Situation: India is the world’s most populous democracy and one of the most religious and ethnically diverse nations. Historically, this diversity has been its strength. However, today, these are becoming differences and threatening to question the idea of India. Against this backdrop, the core Indian principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (meaning ‘One Earth One Family One Future’) is more relevant than ever.

In the 75th year of India’s Independence, The Times of India (TOI), India’s largest circulating English daily, decided to not just chronicle but to shine a spotlight on the beauty of the unity in India’s diversity.

Brief: Remind the people of India that a common thread continues to bind everyone as one nation, despite diverse differences.

Objective: Drive engagement by sparking conversations about what India means to its people, across all platforms.

Thus, was born #WhatMakesUsOne, aimed at reinvigorating the many reasons that make the people of India one. Unique print advertising not only communicated the message but also created an opportunity for interactivity. This resulted in engagement of 90M, where people participated in hordes.

• AR-themed print ads with built-in QR codes were scanned 85,000+ times, allowing people to watch the film and place themselves in ads. These richly illustrated ads on unifying themes also had the iconic dance move from Oscar-winning “Naatu Naatu”.

• On Republic Day, a Full-Page illustration innovation celebrated oneness with several mini stories.

• One-Word Contest inviting Indians to share their idea of #WhatMakesUsOne was amplified editorially with words from celebrities compelling readers to participate. This drove 230,000 respondents across 720+ cities.

The films garnered 87.5M views across social media, the highest by a media house.

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Being the leading national daily, TOI used its unmatched reach of 51 editions and credibility to celebrate oneness, leveraging the topicality of India’s Republic Day.

Six unique print advertisements brought alive the Idea of India and featured two different QR codes. Each advertisement covered a different topic, highlighting India’s achievements in diverse fields. Space, sports, digital adoption, and more, all were united by a common visual thread of ‘What Makes Us One’.

The central-coloured illustration was surrounded by multiple instances bringing to life the breadth of achievements. One QR code across all advertisements took the readers to the main film. The other was unique to each ad, which led to an AR filter. This filter transported the reader into the print ad and allowed him to transpose his face onto the main character in the ad. This could then be screenshot and shared on Instagram and Facebook.

India was an idea long before it became a free nation. It was the song from a thousand years ago. It was the spirit of thousands of freedom fighters. It was the same thread of unity in diversity and adversity and festivity. It is the same thread that continues to bind us as one nation, despite diverse differences.

But in today’s polarised environment, people look for unifiers to reconfirm their belief in ‘ekta’ (meaning ‘unity’). On this 75th Year of Independence, from India’s Republic Day (marks and celebrates the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950) to Independence Day, TOI launched #WhatMakesUsOne. This platform enabled people to celebrate the idea of India in their own words, such as unity, constitution, culture, cricket, and so on – a united family, blurring boundaries between religions, cultures, and languages.