Himalaya: #EkNayiMuskaan
A cause campaign for cleft-lip correction with Smile Train.
Context
A WATConsult Bengaluru cause campaign for Himalaya Lip Care in partnership with Smile Train India, focused on corrective cleft lip and palate surgery for underprivileged children.
Problem
Over 35,000 children in India are born with cleft lip deformities each year. Beyond the physical difficulty, they face social isolation, and in many regions families do not know that a short corrective surgery can permanently fix it. The work had to break stigma, build trust, and fund surgeries through product sales, all without losing its dignity.
Thinking
Lead with real people, not corporate data. A social-first narrative built around documentary storytelling that let the change speak for itself.
Execution
The centrepiece was a film following Jyothi, a 14-year-old girl, through her surgery to her first real smile, later scaled into regional films for deeper markets. Interactive mobile formats busted myths about cleft lips, and the messaging tied a fixed contribution from every Himalaya lip balm sale directly to funding surgeries through Smile Train.
Outcome
The campaign reached over 9,00,000 people, generated 45,000 likes and 6,500 conversations, and trended at number one in India. It proved durable enough that Himalaya turned Ek Nayi Muskaan into a recurring annual property funding thousands of free surgeries.