Tata Play, India’s leading content distribution platform, has unveiled ‘Coco’, a charming AI-assisted puppy mascot that will now represent the brand across consumer touchpoints. With this launch, Tata Play has taken a pioneering step in the Indian entertainment industry, combining the creativity of handcrafted animation with the scalability of generative AI to bring character-led storytelling to life.

In a press release, the company said Coco has been developed in collaboration with Ogilvy and Aesthetic Intelligence Labs, making it one of the first mascots in Indian entertainment to be built through a generative AI-driven creative workflow. From character design and narrative development to campaign execution, AI has played a central role in shaping Coco’s identity and storytelling style.

Coco is designed to embody Tata Play’s brand personality — charming, curious, and clever. He will feature prominently across television and digital platforms, the Tata Play Mobile App, and customer communication channels, ensuring the brand’s messaging remains consistent and emotionally engaging. Tata Play described the initiative as a leap forward in how character-based storytelling can be scaled using AI-augmented systems without losing its authenticity.

Although Coco’s design originated in traditional animation, his production was powered by a hybrid AI pipeline, using more than 15 advanced tools. To tackle challenges such as inconsistent expressions and textures, the creative team developed a custom dataset of over 8,000 frames. This enabled AI to replicate Coco’s emotional depth and physical range with precision, blending the richness of traditional artistry with the efficiency of AI technology.

Krishnendu Dasgupta, Head – Marketing Communications at Tata Play, said, “At Tata Play, innovation is always guided by one principle, to make the customer experience simpler, more intuitive and impactful. Our use of generative AI at this scale underscores our commitment to leveraging technology in ways that are not just efficient, but also creatively distinct. As consumer attention shifts across platforms and formats, our storytelling must evolve too. Coco is a step in that direction, designed to make Tata Play more relatable, memorable, and seamlessly present across every touchpoint.”

Echoing the sentiment, Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy, said the idea was to build a mascot that could become universally loved and instantly relatable. “Coco embodies the brand’s essence of being reliable, friendly, and always there when you need it. Through short, 20-second stories, we have created moments of joy that highlight Tata Play’s features in a natural and engaging way,” he said.

Carol Goyal, Executive Director of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab, called Coco a symbol of the seamless blend between artistry and technology. “By leveraging generative AI and a custom-trained visual dataset, we were able to push the boundaries of design fidelity and emotional resonance, ensuring Coco not only captivates but also connects with audiences at a deeper level. This project is a testament to how AI can revolutionize storytelling while keeping it authentic and humanised,” she noted.

With Coco, Tata Play has signaled a bold shift in the use of technology for brand-building, proving how generative AI can create scalable, consistent, and emotionally rich narratives that resonate with today’s evolving media audience.