Star Plus, India’s biggest entertainment Channel, has a loyal female audience base. With thriving competition, the

challenge was to stay relevant and resonate with the younger women across urban and rural markets in a changing

India. Entertainment culture is integral to Indians’ lives across the country, with millions of households tuning in to

Star Plus shows. The network was attempting to tackle various stereotypes in India through a host of new TV

shows. We wanted to promote the role women play in all of our lives through the roster of entertainment and

sponsorship programming, putting the spotlight on gender equality and changing the way women are seen in a

male dominated society.

The three superstars featured in adverts to introduce the Nayi Soch movement. The cricket team took this further

by unveiling the new shirts, showing the teams mother’s names during the India vs New Zealand match. The match

was aired live on Star Sports, with the players sharing their own stories of the support their mothers had given them

in their careers. A digital platform enabled fans to make their own cricket shirts carrying their mother’s name to

share and spread the message and an inspirational Nayi Soch video encouraged people to upload and share their

own pledges of support for female equality. Finally, Star Plus embedded the ‘New Thinking’ into its new hit TV

show ‘Naamkaran’ focusing on a little girl and her struggle to understand her identity even though she doesn’t

know her father.