MAM

Shoppers Stop breaks stereotypical beauty standards with #StopTheBias

Published

5 years ago

November 5, 2020

MUMBAI: It is not easy to define beauty for anyone as each person has its own definition. Beauty does not depend on the colour of the skin, physical abilities, or height or weight, but is a function of one’s inner radiance.

However, if we look around, the idea of beauty in the larger sense, across society, is subjected to rules and regulations. A large part of society defines beauty is defined in a certain manner and urges others to follow specific norms. The idea of beauty varies from culture to culture.

Several brands across the categories have found solace in this idea and tried to make a difference by sharing researches, creating campaigns and awareness in society.

In the latest attempt, Shoppers Stop is trying to break this stereotype and use makeup as a form of expression and creativity. Through the videos, the influencers and role models breakthrough this clutter and stand out for who they are with beautiful representations from different walks of life.

Shoppers Stop, India’s beauty and fashion destination enthralled their audience with a series of videos attempting at breaking stereotypical beauty standards and perceptions.

Video from #StopTheBias series titled Being Me Is Delightful shows, stand-up comic and advocate of body positivity, Supriya Joshi talks about the world’s perception of beauty and its unrealistic expectations. In her video, she projects the boldest eye shadows and the most flawless makeup telling people that she is not interested in hiding behind the shadows, she is right here in the limelight. Joshi further goes on to say that she is most comfortable in her own skin and it does not matter what naysayers have to say about that.

Joshi says, “Growing up, I was an introvert with social anxiety. It took a lot for me to accept myself as who I am. Self-love is the most important thing which is why #StopTheBias was perfect for me. I have learned to love myself and grow into a more confident human being.”

Another video from #StopTheBias series titled Right To Look Fabulous features influencer and acid attack survivor, Anmol Rodriguez. The video showcases her as the strong independent woman she has become. How she chose to be a survivor, not a victim and not let the world tell her what she can or cannot do. She used her battle scars as her strength and became a positive social media influencer with her confidence and style.

Anmol Rodriguez says, “When life throws you down, all that you can do is pick up the pieces and keep fighting. I have been fighting for most of my life. It took a lot of failure, despair, and self-esteem boosting for me to be where I am today. In Shoppers Stop’s #StopTheBias video, I am who I am. I am not afraid of showing myself to the world because I know that I am one of a kind.”

Shoppers Stop chief marketing and customer officer Uma Talreja says, “The beauty industry has seen a shift during the pandemic. Lipsticks have dominated the segment but with the wearing of masks, the focus has shifted. Indian culture has been deep-rooted in the use of eye makeup and eye art, and there is plenty of cultural contexts that have been amplified in Bollywood and many other occasions. During the pandemic, we believe that eye makeup can open the doors to artistry and creativity in makeup and give women a feel-good factor while they wear a mask.”

Earlier, Shoppers Stop has launched similar kinds of women-centric campaigns. In 2019, the brand released a campaign on National Lipstick Day, focusing on the role of women and their place in the world as a mother. The campaign took a unique approach to celebrate Lipstick Day and beauty by breaking stereotypes around makeup and touches an emotional chord around beauty through the eyes of everyday interactions and relationships. It sent out a strong message.

1702 Digital associate creative director Pranay Bhan mentions that all three ads of Shoppers Stop have a powerful insight backing them up, so #StopTheBias does strike the right chord with the digital-savvy audiences. “Leveraging the topics of acid attack survivor glorification, embracing body positivity, and gender-neutral love for makeup and styling are all great talking points. However, the varying production quality for each film does raise the question of why each influencer or theme leveraged should not be given equal validation,” adds Bhan.

He further mentions, “When it comes to beauty standards in a country like India, breaking stereotypes is a tall order, and the current approach brings their existence to light. To break stereotypes, a brand must normalise what the masses would consider outrageous. The campaign’s positive messaging should work as a stepping stone towards a more consistent release of content that puts such influencers side by side with the typical choice of models. Just adopting the unexpected choice of the cast too may not be enough, and Shoppers Stop must continue with their efforts to form a more inclusive and progressive image in the market. If they stick to being an inclusive brand with hoardings and other retail assets also following suit in appropriate sales regions, the brand’s perception should change for the better with time.”

A couple of years ago, Make Love Not Scars, an NGO released a campaign in association with an agency that used models who had acid attack burns. They went on to share beauty tips with the people. The campaign was a huge hit because it focused on the inner beauty, strength and courage of the acid attack survivors.

Monk Media Network creative director Adrine D'mello says, “I have actually seen stuff from the #StopTheBias series by Shoppers Stop before in their lockdown shoot films. This one to hits the mark with breaking stereotypes about beauty. While being a film for the eye stopper property, they have not strayed away from their key communication which is good. You hear all the chatter about ‘Millennial behaviour’ and one of it taking a stand for something you believe in, these films bring out the inclusive side of the brand which in turn will pull the audience towards them.”

Infectious business head digital Upasana Naithani shares that there have been other fashion brands who have made such statements in the past and have reaped benefits. “#StopTheBias is a bold and very timely attempt by Shoppers Stop to join the diversity bandwagon. The brand is seen as inclusive and progressive and hence wins audiences across the diversity spectrum. Audiences today are not very forgiving of the brands who choose to remain silent or not make their stand clear. This campaign is in the same league as Levi’s I Shape my World taking the brand many notches higher in recall and sensitivity index,” shares Naithani.

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Brands

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

1 week 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

1 week 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

1 week 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.