SOLDIER FOR WOMEN

TitleSOLDIER FOR WOMEN
BrandP&G
Product / ServiceGILLETTE
CategoryA04. Best Use or Integration of User-Generated Content
EntrantBBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company BBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Contributing Company BBDO INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Prashant Desai/Preeti Jadhav Mediacom
Rekha Rao/Amanda Mendonza/Shreysi Chandra Weber Shandwick
Kiran Dodiya/Shyam Gursahani/Madonna Dsouza Encompass
Sherwan Ahsan/Mehak Batra Bbdo Proximity
Hitesh Shah/Shankar Yelugu/Sameet Koyande/Venkatesh Pagidimarry/Rajeev Mohite Bbdo India Retouch Artist
Keegan D'mello/Rima Wadhwa Bbdo India Account Supervisor
Josy Paul/Radeepak Das/Sandeep Sawant/Gunjan Poddar/Indrajeet Kadam/Chinmay Raut Bbdo India Art Director
Josy Paul/Rajdeepak Das/Sandeep Sawant/Hemant Shringy/Arzan Antia/Gunjan Poddar/ Bbdo India Copywriter
Josy Paul/Rajdeepak Das/Sandeep Sawant/Dinesh Swamy Bbdo India Creative Director
Rajdeepak Das Bbdo India Executive Creative Director
Josy Paul Bbdo India Chief Creative Officer
Piyush Raghani/Surashmi Basu Old School Film
Nishant Singh/Achint Interface

The Campaign

India is a land of entertainment. From its millenniums-old mythologies to its over-a-century-old movies to its present-day television dramas, entertainment is the main ingredient in any Indian fare. Like the famous Indian actress Vidya Balan said in her award-winning movie called The Dirty Picture, 'success comes from just three things: entertainment, entertainment, and, entertainment.' The concept of entertainment has seeped so deeply into the psyche of the Indian consumer, that even hitherto serious subjects like sport in general and cricket in particular haven't been spared this dose of entertainment (what with the IPL – Indian Premier League – Cricket Tournament reduced to a three and half hours 'show' (the length of the average Bollywood film), with 'item girls' doing a song & dance routine between overs!) So, could brands be far behind in this 'land of entertainment'? Brands have also jumped into the bandwagon of entertainment. From in-film placements to walk-in parts on television shows to even showing up in serious news-based channels like CNN, brands and branded entertainment has become the order of the day. Frankly, there aren't any restrictions really to what one can do with branded entertainment. Perhaps, the only restriction is creativity: Descartes' 'I think, therefore I am'.

Results

The country is in a fiery mood as women issues take top of mind. Male bashing was on the rise. As India's leading male brand, Gillette felt the need to step in and rise to the challenge. The objective of the campaign was to win back the respect for men. The strategy was for Gillette to respond responsibly by standing up for women at a sensitive time like this. Because only when you give respect can you get respect. We created a platform where men could come forward to show solidarity with women. We kick-started the movement by seeding a thought provoking film on YouTube. Within a month, it received over 2 million hits. We offered various touch points for men to pledge support and join the movement. #soldierforwoman, a missed-call number, a Facebook page and app, and on-ground forums were some of them. The Ex-President of India, Bollywood's biggest celebrities, sportsmen and eminent speakers came forward in support of the movement. This was published in the form of TV and radio vignettes, advertorials and press releases. In response; publications, radio and TV channels came forward to create branded content - for women to share stories about men who stood up for them.

As part of our branded content leg, we got top celebrities and eminent speakers to interview with us and participate in our panel discussions. This got viewers glued to find out the thoughts and views of these eminent celebrities on a highly sensitive topic like ours. Women - celebrities and citizens, narrated stories of men who stood up for them. These men were saluted on national TV for displaying the values of courage and respect for women. Audience also reciprocated with pledges and numerous positive stories about men through blogs, tweets, Facebook updates and radio shows.

- News channels - CNN IBN and Times Now created over 540 minutes of branded content - #SoldierforWomen trended in every city. - Over 12 million pledges across touch points. - Over 3 million stories of men's courage and respect for women. - Over 600,000 fans added on Facebook. - Over 1.6 million consumers joined the Soldier Parade application in just 1 Month. - With over 2.3 million views of the film, Gillette India became the fastest growing FMCG brand YouTube channel and overall 5th fastest growing YouTube channel in India. - The campaign received $5 million worth of free media within 60 days. - The Ex-President of India, Bollywood's biggest celebrities, sportsmen and eminent speakers