ITC Mangaldeep spotlights visually impaired experts in new Sixth Sense film

MUMBAI: Smelling success takes on a whole new meaning in ITC Mangaldeep’s latest campaign. The incense brand has unveiled Sixth Sense, a new brand film that places its visually impaired fragrance testing panel centre stage, not as beneficiaries of an inclusion programme, but as specialists whose sensory expertise plays a vital role in product development.

Conceptualised by Ogilvy India, the campaign shifts the conversation away from corporate social responsibility and towards craftsmanship, highlighting how some of the brand’s most valuable fragrance insights come from people who experience the world differently.

Set against the backdrop of a neighbourhood cricket match, the film follows two friends, Amit and Rohan. In a simple but revealing moment, Rohan attempts to hide the fact that he finished a plate of samosas without sharing. Amit, who is visually impaired, quietly exposes the truth by offering him a handkerchief and observing that Lallan’s samosas are always oily. The scene unfolds with humour and warmth before arriving at the campaign’s central idea: some people truly “see” through their sense of smell.

The film concludes with the line, “Smell what is possible”, capturing the philosophy behind the initiative.

Launched in 2021, the Sixth Sense programme was designed as a long-term collaboration with the visually impaired community to strengthen the company’s fragrance development process. What began as an innovative idea has since evolved into a key component of Mangaldeep’s product creation framework.

Today, the programme includes more than 180 trained panellists across Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. These specialists regularly participate in fragrance evaluation sessions, helping refine products through structured sensory feedback.

The panellists undergo training conducted by ITC Mangaldeep’s in-house fragrance experts, covering major fragrance families including Fruity, Floral, Woody, Herbal/Mint and Oudh/Amber. They work with both raw ingredients and blended formulations and are familiarised with the brand’s various product formats, including dhoop sticks, flora agarbattis, premium cups and sambrani sticks.

Following their training, panellists participate in monthly fragrance trials and provide detailed assessments that directly influence product development and refinement.

ITC Ltd. chief executive, matches & agarbatti business division, Rohit Dogra said the programme was built on the belief that individuals who experience the world differently often perceive it more deeply.

He noted that over the past four years, visually impaired panellists have evolved from programme participants into indispensable collaborators who play a critical role in how the company develops and refines its fragrances. According to Dogra, the campaign seeks to share this reality not as a story of inclusion, but as a story of expertise and craft.

Ogilvy India chief creative officer Harshad Rajadhyaksha said the strength of the project lay in its authenticity, describing the initiative as one that harnesses the “superpowers” of visually impaired fragrance testers. He added that the film explores this idea through a relatable and emotionally engaging friendship.

Ogilvy India chief creative officer Kainaz Karmakar praised director Talha Bin Mohsin for capturing the tenderness of the relationship between the two boys and noted that such understated storytelling requires a client willing to let emotion take the lead.

What sets the campaign apart is its refusal to lean on sentimentality. Instead of presenting the panel as part of a social initiative, the film positions its members as professionals whose heightened olfactory abilities provide insights that conventional consumer testing may not uncover.

As brands increasingly seek authentic ways to tell meaningful stories, ITC Mangaldeep’s Sixth Sense demonstrates how inclusion and innovation can intersect naturally. In doing so, it turns a powerful truth into an equally compelling narrative: sometimes, the sharpest product intelligence comes from those who perceive the world through a different lens.