The Campaign

StageLightandMagic Inc. was staging the third sequel of the political satire, Pusswedilla. However, this time, the Government of Sri Lanka banned it because of its sensitive political connotations. Our solution was to change the name of country in which the drama was staged and introduce the new language of that country – Arsetolk – for all communication. The Press Office of the President had to work overtime to show the Sri Lankan Government, that this language was a people’s language. We launched the language to Sri Lanka through mass media channels, helped teach people how to read & write Arsetolk; and also used it in places where we knew we would find the target groups. This language became a people's movement and was so talked about that it finally got the Government approval for the drama. Arsetolk also got so much attention that even the President of Sri Lanka bought tickets to come to the drama! This ensured that not only Arstolk, but also the drama got wide & free publicity in all major media in the country. Tickets were sold out within days of the box plan opening. Most significant was that due to its popularity, a second run of the production was scheduled. This too was sold out before opening night. Thus breaking box office records for English Theatre in Sri Lanka.

The Brief

Our challenge was to convince the government to approve the play by creating an unprecedented hype around the drama.

Results

• Arsetolk became so popular that the Government approved the screening of the drama. • The premium tickets were sold out within 3 days of the box plan opening. (Box office statistics). • Due to its popularity, a second run of the production was scheduled. This too was sold out even before the play started. (Box office statistics). • Arsetolk made even the President of Sri Lanka and members of his cabinet attend the drama! This helped the production gain front-page news coverage in all media. • Arsetolk soon started appearing in daily life. o Political cartoonists started using references from the drama. o That week, in the actual parliament of Sri Lanka, Ministers talked about the drama to taunt their opponents! o A 2012 motivational calendar in Arsetolk was created and sold at popular bookstores. o A number of popular restaurants too started communicating to their patrons in Arsetolk!

Execution

1. The existence of Arsikland language is announced in a press ad 2. Press ads explain Arsik Language through simple alphabet examples. 3. Viral videos on learning Arsetolk are produced. These viral videos will appear on FB, linked through YouTube. 4. Topical print ads appear in Arsetolk. They also invite the public to find out more because tickets are now available for the drama. 5. Arsetolk starts appearing in popular restaurants around Colombo 6. On the day of the drama, The theatre also goes Arsik. All signs are printed in Arstolk. 7. A daily competition happens at the drama where 3 successful writers of their name and address in Arsik win a DVD of the performance 8. The ticket will be designed to be written completely in Arsetolk.

The Situation

Our task was to generate public interest for the sequel to a popular theatrical comedy about a fictitious Sri Lankan President, “Pusswedilla”. Unfortunately, when the script was submitted to the censor board, it was turned down.

The Strategy

We changed the country in which the drama was happening into the fictional country of Arsikland (by rearranging the letters in Sri Lanka). A new country needed a new language. So we created Arsetolk, a hybrid between English and our native tongue, Sinhala. This new language formed the thrust of our communication