Deepika Padukone vs. The Times of India - What would (not should) TOI do next?

Usually, a PR crisis gets amplified because of media. But in case of The Times of India, it is intriguing to see a PR crisis they fanned and find themselves in! Given their massive clout, you could argue if there is a PR crisis at all, for them.

The counter argument to that is the fact that many other publications wrote about The Times of India and its state of moral quandary (!) by openly naming the publication. Usually, they follow the Omertà code and refer to rival publications as 'a leading national daily'. Or, if it was the Hindustan Times, they'd perhaps drop 'leading' and simply call The Times of India, 'a national daily' and continue to speculate about its questionable moral standards.

On the day when Deepika took to Twitter to express outrage, many many Bollywood stars tweeted their support. Even Deepika's Facebook post was shared liberally by her film industry collagues. But the day Priya Gupta used Bombay Times to offer The Times of India's stand, there was what A K Hangal made memorable in Sholay many years ago... sannata!

The most vocal support, besides other media publications (which no doubt have a inherent, second advantage of doing so) and film stars (at least in the earlier instances of Deepika making her point) was from relatively 'fun' outlets like BuzzFeed (Who said what - Times of India or a tapori?) and All India Bakchod (The Times of Boobs).

I'm not sure if someone in The Times of India has made a list of all those stars (to ensure that they are 'adequately dealt with' when the opportunity arises) who supported Deepika vocally (starting with Ranveer Singh, of course), but what is interesting as an omission was corporates/brands (and advertisers) supporting Deepika's stand. Individuals from corporates and brands were showing their support, no doubt, but no brand or corporate did.

You could argue - why should they? It doesn't concern them. Yes, of course, but Section 377 did not concern Tanishq either. But they did start the ball rolling with this now-iconic tweet.

Many brands followed suit shortly. Brands would join those causes or things that they strongly believe in, or gives them some kind of legitimate limelight, or a combination of both. CSR, after all, is not performed under the table - it is doing good, no doubt, but it is also letting others know that there is good being done here. This, many argue, beats the purpose, but the other way to see it is that it could inspire others to follow too!

Wasn't Deepika's outburst to do with better representation of women in India? Isn't that a cause that brands would like to stand for, and voice support?

Not convinced? Consider another angle, then.

Would a brand/advertiser like to be associated with a tainted celebrity? I can hear some of you telling me that Provogue has gone back to Fardeen Khan, who, with no movie worth talking about and a drug-use case behind him, is back as the brand's face! Ok, that's a glorious exception. Who else? Shiney Ahuja isn't back as the face of any brand. Neither is Sanjay Dutt. Yet.

Would you then consider The Times of India a tainted publication? Morality questions aside, I'm referring to tainted simply by the number of people who seem outraged by what they did and how they handled this entire issue. So, would leading brands like to continue advertising in a publication that has such a perspective about women and responds to a leading actress who had the guts to outrage in public?

Going by ads even today, I don't think any brand has any concern whatsoever.

Wouldn't it be great if a relevant media and advertising tracking publication like say, Afaqs, asked leading advertisers, marketers and public relations professionals on how they see The Times of India network, as an advertising platform, before and after the Deepika imbroglio?

Would the industry people respond? Or, offer their feedback at least anonymously, given everyone needs to continue working with The Times of India? Or, won't they comment at all? I don't know, but given the magnitude of this crisis, I'd sure love to see this interview happen and some opinions coming up, named or anonymous.

Film critic Mihir Fadnavis had tweeted that a 'gigantic' Bollywood star called up Priya Gupta and admonished her enough that she was left crying.

If it is really a Bollywood Vs. The Times of India, let's see how the publication can move ahead, next.

Bollywood could take a stand and some stars may actually refuse to entertain The Times of India, while others, with a lot at stake, continue to work with them.

Things may get to a stand-still and many Bollywood actors and producers actually boycott The Times of India, despite being fully aware of the repercussions and dent in 'visibility'.

Other publications could up the ante at this juncture and come together to bring down a market leader.

Journalists and employees in The Times of India network may quit, in small numbers, or in groups, to lodge their protest about working under a publication that presented such a regressive point of view via Priya Gupta.

One or more of these reasons may trigger a damage control mode within The Times of India.

Here are some possible scenarios.

Scenario 1:
They assume that 'this too shall pass'. Public memory is fickle (despite internet archives) and people will eventually forget this and move on to. So, stay quiet till then and continue with business as usual. Barkha Dutt is back in action, despite the Radia issue (primarily because she fiercely fought back to protect her reputation) and with no closure in that case. Vir Sanghvi is back in action too, incidentally. If individuals can spring back, why can't The Times of India?

Scenario 2:
The Times of India could look at isolating the Group from the individual who is at the center of this controversy - Priya Gupta. She wasn't the name associated with when earlier tweet flared this issue up, but with her rebuttal in Bombay Times, she is now the face of this entire mess. If The Times of India fires her, they could possibly ('possibly' being the operative word) do some damage control by following it up with a mild apology that alludes to visible changes within the network to become more sensitive to causes and gender bias.

But, if Priya has even a shred of evidence (say, email tracks) that she has the approval of The Times of India big bosses for the Bombay Times rebuttal she had, then she cannot be easily made into the fall guy (to be gender appropriate, 'fall girl'). That's the 'excreta has hit the fan' level, and that cannot be managed by sacking top bosses.

Scenario 3:
Get more supporters for the Group by incentivizing Bollywood actively. That's a possibility given the clout they hold. Bollywood has a movie or two to promote every Friday and incentivizing coverage in the leading news daily (and media network) in India is tantalizing enough for any star/producer to parrot what the publication wants them to say in support. This, if it works, could topple the equation to the publication's side and try to isolate Deepika and her supporters who seem to be on the top right now.

Scenario 4:
Shah Rukh Khan has a movie releasing for Diwali. It's a mighty expensive film and demands as much promotion as is feasible to ensure a big opening. A large part of this - besides appearing in Comedy Nights with Kapil - involves The Times of India network. Guess who is the lone female face of the film Happy New Year? No, not Farah Khan - she's behind the screen - Deepika is the film's heroine and it's most saleable female face. What's a film promotion without Priya Gupta asking Deepika to 'start from your childhood' in her interviews for Bombay Times?

So, The Times of India could offer (arm-twist?) Deepika (the film's producers, in reality) an interview where she could budge a little and try to remain professional, and still do the interview 'for the film's sake'.

But that would be bad for Deepika, in general. She has voiced her opinion twice and both have been impactful and vocally annoyed. To capitulate now, for the sake of her film's promotion, could be diluting the strength of her earlier outbursts.

She could perhaps ask for a middle path - seek some sort of a nominal apology from the publication after which it becomes easy for her to also budge a little and top it up with the interview.

Scenario 5:
Someone really sensible within the Times network could see the kind of mess they are in and also notice the mounting disrespect for the Group, and initiate serious damage control mode. This could include a proper, proactive apology and/or collateral damage like sacking Priya Gupta and a couple of people from the Times Entertainment online team (just to show Priya is not the only one).
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For Deepika, though, moving on as if nothing happened is not an option, at least with regard to her future interactions with The Times of India. For someone who took a bold stand, that would be a complete PR nightmare. So, I hope her publicists offer her better counsel to help navigate the quagmire.

So, what do you think should Deepika, and The Times of India's next steps be?