Results and Effectiveness

50 rented costumes and begging bowls cost us $565. The grooms reached 60,000 people. The media did the rest. Leading newspapers and channels picked up the story, reaching 12 million people and generating over 5 million worth of free media coverage. That's 200 times the money Akshara invested. The public response was overwhelming too. Akshara's helpline received over 800 calls within a month of the activity being launched. 189 cases were forwarded to the Mumbai Police. That's 189 lives saved. The activity is now being carried forward to five more Indian states where the dowry system is most prevalent.

Creative Execution

We took the ultimate symbol of respect, the groom, and turned him into the ultimate symbol of shame, the beggar. We made grooms beg for dowry. $565 were spent on 50 rented costumes and begging bowls. 50 amateur actors came free. They took to Mumbai's roads (wedding venues, trousseau shops etc.) and through their actions conveyed a clear message. DEMANDING DOWRY IS AS SHAMEFUL AS BEGGING. Our intent was to change the way people viewed dowry and see the act as demeaning, not glorifying. While the grooms reached about 60,000 people, the media frenzy took the message to millions more. This campaign worked because we took a practice from behind closed doors and brought it out in the open. And in doing this, we actually took to the streets, using Mumbai's busy roads and bylanes as a medium to spread our message.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Dowry is an ancient social evil integral to Indian weddings. It's a ritual wherein the girl's family gives, the boy's takes, often ending in the woman's death. Yet, this practice is seen as a status symbol by grooms' families. Our objective was to change this mindset. Men and women across social strata/age groups were our audience, because anyone can be a victim. Charities like Akshara invariably have funding problems expensive media like TV/Print. So we used a medium that was absolutely free (Mumbai's roads), at locations relevant to weddings, and hit Indians where it hurts most. A groom's pride. While enough has been written and spoken on the ills of dowry, no one has ever targeted men or the mindset that demanding dowry is acceptable, even prestigious. Nor have men ever taken a stand against this malpractice. Akshara forced people to actually think about the act of asking for dowry.