MAM
Stayfree launches bold new campaign with Kiara Advani
MUMBAI: Feminine hygiene brand Stayfree has unveiled its latest advertising campaign for Stayfree Secure XL featuring Hindi film star Kiara Advani.
The campaign challenges the societal expectation that women should ‘act normal’ during menstruation despite physical discomfort and anxiety about leakage.
In the film, Advani reflects on how her acting career began not on screen, but during her first period when she pretended to feel comfortable. The narrative highlights common struggles experienced by millions of women, including maintaining cheerful appearances despite constant worry about staining and coping with skin irritation from sanitary products.
The campaign promotes Stayfree Secure XL’s LeakLock technology and clinically tested non-irritant cover, which offers up to 12 hours of protection. Its central message—”When pads are comfortable, periods are comfortable”—aims to free women from the burden of pretending during menstruation.
Stayfree maker Kenvue vice-president marketing Manoj Gadgil said: “Girls and women put up an act braving through their days as normal. It is a period reality we acknowledge, and that’s why we are committed to offering superior products that provide comfort and long-lasting protection.”
Creative directors Harshada Menon and Siddhesh Khatavkar from DDB Mudra explained the campaign concept: “We used the creative device of an actor talking about acting on periods to deliver a strong message.”
Advani, who serves as the brand ambassador, added: “I still remember my first period—it was a new chapter in my life, but it also meant learning to ‘act’ like everything was normal despite the discomfort.”
The campaign launches on 25 February across television networks and social media platforms including YouTube and Meta, with versions available in multiple regional languages.
Stayfree is owned by Kenvue, the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company, whose portfolio includes brands such as Aveeno, Johnson’s, Listerine, Neutrogena and Tylenol.
Campaign credits:
Credits:
* Brand – Stayfree
* Agency – DDB Mudra Group
* Creative – Rahul Mathew, Harshada Menon, Siddhesh Khatavkar, Jyotsna Mohanty, Baskar Thevar Subbiah, Jena Shah, Kanchi Undevia, Darshika Kapadia
* Business – Saad Khan, Pooja Mehta, Snehal Wasnikar, Kanchan Joshi
* Strategy – Shashank Lanjekar, Atreyi Nag, Tanvi Agrawal
* Films – Jay Gaikwad, Alisha Dsouza
* Production House – The Magic Box
* Director – Abhishek Verman
* Producers – Srikanth Kumar, Mayur Patel
* Associate Producers – Neeraj Saini
* Editor – Utsav Bhagat
* Associate Editor – Ankit
* DOP – Satchit Paulose
* Production Designer – Amrita Singh
* Music Director – Rahul Pasi (Jamroom)
* Post Producer – Shiv Shankar Yadav
To watch the Kiara Advani acting Stayfree napkin TVC click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq-6bxG9sro&t=5s
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
