MAM

Women’s Day 2021: Brands inspire, bat for gender equality

Published

5 years ago

March 7, 2021

NEW DELHI: Every year in the countdown March 8, brands go all out to woo the ‘fairer sex’, leaving no stone unturned. We are bombarded by a plethora of deals for retail therapy and tempting offers for some actual therapy at spas and salons to pamper women this one day of the year. They vie with one another on who can come up with better revolutionary, trendsetting ad campaigns that can grab more number of eyeballs. This year’s no different and in the run up to the much celebrated International Women’s Day, many brands have launched fresh campaigns to mark the occasion.

Let's take a look on who nailed it and who perhaps missed the mark…

OkCupid – ‘Ijazat Hai’

Online dating app OkCupid has released a digital campaign called Ijazat Hai. We are well into the 21st century and yet a majority of women are still raised to believe they need their partner’s permission to pursue a career, many of them still find themselves having to take ‘permission’ to live their life. The ad tries to break down the stereotype that a woman needs to have anyone’s assent for pursuing her dreams and goals or simply to live her life her way. It throws the spotlight on the supposed ‘benefactors’ in a woman’s life who think they are being liberal, broadminded and progressive by ‘allowing’ the women in their life this ‘privilege’. Whereas by needlessly bragging about it they are in fact actually stripping a woman's agency.

Prega News – #SheIsCompleteInHerself

In our society, where the defining purpose of a woman’s life is becoming a mother, infertility is viewed as a curse. To speak out against this bias, pregnancy test kit brand Prega News has released a new ad featuring actress Mona Singh. The ad has been widely acclaimed as shattering a much needed stereotype of an ideal woman. The ad shows Mona Singh as a doting, dutiful daughter-in-law, getting happy for her younger, pregnant sister-in-law. However, her own infertility casts a shadow over her happiness. The ad then showcases how she is also a super achiever, multitasker and superwoman all rolled into one- who ensures the happiness and needs of everyone around her. The ad tries to convey the message that irrespective of being unable to conceive, she is complete in herself.

The description of the ad reads, "Infertility affects every one in six couples in India and the circumstances around them make them suffer in silence. This Women's Day, let's speak up about infertility issues – and make this world a better place for people battling infertility. Prega News urges you to celebrate every woman for who she is because #SheIsCompleteInHerself.” Which is all very great, except that it is precisely what the ad does not do – “celebrate every woman for who she is.” By showing that only a woman who puts everyone’s needs and happiness above her own deserves her family’s love and acceptance, it is sadly reinforcing other stereotypes while trying to break down one. If only the brand had been bold enough to show an ordinary, everyday woman to send out this crucial message it would have made it much more effective. Aren’t we women tired of these tropes associated with us, with society constantly trying to either undermine us or else then place us on a pedestal? Can we live a normal life without sky-high societal expectations binding us down please?

Sugar Cosmetics- #EveryWomanIsAWonderWoman

Something along these lines is what beauty brand Sugar Cosmetics is trying to convey. Through their #EveryWomanIsAWonderWoman digital campaign it urges all women to stay beautifully fearless, while encouraging them to embrace and love everything about themselves, this Women's Day. Its recognises the fact that women are often self-conscious. In the growing age of social media where everyone looks up to someone who has a perfect body, or a beautiful smile, or a bold personality; they are led to believe that they may not be good enough. While we may always be happy to embrace the things we love about ourselves; we tend to shy away from the things we feel that might appear as a flaw. However, nobody is perfect and we are all the best version of ourselves.

The brand says, “When it comes to looking for a Wonder Woman in your life, you don't have to look too far; because you’re a Wonder Woman yourself, we all are. This Woman’s Day, don’t just embrace who you are, but the journey that led you to become who you are. Embrace the scars, the struggles, the defeats and the wins; because everything you are, is everything you are meant to be. Let beauty have no boundaries and rules.”

To this end, the brand aims to engage with approximately 8,000+ influencers to create maximum reach and engagement on this campaign by sharing what they’ve come to accept about themselves and embrace going forward. The posts would read as- “I embrace ________ I am a Wonder Woman!” The influencers will go on and encourage their followers to also participate and join the campaign to celebrate all the wonderful women. In lines with this theme, Sugar Cosmetics has also launched a limited edition range of mini liquid lipstick sets with names like Fearless, Fighter, Invincible and Adventurous.

MTV India – ‘There’s more to a girl’s life than Shaadi’

While there’s enough and more inspiration to be had from these Women’s Say campaigns, here is one which caught our eye for its quirky humour quotient. The digital campaign by MTV India sends out this message loud and clear: “There’s more to a girl’s life than Shaadi”. The ad is set in the future – in the year 2071 in outer space, perhaps so that the message is not just heard here on earth but also resounds across the universe. It features a female astronaut connecting with her mom back on earth from a spaceship. She talks about the ordeal she underwent to survive, while she discovered an alternate planet for earthlings to inhabit in the future. After patiently hearing her through, her mom hilariously has just one question to ask of her at the end of it, “Shaadi kab karogi beta? (When will you get married, dear?)”

The ad ends with the message, “Kuch toh society kahegi, society ka kaam hain taane dena. But this womens day just say #AawaazNahiAaRahi and move on.” Badass.

View this post on Instagram

Advertisement

A post shared by MTV India (@mtvindia)
Advertisement

WeWork – Feel like you have heard this before?

Co-working spaces brand WeWork’s campaign on International Women’s Day calls out patronising or discriminatory conversations that every woman has been subjected to at some point in their professional journey at their workplaces. The ad starts off with the words “Feel like you’ve heard this before?” and goes on to feature an audio track playing out all the usual dialogues a working woman usually comes across. Which goes to show that despite all the progress women have made in their life and career how certain typecasts and biases still haven't changed across the world. The video is a reflection of the society we have grown up in and the stereotypes women have been subjected to in the workspace. “Let’s take a moment to challenge these biases and work towards an inclusive space,” the ad says.

Voltas beko – “ghar sabki zimmedaari bhi sabki honi chahiye”

This digital commercial is conceptualised by Voltas Beko and Momspresso, a leading platform providing content for the multi-faceted mothers of today. The digital video #GharSabkaZimmedariSabki is an attempt to debunk the age old beliefs that women are solely responsible for looking after every aspect of the household- whether she be a homemaker or working woman. The refreshing message sent out is that if the home belongs to everyone, so does the household responsibilities it entails.

SBI General Insurance – #BringingWomenBackToWork

While it’s nice and "feelgood" to see brands put in so much effort to woo women, it is even more heartening when they go a step further to actually make a difference in their lives. By stepping into their world and trying to understand the problems they face. A tiny step along these lines has been taken by SBI General Insurance, one of India’s leading general insurance companies. To reiterate its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, SBI General has launched its #BringingWomenBackToWork initiative. This initiative is a step to encourage and hire women looking to rebuild and resume their careers after a break.

SBI General Insurance CHRO Sharad Dhakkate says, “With #BringingWomenBackToWork initiative, we aim to provide women a platform to facilitate their journey towards their career goals which they may have put on hold for various reasons. We believe that this initiative will create opportunities as well as enable us to augment our workforce and grow from strength to strength. We are glad to have received an overwhelming response of over 200 applications in response to our social media campaign #BringingWomenBackToWork.”

Now that’s something to cheer for!

Up Next

Guest column: Post Covid, food hygiene is the top priority for F&B brands

Don't Miss

‘Potential to undermine media freedom’: Editors Guild on new IT rules

Click to comment

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

3 weeks 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

3 weeks 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

3 weeks 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.