MAM

Media and Disability: How inclusive are our TV ads?

Published

4 years ago

September 6, 2021

Mumbai: In yet another reminder of why we need to look beyond the label of ‘differently abled’, Indian athletes created history, by hauling 19 medals- their best ever- including five gold, eight silver and six bronze at the recently concluded Tokyo Paralympics. In a remarkable display of bravado, the Indian Paralympic athletes contingent even surpassed their Olympian counterparts, who also had their best outing this year.

Perhaps this is the cue we need, to stop slotting people into the ‘disabled’ box, conveniently forgetting there’s a person behind the label. While this is true for all spheres of our lives, there is no dismissing the fact that mass media, such as advertising, wields the power to shift narratives around disability at a much wider and deeper level than other tools of communication. However, advertising featuring people with disabilities lags far behind, found a recently conducted study by the US-based data measurement firm, Nielson. An analysis of the firm’s Ad Intel data, that looked at nearly 4.5 lakh primetime ads on broadcast and cable TV in February 2021 found that only one per cent ads included representation of disability-related themes, visuals, or topics.

Just three per cent of ad spend went to ads featuring disabled people or that were inclusive of disability themes in the creative, the study further noted. Most of the time, disability is absent from advertising, except when it’s focused on products that treat disabilities. Rarely do ads show disabled people in everyday life, such as working, parenting, household chores or enjoying activities, said the August 2021 report titled ‘Visibility of Disability: Portrayals Of Disability In Advertising’. Pharmaceuticals, health care treatments, devices and similar categories made up nearly 50 per cent of the total dollars spent in disability-inclusive ads, the study found.

While they study is primarly based in the US, the scenario would not be very different in the Indian advertising landscape. Today, as the world takes baby steps towards a more inclusive, diverse and woke representation everywhere, advertisers have the opportunity to showcase people with disabilities in everyday life, engaging with the products and services brands offer. And it can do this simply by better reflecting the real lived experience of people with disabilities.

Some brands have managed to strike the right chord of empathy, without over-dramatising or trying to emotionally manipulate the audience. Google Photos had come out with a heartwarming real-life narrative of a visually disabled young man in 2016, who was about to undergo a corneal transplant and regain his vision after almost 15 years. The five minute film, created by Lowe Lintas, chronicled the journey of Amit Tiwari, a resident of Jhansi, who suffered from severe corneal dystrophy in both eyes, which left him almost completely blind when he was in high school. The film showed how with a little help from Google Photos’ image search and organisation features, Amit was able to rediscover all those memories he had been a part of, but missed out on seeing.

Inclusivity, however, does not mean just an increase in representation in pharmaceuticals ads but across the category spectrum. While treatment and managing care are important aspects of living with a disability, an overabundance of these types of representations can reinforce stereotypes of people with disabilities. Hence, it’s important that life with a disability is portrayed as more than just prescriptions in creatives, by showing it as more relatable, while being realistic.

The 2016 ad by KFC for the fast food company’s ‘Friendship Bucket’ managed to tick all the right boxes on this count. The ad for its Friendship Bucket, featuring a differently disabled person shows two friends sitting in a KFC restaurant communicating in sign language. The ad celebrates all ‘unique friendships’ in an adorably regular manner without much ado and with all the cheeky warmth of a true buddy, ending with a voice-over saying ‘Dost jitney alag hote hain, Friendship utni kamal ki hoti hai!‘

Nestle too came up with an endearing ad for Nescafe coffee featuring a stand-up comedian who stammers in 2015, while an ad for Birla Sun Life had woven a story around a father and his autistic son. These are people who had, till almost a few years ago, seen no representation in mainstream advertising.

When brands from a broader range of industries are more inclusive of disabilities in their creative, they help balance the narrative and normalise living with a disability. And when the ad gets it right with its intent and execution, it has an impact on all audiences, not just those living with a disability.

In recent times, JK Cement’s digital social media campaign titled ‘Yeh Yaarana Pucca Hai‘ comes to mind. The six-minute-long film takes an emotional route to deliver a strong message on the need to create an inclusive infrastructure for differently-enabled students and access quality education to all children by providing them with equal opportunities. Through this campaign, the cement brand makes an effective pitch to society that every child has the right to education and how each one of us, as responsible citizens, can ensure the same.

The campaign was launched as part of a bigger initiative ‘Banaye Har Raah Aasaan’, where JK Cement built 251 ramps in one single day in schools across Jaipur, Rajasthan on 5 August.

Hopefully, the next few years will see a much more varied and diverse representation of people belonging to all sections and from different walks of lives, so that these ads will no longer be seen as niche or exclusive, but as a part of life. However, for any communication to connect with its audience, it should either be relatable, tug at our heartstrings, jolt us from our cocooned lives, or at the least hit a chord somewhere within us. If not, it could come across as contrived or worse, as an attempt at commercialisation of a social cause.

Related Topics:advertising Disability in Ads inclusivity Media Industry nielson US ads Visibility of Disability

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

6 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

6 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

6 days ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.