Mumbai: Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, has unveiled an insightful social-first collaboration with WhatsApp, ‘Privacy Unplugged’- a captivating five-part short-form content series, facilitated by Starcom, that underscores the paramount significance of privacy features within today's digital realm. This exclusive property presents poignant and personal narratives of our much-loved sporting champions, intricately woven around the central tenet of privacy.
The line-up features eminent cricket stars including Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, prodigious cricket talent Jemimah Rodrigues, hockey icon Rani Rampal, and accomplished footballer Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Each athlete’s unique story serves as a powerful catalyst for widespread awareness, highlighting the advanced privacy features introduced by WhatsApp, and further emphasizing the platform's unwavering commitment to user safety and data protection.
Speaking about the association with WhatsApp (Meta), Star Sports head – ad sales Kingshuk Mitra said, “This marks our third collaboration with Meta, and we're excited to be associating with WhatsApp for the ongoing 'Privacy Unplugged' series. We've brought on board a few highly regarded sports stars to emphasize the importance of privacy in today’s interconnected world. Star Sports' extensive reach of 30 million fans across social media platforms enables WhatsApp to effectively spread the campaign's message. This content series also lays the groundwork for potential collaborations with other brands, allowing us to craft compelling stories that deeply connect with our audience.”
Meta strategic media planning lead APAC Natasha Kapoor said, “We’re thrilled to associate with Star Sports to highlight the importance of secure and private messaging, through the personal stories of some of India’s top athletes. It's a great privilege that millions of Indians trust WhatsApp to deliver their personal messages everyday. This series reinforces the role that WhatsApp’s multiple privacy features play in enabling our users to stay connected with their loved ones, have meaningful conversations and even express their authentic selves, privately.”
Chief operating officer Niti Kumar said, “Starcom discovered that India's beloved athletes, respected by millions, hold an exceptional talent for safeguarding the most critical aspects of their lives even as they artfully define their individual understandings of ‘privacy’. This insightful discovery enabled Starcom to bring about a strategic partnership between WhatsApp and Star Sports, which aims to unravel the narratives around privacy in the lives of India's premier athletes."
The Privacy Unplugged series spotlights the need for privacy in the lives of athletes. Each story underlines how WhatsApp’s built-in layers of privacy help create a safe space for our champions to express themselves freely and have their most private conversations.
Content Showcase
Rishabh Pant: Recovery in Private: After a life-threatening accident, Rishabh Pant's private recovery journey becomes the focal point. WhatsApp's End-to-End Encrypted platform empowers him and gives him a safe space to share his progress securely with family, friends, mentors, and coaches.
Shreyas Iyer: Finding confidence in Private: Shreyas Iyer uses WhatsApp’s ‘View Once’ feature to share his favorite magic tricks, fostering private conversations that encourage young cricketers to open up about their challenges in a space they feel comfortable in.
Jemimah Rodrigues: Being herself in Private: WhatsApp's ‘Chat Lock’ feature help’s Jemimah Rodrigues secure her private conversations with a select group of friends, allowing her to maintain her public image while being her homebody self in private amongst her girl tribe.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu: Finding focus in Private: As India's top goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu relies on WhatsApp's ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ feature to cut out the white noise and eliminate spam, preserving his mental focus during rigorous training.
Rani Rampal: Training in Private: Rani Rampal leverages WhatsApp's ‘Online Presence’ privacy feature to stay connected, mentor and give dedicated time to the next generation of girls aspiring to play hockey for India, offering them a secure and personal space for learning.
