Kapil Ohri
Digital

In search of the real Miss World

Hungry & Foolish will use the online medium to run a unique beauty contest, where it will engage internet users in the judgment process, without revealing the identity of contestants

Bengaluru-based creative products company, Hungry & Foolish, has come up with a unique beauty contest titled 'Real Ms World 2009', which will take place in the online space and engage internet users in the judgment process.

The contest is open to women above the age of 18 years. To enter the contest, users have to register themselves at Realmsworld.com and upload a video answering the question, "Why do you think you are the Real Ms World?" They will also be asked to support their video with five testimonials from their friends.

In search of the real Miss World
Surprisingly, Hungry & Foolish has decided not to evaluate contestants on the basis of their physical appearance, but review them based on their personality, passions and intelligence.

As a result, the videos submitted by participants will be masked and their physical identity will not be revealed. Therefore, only the audio part of the videos will be uploaded on the site. The testimonials will be displayed alongside.

"Unfortunately, looks are overpowering. That's why all beauty contest winners look dazzling, but lack true substance," Anto Noval, director and chief creative officer, Hungry & Foolish tells afaqs!.

He adds, "In Real Ms World, you don't get to see the contestants. By taking looks out of the equation, we are trying to force people to pay attention to what a woman is saying, and not just how bright her smile is while she says it. We believe that this contest can bring about a change in the way we all perceive beauty itself."

In search of the real Miss World
In search of the real Miss World
The selection process will be driven by internet or the registered website users, instead of a few fashion related personalities. The company will allow website members to participate in the judgment process either as jury members or general viewers. Members will be able to watch the masked videos and rate them.

Later, a team of jury members will meet the top 20 contestants and help them create another set of video testimonials, provided by their family members and friends. All video clips related to a finalist will be made available on a special profile page created for each of the top 20 participants. However, the identity of contestants will still be kept secret.

After the profile pages are set up, the company will again ask its members to rate finalists. Based on their ratings, a winner will be declared as Real Ms World. In the end, Hungry & Foolish will disclose the identity of all participants and videos will be unmasked.

Initially, the company will promote the contest through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. "At a later stage, we may also look at paid advertising to increase awareness," says Ramesh Srivats, managing director and chief executive officer, Hungry & Foolish.

He adds, "We plan to make the site a successful commercial venture and will rope in advertisers as sponsors of the contest."

For the uninitiated, Hungry & Foolish was founded by Srivats and Noval in early 2009. Prior to that, both of them worked at Rediffusion Y&R.

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