ABOUT

OBJECTIVE:

Even after the Government banned single-use plastics, India’s crisis worsened, with single-use plastics drowning the nation. The shocking reality of 9.4 million tons of annual plastic waste was suffocating marine ecosystems to the brink of disaster.
With traditional methods of “Say No to Plastic” banners struggling to cut through the noise, it was time for someone to raise the alarm.
India’s biggest changemaker, The Times of India, set out to instill a habitual change in the careless consumption of single use plastic products.
With the #UnPlasticIndia campaign it unleashed three powerful image alarms that revealed in the most heart-wrenching way how the very act of opening a plastic bottle mercilessly kills marine creatures.
The #UnplasticIndia movement successfully met its objective of bringing about a behavioural change as over 500,000 Indians pledged to stop using single-use plastic in less than three months. While the campaign garnered over 71 million impressions in Social Media and reached more than 31 million users, it also resulted in several beach clean-up drives in coastal areas across the country and was featured by the United Nations Environment Programme, for its impact.

AUDIENCE:

In India, plastic is seamlessly woven into our daily lives. From packaging street food to bundling flowers in religious offerings, it is an integral part of our culture. With over 9 million tons used annually, it's prevalent in daily grocery bags, plates, cups, bottles, straws, toys and more. Wherever it can add convenience – plastic is present. This widespread usage poses the biggest challenge in breaking the Indian habit of carelessly choosing single-use plastics.
On July 1, 2022, The Indian Government imposed a country-wide ban on single-use plastic. Yet, due to the deeply ingrained habits and cultural reliance on plastic, millions of Indians continued using it. Targeting this wide audience persistent on using single-use plastic while ignoring its catastrophic implications, The Times Of India came up with this behavioural-changing campaign #UnplasticIndia.