The Campaign

The tiger population in India had fallen to 1,400 and the Indian government was turning a blind eye to the crisis. We wanted the youth - the ones who would inherit the legacy of the tiger - to send out a hard-to-ignore message to them. To get the youth interested in the cause, we needed a pertinent connect. And found one staring at us - the tiger is India's national animal. Idea: With the tiger's extinction seeming inevitable, we carried out an election campaign. Vote for a new national animal. The candidates were the donkey, monkey, rat and goat. The tongue-in-cheek tone persuaded the youth to vote in large numbers. Voters also had to sign a petition to the Prime Minister of India warning him that if the necessary steps weren't taken to save the tiger, the donkey, monkey, rat or goat could become India's next national animal.

Success of the Campaign

We campaigned across India. Schools: 2,000 Teachers participated: 5,000 Environmentalists participated: 7,000 SMS: 1,00,000 Emails: 1,00,000 Students contacted: 6,00,000 Newspapers around the country covered it. For Bloggers it was an interesting talking point. Radio shows caught on and listeners discussed the campaign. Sachin Tendulkar – the highest run-getter in International Cricket dedicated his 42nd Test century to tiger conservation on national television. Millions came out in support of India’s national animal. Number of online votes: 1,28,542. Number of on-ground signatures: 6,24,679. The Prime Minister has received the petition. We’re awaiting his response.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

We approached the public service campaign innovatively. 1. We launched the campaign with witty TVCs and posters across the country. The TVCs also ran as virals. 2. People logged onto on our website - www.newnationalanimal.com and voted. 3. We also promoted the website through emails and SMS. 4. Networking groups spread awareness. 5. Environmentalists helped carry the message across the country. 6. We conducted events across schools and educated them about tiger conservation - engaged them with songs, competitions and discussions. 7. As a final push, we involved the Indian cricket team, who pledged their support to save the tiger. SachinTendulkar, the world's highest run scorer in international cricket, dedicated his record-breaking 42nd test century to tiger conservation, on Live national television. 8. Finally, we even ran a signature campaign at schools, colleges, malls, railways stations. Saving the tiger was never so much fun.