Mumbai, 30 September 2026: This World Heart Day, Saffola Gold from Marico Limited, in association with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (‘Z’), has launched “Dil Se Ladies First” (#DilSeLadiesFirst), a multi-platform movement that puts women’s heart health at the centre of the conversation. Conceptualized and planned by Omnicom Media’s PHD India, Saffola’s media agency on record, the initiative brings together Z’s television, digital and social ecosystem to take the conversation beyond conventional advertising and create meaningful consumer engagement around preventive heart care for women.

While women are often the primary caregivers within families, their own health frequently takes a back seat. Heart health has also traditionally been perceived as largely a men’s concern, often leaving women’s cardiovascular health under discussed and under prioritised. Research indicates that one in seven women in India faces heart related issues (Shannawaz M. et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2025). The signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women can also differ from those commonly experienced by men, making awareness, knowledge and regular attention to heart health increasingly important.

The initiative builds on Saffola’s long-standing association with World Heart Day and its commitment to encouraging proactive heart care. Through, “Dil Se Ladies First”, the aim is to shift this narrative and encourage women to put their own health, and specifically their heart health, higher on the priority list. The campaign recognises the many roles women play in caring for their families and communities, while reinforcing a simple message: the women who put everyone else first also need to put themselves first.

Bringing this thought to life, PHD India and ‘Z’ have taken the campaign beyond a conventional brand integration to create a network-wide initiative across television, Zee 5, and social, effectively creating a high-impact innovative formats around World Heart Day. On television, the movement reaches its defining moment through a first-of-its-kind blackout on TV across 17 channels at the peak prime time featuring three prominent artists talking to the viewers through the 3^rd screen and spreading the awareness for the campaign, with each artist also extending the conversation through individual social content, allowing the message to travel organically across their respective communities. More than a media moment, it serves as a powerful cultural cue, encouraging audiences to reflect, recognise and support the women who so often place the needs of others before their own.

A key highlight of the initiative is first-of-its-kind specially curated experience on Zee 5 rooted in a powerful behavioural insight: while people spend hours immersed in content, they rarely pause to think about their own health, much like the countless women who consistently put the needs of others before their own. Reimagining the streaming journey as a vehicle for change, the initiative introduces deliberate moments of reflection across the platform. Executed through a platform takeover, designed to make Saffola Gold’s message visible to audiences across the platform throughout the day, ensuring that the “Dil Se Ladies First” message reaches audiences across multiple points of their Zee 5 journey.

Amplifying the movement, through high-impact integrations, a World Heart Day roadblock and innovative Connected TV experiences, Zee 5 transforms moments of attention into opportunities for awareness, reminding audiences that some pauses are worth taking, especially for the women who spend their lives caring for others.

The conversation is further extended across Z‘s digital ecosystem through talent-led storytelling, creator collaborations and audience engagement initiatives designed to carry the movement beyond the screen and into everyday life.

Importantly, “Dil Se Ladies First” is designed to move audiences from awareness to action. Saffola team has designed a special WhatsApp bot featuring information and resources around women’s heart health; for audiences to take the necessary pause and spend time taking care of the women in their life.  The bot provides audiences with a clear next step; the initiative aims to make the conversation more actionable and encourage women to become more informed and proactive about their heart health.

Commenting on the initiative, Vikram Karwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Marico Limited, said, “For years, Saffola has used World Heart Day to champion proactive heart care. This year, we wanted to address a clear blind spot: women’s heart health is still too often treated as secondary. With ‘Dil Se Ladies First’, we want to remind every woman that caring for her heart is a priority, not an afterthought. The women who look after everyone else deserve to put themselves first too.”

Saffola® encourages families to take care of their heart by using less oil. Saffola® strongly recommends regular exercise and a balanced diet.

Speaking about the partnership, Monaz Todywalla, CEO, PHD India, said, “Purpose-led communication becomes more powerful when the media ecosystem is designed around the idea, rather than the idea being adapted to individual media formats. With ‘Dil Se Ladies First’, we looked at how various mediums could work together as one connected experience, creating multiple, contextual moments for the message to land and move audiences from awareness towards action. The collaboration with ‘Z’ helped bring this integrated approach to life at scale, with the network’s ecosystem becoming an extension of the campaign idea. For us, it is a strong example of how thoughtful media orchestration can turn a brand message into a more immersive and actionable consumer experience.”

Prashant Shetty, Head – Advertisement Revenue, Broadcast and Digital, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., said, “We see our role as creating real value for our brand partners, beyond conventional deliverables. With ‘Dil Se Ladies First’, we have taken up the cause as a network, creating a high-impact roadblock on World Heart Day that reaches audiences across television, Zee 5, YouTube and social.

Television, with its unparalleled reach and ability to create shared moments at scale, plays a powerful role in taking conversations of national importance into millions of homes. The 17-channel television roadblock is designed to turn a familiar viewing moment into a collective pause, giving the message around women’s heart health the scale and salience it deserves.

The Zee 5 takeover takes this one step further by bringing the campaign into the platform experience itself, from the moment audiences enter the platform through to their content consumption journey. By bringing our ecosystem together around a purpose-led message, we can help brands create conversations that go beyond advertising and connect meaningfully with the audiences who engage with us every day.”

More than a World Heart Day initiative, “Dil Se Ladies First” is a nationwide movement bringing together the scale of ‘Z’, the purpose of Saffola Gold and the collective commitment of employees across ‘Z’ and Marico, all united in championing a future where women’s heart health becomes a shared responsibility and a national priority.

“Women often have a less dramatic presentation. Unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, discomfort in the back, shoulder, neck or jaw, acidity, heartburn, epigastric pain, lightheadedness, nausea, sweating and palpitations can sometimes be cardiac symptoms and should not be casually dismissed,” said Dr. Chandrama Das, Consultant Cardiologist, Peerless Hospital Guwahati.

While cardiovascular health is important at every stage of a woman’s life, Dr. Chandrama identifies menopause as a particularly important period for reassessing cardiac risk. She also highlighted often-overlooked risk factors including PCOS, early menopause before 40, pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, smoking and thyroid disease.

“Pregnancy-related complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes should not simply be forgotten once pregnancy is over. They can be markers of future cardiovascular risk and deserve attention as part of a woman’s long-term health,” she said.

Dr. Chandrama also cautioned that cardiac symptoms do not always result from a major coronary blockage. Coronary microvascular dysfunction, vasospastic angina and spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) can cause cardiac symptoms without significant conventional coronary artery obstruction.

“Everyone thinks heart disease is a man’s disease, but it is not so. We also tend to overlook non-specific symptoms in women because they do not resemble the classic symptoms we expect. And although heart disease is less common in young women, it can happen,” Dr. Chandrama said.

“Women make up nearly half of the world’s population, yet cardiovascular health in women continues to receive less attention than it deserves. Heart disease is not exclusively a male health concern, and greater awareness of cardiovascular risk factors and warning signs among women is essential. Early recognition and timely medical care can play an important role in reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease among women,” said Dr. Gautam Kr Das, CEO, Peerless Hospital Guwahati.

Peerless Hospital Guwahati provides comprehensive cardiac care including interventional cardiology, coronary angiography and angioplasty, echocardiography, heart failure and arrhythmia management, pacemaker and AICD implantation, and critical and emergency cardiac care.