Ink of Democracy: ‘A causevertising triumph’
Partha Sinha, Senior Advisor - Consumer Practice, McKinsey & Company, shares his take on Times of India’s ink of democracy campaign’s win at Cannes Lions
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Published: Jun 18, 2025 4:27 PM | 1 min read
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(This post has been reproduced from Partha Sinha’s post on LinkedIn.)
Been reading a few breathless takes lately—(half-baked but full-volume) about how the Times of India’s ink of democracy campaign was a “causevertising” triumph. Yes, it won at Cannes. And yes, so do shampoo bottles and tuna cans with a conscience. That’s about where the similarity ends.
This was a response to the Election Commission’s brief: get more people to vote. That’s not a “cause.” That’s a KPI. It has social consequence, sure, but so does a discount sale on oxygen cylinders. This was marketing, pure and simple. Footfall. Action. Conversion. Like any sharp brief should be.
If you must search for a noble cause here, may I suggest this: let’s start a movement to raise the IQ of marketing commentary. Because calling every purposeful pitch a cause is like calling every selfie a memoir.
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