The campaign was based on a simple but uncomfortable fact. In the previous Indian General Elections, around 33% of eligible voters did not vote, according to the campaign entry listed by The One Club for Creativity. The reasons included laziness, lack of awareness and political alienation. The campaign linked that absence to 7,500 litres of unused electoral ink, the purple ink used to mark voters’ fingers and prevent duplicate voting.
 

 

 

A print campaign built around a national symbol

The Times of India and The Economic Times printed pages in purple ink instead of the usual black. For every 132 absent voters, one page was printed. The campaign reached 2.28 million prints with one direct appeal: “Don’t waste a drop of electoral ink. Don’t waste the power of democracy.”

The idea worked because the colour already had meaning. In India, the purple ink mark is widely understood as proof of voting. By putting that colour onto a newspaper page before voting day, the campaign changed its role. It was no longer a mark of participation. It became a reminder of what gets wasted when people stay away.

The execution was released across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, just before those cities were scheduled to vote. That timing mattered. The campaign was not trying to create general awareness over a long period. It was designed to reach people close to the moment of decision.

Why Ink of Democracy campaign feels effective

Ink of Democracy campaign is a strong print idea because it does not over-explain itself. The campaign uses the medium as the message. Purple ink was not an aesthetic choice. It carried the entire argument.

The audience choice also made sense. The campaign entry notes that urban voter turnout had lagged behind rural turnout, making an English newspaper a relevant medium for the appeal. For readers in major metros, the message landed in a familiar daily format, but with one unusual visual change.

There is a restraint to the work that helps it. It does not shout at voters. It does not rely on a celebrity face or a heavy emotional script. It uses absence as the starting point, then turns that absence into something visible.
 

 

A smart use of waste as a creative trigger

Voter apathy is usually discussed through numbers. Percentages can feel distant. Ink of Democracy gave the issue a physical form.

The thought behind the campaign is clear: electoral ink exists only when citizens vote. If people do not turn up, that ink remains unused. By printing pages in purple, the campaign created a visual connection between wasted ink and wasted democratic power.

That makes the campaign more than a topical election message. It becomes a piece of civic communication built from a material associated with voting itself.

The line “Don’t waste a drop of electoral ink” is also doing useful work. It keeps the campaign grounded. It does not make a grand claim about changing democracy. It simply reminds people that participation is the point.

Recognition and reported impact

Ink of Democracy received notable industry recognition. Branding in Asia reported that Havas Creative India won India’s first Gold Lion at Cannes Lions 2025 for the campaign, created in partnership with The Times of India. The same report notes that the campaign won in the Print & Publishing category and centred on the symbolic power of electoral ink.

The One Show lists Ink of Democracy as a 2025 Direct Marketing winner in the Print category, with Havas Creative India, Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd, Mr Pink Music and Galloping Horse Production Pvt Ltd credited on the campaign. The One Show entry also reports 2.28 million prints, 642 million voters in India’s 2024 election and a 280% increase in brand mentions across social media with high positive sentiment.

Those reported results should be read carefully. Voter turnout depends on many political, social and logistical factors. The campaign’s strongest achievement is creative and editorial: it found a way to make not voting visible, using a medium and a symbol people already understood.

Credits
Brand: The Times of India
Campaign Name: Ink of Democracy
Agency: Havas Creative India
Client / Brand: Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd
Production Company: Galloping Horse Production Pvt Ltd
Music / Sound Production Company: Mr Pink Music
Chief Creative Officer: Anupama Ramaswamy & Joji Jacob
Creative Director: Soham Ghosh, Ravinder Kumar, Marcelo Bruzessi & Neha Sidhra
Director: Sophie Lacheze & Annie Joshi
Executive Creative Director: Joao Medeiros & Nazly Kasim
Global Chief Creative Officer: Stephane Xiberras
Photographer: Harmeet Singh Sana

This campaign is about:
Ink of Democracy campaign, The Times of India print campaign, Havas Creative India campaign, Indian election print campaign, electoral ink campaign, newspaper advertising campaign, voter awareness print ad, democracy campaign India, Cannes Lions print campaign, award-winning print ad, creative newspaper ad, social impact print campaign, Creative Print Ad, Creative Print Ads, Print Advertising, Print Campaign, Election Campaign, Voter Awareness Campaign, Democracy Campaign, Electoral Ink, Purple Ink Campaign, Indian Advertising, The Times of India, Havas Creative India, Ink of Democracy, One Show Winner.

