The Brief

The last lung of Mumbai – Aarey Colony – had to be saved from a proposed plan by authorities to chop it down to 14% of its current size. Our campaign drew inspiration from the festival of Raksha (protect) Bandhan (relationship). Here sisters tie a knot of protection or RAKHI on the wrist of her brother asking for protection. The brother’s in turn pledge to protect. This became the inspiration for Rakhis From Aarey – Protecting the last lung of Mumbai. Launched on world forestry day, each tree at Aarey mailed hundreds of Rakhis to the Prime Minister of India and other influencers. 1647 personalised letters, in 3 languages were also sent. On ground, we turned trees into listening booths to spread awareness. Then, on rakhisfromaarey.org we inspired citizens to send Rakhis to other potential saviours. This in turn gave rise to a citizen movement that got the plan scrapped.

Creative Execution

Our campaign draws inspiration from the festival of Raksha (protect) Bandhan (relationship). It’s a festival celebrated by a billion people every year, where men pledge to protect their sisters. The sister in turn ties a knot of protection or RAKHI on the wrist of her brother. So we were inspired to send Rakhis From Aarey to influencers asking for their protection. On World Forestry Day we mailed hundreds of Rakhis from each Aarey tree to the Prime Minister of India, and other important influencers asking them for protection. We, even, sent 1647 personalised letters, in 3 languages. Many accepted the Rakhis. We posted their acknowledgement on social media. On ground, we turned hundreds of trees outside Aarey into listening booths where audio letters told the plight of Aarey. Then on rakhisfromaarey.org we inspired citizens to send Rakhis inviting others to the campaign. A citizen movement followed that eventually protected Aarey.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

The audience for our campaign were 1) People in power 2) Policymakers 3) Public figures and celebrities with influence 4) local citizens of Mumbai. The intent behind our campaign was to create awareness about Aarey Colony among decision makers and influencers, in turn asking them to pressurise the government to drop the plan 2034. At the end of the campaign we managed to turn lackadaisical Mumbaikars into volunteers of a citizen movement like never before.

Results

Rakhis From Aarey reached over 56.9 million people on social media. Fever Radio and Radio Mirchi collectively covered our campaign for 6 weeks, reaching over 51.24 million drive time radio listeners. It also clocked earned media worth US $2.3 million. Bollywood superstars Ranbir Kapoor, Akshay Kumar and Sushant Singh accepted Rakhis and vowed to protect Aarey colony. A call from the Chief Minister’s office congratulating the team for the campaign was followed up with the best result possible. Because of continued public and media pressure the Chief Minister of Maharashtra scrapped the Draft Development Plan 2034. The trees of Aarey were safe. A little knot protected Aarey colony.