Execution

Ganesh Visarjan, Mumbai’s signature festival, where devotees immerse idols of Lord Ganesha after 14 days of worship is also its noisiest day. During this festival the devotees carry idols of 'Lord Ganesha' from their homes, in carts or trucks to the sea, where they are immersed. During this process, roads are blocked with devotees, but what's more dangerous is the crazy amount of noise pollution caused by different processions moving along the route. Blaring music is played on loud speakers placed on trucks, endless numbers of fire crackers are burst along the way. Decibels are far beyond safety limits, causing partial deafness. We wanted to make a start and increase awareness about reducing noise pollution as we realized Ganesh Visarjan offered an amazing media corridor: millions thronging thoroughfares & open to social messages. But the big challenge was doing this without hurting the religious sentiments of the devotees. Our cultural insight helped us craft a message direct from the heavens to reduce noise. We chose the most credible source and a brand ambassador that everyone would definitely listen to, God Himself. We built a special idol of Lord Ganesha. It was custom-made to show that even the Lord is fed up of the noise. Of His four arms, two were specially sculpted showing Him covering His ears. We took our special Lord Ganesha idol in procession through the noisy streets. The same fervour, sans loud music, drums or noisy crackers. It was just joy, love and devotion for the Lord without the decibel monster. A caravan of silence in the midst of a noisy, blaring city attracts attention for sure. Our creative idea was thus concept, execution and media transmission rolled into one SILENT yet potent mix. We touched the hearts, minds and lives of around 2 million people who participated in the Ganesh Visarjan-Mumbai, Sept 2009. In just 12 hours we had 273 housing societies signing up to participate and celebrate Ganesh Visarjan in a silent and peaceful way in Sept 2010! 5 leading English & 9 language newspapers, alongwith local TV & radio news channels helped multiply the audience to over 6 million. One day, enormous OTS, massive awareness, plus pledges to change behaviour by being mindful to the needs of others: all this done without a single devotee being offended by the message given!