TOI ‘Lead India’ campaign turns into reality show on STAR One

The Times of India’s (TOI’s) ‘Lead India’ print campaign, created by JWT, will now be featuring on television in a reality show format. TOI has partnered with STAR One to launch the show under the name, ‘Lead India’, on December 8. ‘Lead India’ will have 10 episodes that will be aired every Saturday at 8 pm on STAR One and a simulcast on STAR Utsav.

Priya Gupta, assistant vice-president, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, says, “Since the beginning of the print campaign in August this year, we had plans to take it on to television towards its final stages. We partnered with the STAR Network two months back, looking at its enormous reach in the country.”

When asked how this show is different from any other talent hunt, Gupta explains, “The campaign is providing a platform to young candidates who have a vision for India and the necessary qualities and aptitude to lead a nation. By the term, ‘young’, we don’t mean college youngsters and teenagers. The term has been coined to denote a set of people in the age group of 25-45 years, who are skilled, responsible and knowledgeable professionals in their respective fields. Therefore, the nature of the show becomes more intellectual and serious. Moreover, we are not testing contestants for just one skill, such as music in a music hunt show. Rather, each of the 10 episodes will be different and test the contestants for a variety of skills needed to be a true leader. Some of the tests include those of oratory skills and leadership skills, the ability to innovate, knowledge about the country’s affairs and the ability to solve actual problems.”

Prem Kamath, vice-president, marketing and communications, STAR India, says STAR One and TOI will start promoting the show aggressively on their respective networks approximately a week before the launch date. The media mix will largely be television, print, radio, outdoor, Internet, mobile promotions, on-ground activities and other promotions. The primary reach of the campaign will include the eight Indian cities from where the contestants have been selected, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad.

The final stages of the show will assess the power of judgement of the contestants. In this stage, the participants will propose a dream project, envisage a vision statement and convince the jury to grant Rs 50 lakh to execute the project. ‘Lead India’ will be hosted by Anupam Kher. The jury for the show will comprise of Javed Akhtar, Kiran Bedi and TOI senior editor Vikas Singh.