Hindu wins award at INMA for 'Undumb India' campaign

The TVC, created by Ogilvy & Mather, went viral on social media last year. The campaign message 'Stay ahead of the times' caught on as readers became evangelists for the brand

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | May 14, 2013

South India's leading English daily, The Hindu, has been awarded at the 83^rd Annual INMA (International News Media Association) World Congress held in New York on April 30, 2013 for digital audience usage and engagement for their ad campaign 'Undumb India'. The ad, created by Ogilvy & Mather, went viral on social media last year. The television commercial took a humorous route to show young Indians the importance of being informed about current events. The campaign message 'Stay ahead of the times' caught on as readers became evangelists for the brand.

The Hindu's bold move to take on the competition while reinforcing the brand's core values – journalistic integrity and authenticity – found favour not just with the young demographic but also older readers. Its firm stand against 'junk food journalism' that consists of celebrity gossip and trivia was appreciated by people who value the newspaper's role as a window to important world affairs.

Bharath Ganapathi, General Manager, Corporate, The Hindu, said, "The award was an affirmation of our strategy to create a campaign that had viral potential and strong reader connect. The overwhelming positive response to the 'Undumb India' campaign reinforced our belief that young Indians place a lot of importance on current affairs and world events. Readers created their own versions of these ads and posted them on sites like Facebook, and gave our positioning, i.e., a brand that keeps your knowledge quotient intact, a unanimous thumbs-up".

The campaign that was posted on the social media site YouTube when launched, went viral and reached audiences of over 1 million within a matter of days. Readers turned evangelists of The Hindu by posting their versions of the 'Undumb' print campaigns on social networking sites like Facebook.

The award recognised The Hindu's successful strategy that was adapted to print, outdoor and radio in a 360-degree campaign that placed it firmly at the top as far as credible journalism goes.

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