India is suffering from an air-quality crisis -No.2 in air pollution-related deaths globally,with air quality in major cities being bad all year round.Air pollution has adverse effects on children-2Mn children in India have developed lung abnormalities.One of the key challenges is that the problem is invisible however it is in the air – something each of us breathe every second.Sources of air pollution may vary but, in most cities vehicular emissions are one of the largest contributors to air pollution throughout the year.Though only air pollution-related to crop burning is the most talked-about source.#CleanAirEveryday is Star’s sustainability initiative to create awareness about severity and impact of air pollution by making the invisible problem of air pollution visible, by showing the impact on child’s health and getting people to care and champion change.We believe that even small actions like using vehicles one day less a week can make a

Children in India are growing up in toxic air. The evidence is clear – air pollution drastically reduces their lifelong health. Yet there is a lack of responsible action because the problem is often blamed on crop burning or government policies. Our objective was to raise awareness that even daily use of vehicles pollute the air and forces children to age before their time. We wanted a single arresting visual that would make the damage from vehicles visible and how the air outside makes a child feel.

We did extensive primary & secondary research & found that in most Indian cities,vehicular emission is one of the largest contributors to air-pollution throughout the year.Air-pollution has a serious impact on children.Daily use of vehicles pollutes the air and makes children age before their time.The evidence is clear–air-pollution drastically reduces their lifelong health.Yet there is a lack of responsible action because the problem is often blamed on crop burning or government policies.

We chose to target parents.We believe that only when people realise that the impact of air-pollution is serious,and it impacts their loved ones i.e.children will they act to champion change.Moreover,driving one day less a week is a simple yet do-able action and just this step can make a huge difference to air our children breathe.If we all can leave our vehicles at home just for a day,we may be able to help cut nearly 20% of air-pollution.

A few hours of playing outside in a vehicle-heavy city like Mumbai in India exposes children to PM 2.5 which can cause life-threatening conditions. This informed the execution of the campaign.

We photographed three kids between the ages of 4 to 7 years old in a playground. It proved to be a natural setting for children’s expressions and threw light on how they feel when they play outside. We shot close-ups while they flew kites, ran around or sat in a swing. Using an AI algorithm, we understood how their faces would age over time. Every excruciating detail was examined, how a curve in the lip would grow or where the skin may sag. With this output, our artists worked on the photos to age them to match their 80-year-old version. It took us nearly 7 days to get an image that seemed accurate enough. Next up, we wanted to use a part of the vehicle to establish the cause and effect of vehicular pollution on children’s health and chose to go with a rear-view mirror.

This aged version was then added as a reflection on the rear-view mirror. This mirror was placed against one half of the child's face to show the effects of vehicular pollution. We used the real handwriting of these children to explain how they feel which became the copy on the final image.

The first image of ‘Sahira’ aged 5, was released on 10 December, Human Rights Days to urge on the need for clean air as a human right. The image was released across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and subsequently as pre-rolls on Disney+Hotstar (OTT).

The images went on to become the most engaging photo visual on the Star network with over 4mn impressions, 2 mn reach and over 11% engagement rate.