50% of our population are women, but only a fraction of parliamentarians are represented by this gender, leaving half of the electorate without or with very little voice. The campaign is an urgent cry to bridge the political gender gap and bring about adequate representation in policy making and the power circles.

In India, women make up half the grassroots political workers but are highly underrepresented in male-dominated state parliaments. Therefore, critical issues for families and women like education, safety, sanitation, and property rights are systemically overlooked. Shakti, a non-partisan NGO fighting for gender equality in politics, and Times of India, India’s leading daily, partnered to launch a campaign that made turning a blind eye toward women’s representation impossible. It started in Bihar (population equivalent to Mexico), India’s poorest, most illiterate state.

Brand took an accessible, universal phenomenon –the selfie– and turned it into a nomination resume, citing every woman’s credentials and accomplishments. They teamed up with 140 NGOs that reached 45000 villages to mobilize female party workers to use the ubiquitous WhatsApp to send their “Nominate-me-selfies” to their local party leaders, urging them for a ticket to contest elections. As hundreds of selfies started to pour in, women’s representation was amplified into a national issue that made front pages, garnering panel discussions and widespread coverage. Fielded candidates across political parties went up, resulting in elected women legislative going up by 25%, the highest ever. When rolled out in Bengal (state population equivalent to Vietnam), the campaign resulted in the ruling party giving an unprecedented 45% of its tickets to women. This campaign-turned-movement is creating a pipeline of women leaders, paving the path to a true democracy, one state election at a time.

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Credits
Agency: FCB India LLP Advertising Ltd / Delhi + FCB / Chicago + The Times Of India / Delhi + Shakti / Bangalore
Client: Political Shakti + The Times Of India

In response to the national toll of Covid – 19 positive cases, resultant deaths and an acute shortage of medical masks for medical professionals and frontline workers, India’s leading English daily, The Times of India raised a country-wide call to all Indians, to make and wear their own masks at home with their #MaskIndia movement. Conceptualized by Wunderman Thompson South Asia, the movement empowered every citizen of the country to take charge of protecting themselves, their families and communities — encouraging individual action and responsibility among Indians, getting them ready to fight the single largest fight our generation has seen, globally. The campaign also focused on proper sanitation and disposal of the masks.

Results:
– Over 100,000 inspired Indians participated with videos and selfies of their own DIY homemade masks
– #MaskIndia received commendation and vocal support from Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narenda Modi who sported different homemade ghamcha masks on several occasions during the lockdown

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Credits
Advertiser: The Times of India
Campaign: Mask India movement
Agency: Wunderman Thompson South Asia
Chief Creative Officer: Senthil Kumar
Executive Creative Director: Sundeep Sehgal
Creative Director: Sandeep Bagga
Senior Creative Director: Rattan Jyot
Copywriter: Binoy Sarkar

Account Management:
Senior Vice President & Managing partner: Joy Chauhan
Executive Business Director & VP: Neetika Aggarwal
VP & Client Servicing Director: Bhavana Dogra
Account Director: Amrita Hazari
Account Executive: Pia Singh

Planning Team:
Senior Vice President & National Planning Director: – Pinaki Bhattacharya
Executive planning Director & VP: – Shweta Khosla
Account Planning Director: Sulagna Chanda

Tags:
COVID-19, Innovation, TOI, Mask India

The campaign created awareness about peace and prosperity being the two sides of the same coin and the need for breaking free from the animosity to herald a new era of friendship and collaboration. Aman ki Asha has turned out to be the most significant peace movement because two biggest media groups have led it and the civil society has spontaneously adopted it.

Credits
Advertiser: The Times of India
Agency: Taproot Dentsu
Production: Footcandles Film