Скачать или смотреть The Times Of India - Ink Of Democracy (Case Study) | Campaign

The Times Of India - Ink Of Democracy (Case Study) | Campaign

Background: In the previous Indian General Elections, around 33% of eligible voters did not turn up due to laziness, lack of awareness, and political alienation. This resulted in 7,500 litres of unused electoral ink—a distinctive purple ink used to mark voters’ fingers to prevent duplication. The Times of India and The Economic Times recognized this as both a symbol of wasted democratic power and an opportunity to inspire change for the 2024 elections.

Creative Idea: To highlight the scale of voter absenteeism, The Times of India and The Economic Times printed their pages in purple ink instead of the traditional black. Each page printed represented 132 absent voters, totaling 2.28 million purple prints. Alongside this bold visual disruption was a single powerful appeal: “Don’t waste a drop of electoral ink. Don’t waste the power of democracy.” This creative transformation of newspapers into canvases of electoral ink made the invisible consequences of not voting highly visible.

Insights & Strategy: The brief was simple but ambitious: inspire maximum Indian voter participation. With 33% of eligible voters staying away in the last elections, the challenge was to trigger awareness and urgency. The strategy leaned into the stark fact that millions of drops of electoral ink had gone to waste due to low turnout. By repurposing the purple ink into newspaper prints, the campaign not only dramatized the problem but also directly addressed urban readers—who historically had lower turnout than rural populations—through India’s most widely read English-language newspapers.

Execution: The campaign launched across the top four metros—Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata—just before polling days. Entire editions of The Times of India and The Economic Times were printed in purple ink, ensuring maximum visibility and resonance. The symbolic choice of ink connected directly to the voting process, while the mass reach of the newspapers guaranteed impact. As readers opened their morning paper, they were confronted with a tangible reminder of the cost of not voting and a strong call to action to show up at the polls.

Results: The purple ink campaign contributed to a historic achievement: India recorded the world’s highest-ever voter turnout, with 642 million citizens casting their votes. The Times of India alone reached millions of households, inspiring direct participation. On social media, the campaign generated a 280% increase in brand mentions with overwhelmingly positive sentiment. Ultimately, the initiative transformed unused electoral ink into a rallying cry for democracy and positioned the newspapers as not just observers, but active participants in shaping civic engagement.

Credits:
Agency: Havas Creative India / Mumbai
Client / Brand: Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd / Mumbai
Production Company: Galloping Horse Production Pvt Ltd / Mumbai
Music / Sound Production Company: Mr Pink Music / Sao Paulo
Chief Creative Officers: Anupama Ramaswamy; Joji Jacob
Creative Directors: Soham Ghosh; Ravinder Kumar; Marcelo Bruzessi; Neha Sidhra
Directors: Sophie Lacheze; Annie Joshi
Executive Creative Directors: Joao Medeiros; Nazly Kasim
Global Chief Creative Officer: Stephane Xiberras
Photographer: Harmeet Singh Sana