The Campaign

In 2017, Mirinda raised the issue of parental pressure due to exams into the spotlight. A year later, we went deeper. We went beyond the issue and investigated the tools through which parents put pressure on their kids. The most potent and damaging tool was constant comparison of kids by parents, uncles and aunts. Well-meaning family members compared their kids to others to motivate them. But this comparison had a deep psychological impact on the kids. It caused loss of confidence and impacted their self-esteem. Mirinda decided to become the voice of Indian teens who were constantly being compared. And thus, was born -Comparison Adds Pressure #ReleaseThePressure.

Execution

The brand kicked off with a hard-hitting film But Mirinda decided not only to raise to issue, but also provide a means to address it. Mirinda partnered with one of India’s top hospital chains: Fortis Hospitals-and launched a helpline number to address the issue of teenage stress. Mirinda turned their 90 million bottles into a calling card- every bottle carried the helpline number on its label. The brand also collaborated with Navneet – India’s leading notebooks manufacturer and Veer Das a popular standup comedian to create the frequent-breaks notebooks. And then help came from the most unexpected source. The Prime Minister The HRD ministry announced the reduction of the NCERT syllabus by half from 2019 Thus, releasing the pressure for students from 1st grade to the 12th grade. In just over a year, an issue that nobody was talking about went from awareness to nationwide action.

Mirinda not only became the voice of the teens but showed parents a beautiful way to support their kids. The calls on the Fortis helpline number increased from 150 to 700 calls per day after the release of the campaign. The digital film was viewed more than 46 million times on YouTube alone and received 96% positive sentiments. Over 254 media articles were written in support of the awareness created by the brands.

The Situation

Comparison Adds Pressure #ReleaseThePressure aims to make parents realize how constant comparison during exams can lead to low self-esteem and loss of confidence of a child. The objective of Mirinda was to become the voice of the teens who were constantly being compared by their parents during exams, in association with Fortis it launched a helpline number where parents could talk to counsellors to learn constructive ways of encouraging their teens. The campaign was launched with a hard-hitting digital film which received 47 million views sparking a national debate. Over 254 media articles were written in support of the movement.

The Strategy

In a highly hierarchical society like India, it is very difficult to for teenagers to speak out and answer back to their elders. The Mirinda creative strategy has been focused on giving a voice to Indian teens. India is very competitive, with over 1.2 billion people fighting for every opportunity. And this competitiveness is most clearly manifest in education. Parents put a lot of pressure on their kids to do well in their studies and compete with other kids. And they use many tools to motivate and put pressure on their kids. The most prevalent tool is comparison. Indian parents often resort to giving example of other children’s accomplishment to motivate their own child. But such comparison often resulted in deep psychological problems-reduced self esteem and stress. And Mirinda decided to bring this issue of Comparison and its psychological implications into the public spotlight.