DDB Mudra | Disney Star

Insight:
Language plays an important role in identity. The right words can determine your place in society and make one feel seen and heard. For 125 million LGBTQIA+ in India, respectful words in 700+ spoken and 22 social regional languages were long forgotten as only hateful words were used by people and in content.

Disney Star Network, the country’s leading media company, wanted to use its influence in Indian households to change this. The objective was to reintroduce the forgotten words of India’s native languages and to make everyday parlance more inclusive.

Delving into historical and contemporary texts we uncovered 246+ respectful words in seven regional languages, with their pronunciations and contexts. The “Words of Pride” glossary and campaign showed India that language was always inclusive. It was time that India unlearned words of hate and learned Words of Pride.

Impact:
To date, over 560 million minutes of “Words of Pride” inspired content has been viewed by audiences.

The idea was picked up by the most prominent LGBTQIA+ personality – Bollywood icon Karan Johar – and featured on content platforms like Indian Big Brother (Big Boss). It also coincided with the Supreme Court of India releasing a handbook to combat gender stereotypes.