a market already desperate for the answer.

At ABBY Awards 2026, #NorthStarKP won Gold in Small Budget Big Impact, received five shortlists and two merits including Best Use of Collaboration and Co-Creation and UGC. The win placed Dram Bell and Roll Dot Agency on the national stage alongside some of India's most celebrated brands and agencies, including the likes of Netflix, Spotify and Thums Up, cementing their place among the country's most awarded creative work of the year.

Tejali Shete, Founder of Roll Dot Agency, says the Gold means something beyond the award itself. "Debashish trusted us completely. Two startups betting on each other and winning at India's biggest advertising festival in year one. That's the story."

For Debashish, the Gold at ABBY is proof that the instinct to do things differently was right from the start. "We came in with an idea instead of a budget. And North India gave us everything in return. Winning Gold in our first year, alongside some of the biggest brands in the country, is everything we built Dram Bell to do."

Two startups. One idea. And a Gold that proved it was all worth it.

For more information, visit: https://www.ardentalcobev.com/