Jo Bola Wohi Sikandar Contest

[Guest guest]

Jo Bola Wohi Sikander!

The BBC World Service Trust has launched a mass media contest to combat HIV and

AIDS in India on the eve of World AIDS Day.

In a contest targeting more than 50 million men through a mass media campaign, a

riddle will aim to get people talking about a taboo issue, as they try to solve

the clues. Friends, family and even colleagues will be discussing the answer

with each other - just

to make sure they’ve got it right!

The contest will run between November 30th and December 20th 2007. Audiences

will be given a local number to call up and leave their answers - the lucky

winners will receive a mobile phone with free talk

time.

A parrot, which represents talking and smartness, has been chosen as the

campaign’s mascot. The parrot is smart, pesky, has an opinion about everything

and a sense of humour. The campaign’s strapline, Jo Bola Wohi Sikander (‘those

who talk are winners’), aims to stimulate ongoing conversation between people.

Here’s one of the clues: It’s a sign of manhood… But it’s not a moustache.

This is the launch phase of a two-and-a-half-year project that will be seen and

heard on TV, radio and cinema, on supporting billboards, and in print media. The

campaign is produced by the BBC World Service

Trust and funded by a generous £3.5 million (US$5.9 million) grant from the Bill

& Melinda Gates Foundation. It will be seen in the states of Andhra Pradesh,

Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Creative Director of the Trust, Radharani Mitra states: “The strength of the

creative idea behind this campaign is that instead of an ad that tells people to

talk, it actually stimulates people to talk. We

believe the riddle posed in the advertisements is sufficiently enticing and

tricky that people will have to talk about it with their friends in order to

arrive at the answer.”

Over the last six years, the BBC World Service Trust, which is the charitable

arm of BBC specialising in development communications, has been successfully

implementing health campaigns in India. It has

produced two weekly television serials for Doordarshan; a drama, Jasoos Vijay

and a reality show, Haath se Haath Milaa, which featured over 40 Hindi film

stars, along with over 30 public service

advertisements.

Note -The contest will be in 5 languages. Here is the strapline in each language

Hindi: Jo Bola Wohi Sikander

Tamil: Pesuravandhan Pista

Telugu: Maatlaadevaade Monagaadu

Kannada: Maathadone Mahaashoora

Marathi: Jo Bolel Toch Sikander

Please log on to the following web page for the details of the competition terms

and conditions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/asiapacific/story/2007/11/071128_india_c\

ompetition.shtml

Lubna Khan

BBC World Service Trust

e-mail: <lubnakn@...>