The Brief

The TG for the campaign was a mix of existing consumer base as well as sections yet, unexplored. Diarrhoea kills over 1.1 million children annually in developing countries. Unfortunately, people are unaware of the fact that the simple act of handwashing with soap can help prevent this tragedy. The strategy of the campaign was to the address the sensitive issue of personal hygiene which could save lives of numerous children. The crux of the strategy was to communicate to the TG at the 'moment of truth' the fact, that the mere act of handwashing can make such a huge difference.

Creative Execution

Since most people eat with their hands in India, handwashing with soap becomes even more crucial. Which is why, we decided to focus on meal time as an important handwashing occasions. Our medium of choice was the ‘roti’ or Indian bread – a staple item served with almost every Indian meal. A reminder to wash ones hands, just before people were about to consume their food, made direct connection with the TG.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

To achieve the objective, it was decided to run an awareness campaign at the Maha Kumbh Mela, the largest single gathering of humanity on planet earth. The festival runs over a period of 55 days and is visited by over a 100 million people from across the world.

Results

Since people eat in groups, our message-on-a-roti ended up reaching over 5 million people directly at the Maha Kumbh Mela. On a total investment of $36,000, that’s a cost-per-contact of less than 1 cent! Spontaneous awareness for the Lifebuoy brand increased by 4%. Incremental sales were $40 for every $1 invested. At the target restaurants, people laughed and smiled and even got up to wash their hands. National dailies voted it as one the most innovative campaigns, numerous blogs discussed it, and thousands of people shared it on Facebook and viewed it on YouTube.