Times of India prints purple pages to turn uncast votes into ink

India's previous general election saw roughly 33% of eligible voters stay home, leaving about 7,500 litres of electoral ink unused. Havas Creative India proposed that the country's most-read newspaper turn that missed potential into a visible symbol: purple pages, the colour of the ink that marks a voter's finger.

For every 132 absent voters in the previous election, The Times of India printed one full page in purple electoral ink, with one message: 'I Vote For Sure.'

During the 2024 general election, The Times of India and The Economic Times printed pages in purple ink instead of black — no headlines, no logos. One page stood for every 132 absent voters, across 2.28 million prints, all carrying a single appeal: 'I Vote For Sure.'

India recorded 642 million voters, the highest turnout in its history and 30 million more than the previous election. The Times of India saw a 280% rise in brand mentions and engagement, and the campaign won the Print & Publishing Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2025, a Grande and Gold plus two Bronzes at ADFEST 2025, and India's first Gold Lion at Cannes Lions 2025.

In India, purple electoral ink marks the finger of every voter — a symbol citizens proudly show off after casting their ballot. In the previous general election, roughly 33% of eligible voters did not vote, leaving around 7,500 litres of that ink unused. Havas Creative India and The Times of India turned that waste into the campaign idea.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, The Times of India and The Economic Times printed pages entirely in purple ink instead of black — no headlines, no logos, no branding. One page stood for every 132 voters who stayed home, for a total of 2.28 million prints, and every page carried the same single appeal: 'I Vote For Sure.'

The campaign contributed to a record result: 642 million Indians voted, the highest turnout in the country's history and 30 million more than the previous election. The brand itself also won, with a 280% increase in brand mentions and engagement during the period.

Ink of Democracy collected a Print & Publishing Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2025, a Grande Creative Strategy Lotus plus Gold and two Bronzes at ADFEST 2025, and India's first-ever Gold Lion at Cannes Lions 2025 — turning a quiet act of editorial restraint into one of the most awarded campaigns of the year.

The campaign turned the brand's own medium into the message: the newspaper itself became the protest against apathy.

Concrete numbers made the abstraction visible — one purple page for every 132 absent voters across 2.28 million prints.

Restraint amplified impact: no headlines, no logos, just the colour of the democratic act and one sentence.

It connected brand value with civic value: a record turnout and a 280% lift in brand mentions came from the same gesture.

A media owner can turn its own product into the message: one day of purple pages with no headlines made voter apathy visible and out-earned any paid campaign.

Ink of Democracy became one of the most decorated campaigns of 2025: the Print & Publishing Grand Prix at Spikes Asia, a Grande Creative Strategy Lotus plus Gold and two Bronzes at ADFEST, and India's first Gold Lion at Cannes Lions. It is now a reference point for how publishers can use their own product as a civic canvas, with the agency crediting a small team and one clear, patient thought. For the industry, it showed that a newspaper page — the most traditional of media — can still stop a country when it carries meaning instead of advertising.