In the 60th year of being a FREE nation, The Times of India wanted to start the new year with a campaign to combat the growing cynicism of an entire nation— the disillusionment with politicians, corruption, the system etc. They wanted to take a bold step and do something that would go beyond just being a brand gimmick; something that would break the social inertia of acceptance and tolerance and galvanize an entire nation to be the face of change in India.

The Times of India’s ‘Lead India Poised’ campaign was a nationwide search to choose our own leaders. The point of the campaign, however, was not purely about identifying a winner. It was about providing every right-thinking Indian a chance to step out of the comfort zone and taking on the task of stewarding the nation. The campaign not only succeeded in increasing brand salience, but also broke all communication clutter to stand out as the most loved, talked about, debated and shared communication across consumer segments and product categories.

Over 37,000 Indians responded to this initiative.Over 1.3 million hits on the website.More than 900,000 YouTube downloads.The country’s top celebrities (actors, politicians, industrialists, economists) became spokespersons— for freeThe television series was shown on Star One, part of India’s largest television network with 7 sponsors- all leading corporates.The British High Commission sponsored a Chevening Leadership course at the London School of Economics for the three finalists.The winner goes on to receive support to contest any constituency of his choice in the next year’s General Elections.