BCCL's new initiative to bring out the lighter side of India

Bennett Coleman & Co. Limited (BCCL) launched a campaign on 1st of February 2011 called the "A Day in the Life of India". The campaign called out for entries from the masses to find a way of expressing 'A day in the life of India' in their own style, maybe through pictures, cartoons, videos, jokes or anecdotes.

Rahul Kansal, Chief Marketing Officer, BCCL, told Adgully, "The last year has been very grim and tense for the country as many scams and corruption cases came into the public purview. The sole idea behind this campaign was to bring the lighter side of India to the forefront. We wanted to capture Indians' perspective on the real India."

The creative agency handling the campaign is TapRoot India. Moreover Agnello Dias, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, has conceptualised a film for the campaign too, which has been directed by Abhinay Deo. BCCL has chalked out an extensive multi-media campaign to promote the initiative, while the initiative itself has been anchored on a website. The Group will be using all the sister concerns to further promote the initiative. Moreover BCCL also promoted the initiative through a full page ad in Hindustan Times recently and an elaborate OOH campaign has been executed. The group has spent around 3 to 4 crores on the OOH campaign alone.

The interactive platform for the masses which has been built through the website-https://adayinlife.timesofindia.com, calls for entries in the Videos category from amateurs, professionals or students, and in the Photos and the Cartoons category from amateurs or professionals only. However, for the Jokes and Anecdotes category, any applicant is eligible.

The Group will be rewarding around 7000 winning entries with exclusive merchandise made around the theme 'A day in the life of India', which includes T-shirts, mugs etc. The exclusive theme song for the campaign created by Swanand Kirkire and Shantanu Moitra are being run on Radio Mirchi. The song, Ajab Tamaasha Re, has drawn inspiration from the street sounds of India.

Apart from a reward of 5 lakhs and the exclusive merchandise some of the best entries will be showcased in The Times of India, Times Now, Zoom and Radio Mirchi.

The contest will go on till March 15 and has four categories- Videos, Photographs, Cartoons and Jokes and Anecdotes. Agnello Dias and well-known Bollywood Director Raju Hirani will judge the Video entries, Raghu Rai, Chief Photographer, The Times of India, will judge the Photos section, Jokes and Anecdotes will be judged by stand-up comedian and actor Vir Das, and Cartoons by Ajit Ninan, Neelabh and Salam. The judges' panel will scrutinise the entries based on the number of votes each entry receives. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]