The MOHFW launched the Filaria Free India campaign through mass media and community-based channels ahead of mass drug administrations that began in mid-December in 14 Indian states
Recognising the need for a stronger creative campaign and promotional plan to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in India within the next two years, the country’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW) has asked the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (Global Network), an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, to lead development of a branded public service advertising campaign in close coordination with the MOHFW’s National Vector Borne Disease Control Program.
The brief was to develop a brand identity and television, cinema, radio, print, mobile and online content that resonated with India’s lower income populations and provided this broad demographic with a simple call to action: Help India eliminate lymphatic filariasis by taking your safe, free dose of pills when health workers visit your home.
“The Government of India has a strong history of implementing health programs at a massive scale and is within reach of achieving elimination of lymphatic filariasis, but the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare faces a significant hurdle in encouraging people to participate in mass drug administrations,” said Richard Hatzfeld, Communications Director for the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Global Network. “Drawing on our experience running END7, a global public advocacy campaign focused on eliminating seven Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), including lymphatic filariasis, we were honoured to assist the MOHFW with developing a campaign to promote awareness and prevention of this devastating disease. Our creative partners – Ogilvy & Mather India and Little Lamb Films overcame some truly daunting challenges to get the job done right and in record time,” he added. The result of this intensive effort was “Hathipaon Mukt Bharat” – the Filaria Free India campaign.
“We were immediately drawn to the idea that eliminating filaria in India can be the country’s next big public health success story,” said Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director of Ogilvy India. “The theme of working together to wipe away this terrible disease became an early cornerstone of our creative direction and from there we built other important elements into our concepts, including intrigue and an uplifting, simple message that would stick with our target audience,” he added.
To add to the complexity of this project, all work needed to be completed in just over one month, with filming taking place during Diwali, one of India’s most important holidays. The three television videos that were produced in Hindi also needed to be dubbed in nine different regional languages to ensure widespread comprehension. To increase acceptance of the videos across India, the team selected a neutral language, Sanskit, for the musical score, with lyrics that translate as “There are signs along the way that lead us to the ultimate truth,” a great pairing to the visual treatment in the films.
“Given the diversity of our target audience, we wanted to make sure there were a variety of cues throughout the videos that were distinctly Indian, but not necessarily representative of any one state or region. In keeping with the positive message reinforcing the simplicity of the solution, we also thought it was important that the man stricken with filaria in the videos serve as a champion for treatment and action, rather than a helpless victim,” said Bauddhayan Mukherji, Founder and Director of Little Lamb Films.
The MOHFW launched the Filaria Free India campaign through mass media and community-based channels ahead of mass drug administrations that began in mid-December in 14 Indian states; it is expected to continue promoting the campaign ahead of subsequent mass drug administrations through 2015. Reliance Group also has lent its corporate support to the campaign by agreeing to promote it through the company’s mobile, mass media and web-based channels.