By Malay Desai
From: Lowe Lintas
A child in a South Indian village realises his father’s missing, and spots him ‘walking’ on his hands, upside down. Onlookers and fellow villagers begin leaving their chores and following him, cheering and some dancing, while a woman precedes him, spraying water. The procession reaches a local temple, where ‘Gundappa’, still feet up, prays and eventually comes to ease, telling the priest that his son Muthu has turned five. As tourist, who’s joined the people mid-way, wonders why this big deal over a birthday, she’s told that Muthu is the first of his kids to have survived till this age. The film ends with a message about child deaths that can be prevented just by hand-washing habits.
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What a month it’s turning out to be for one of ‘Lever Brothers’’ oldest brands! After innovatively ‘stamping’ hundreds of rotis with a ‘Did you wash your hands with..’ question at one of the world’s largest human congregations, the ongoing Kumbh mela, here comes a socially driven campaign with a film that’s both touching and effective.
The premise is factual, or so Unilever wants us to believe. Every year, 20 lakh children under the age of five die of pneumonia and diarrhoea, both of which can be prevented by teaching them simple hand-washing, of course with Lifebuoy.
The three minute-plus film, made for the web for obvious reasons, tells us a story which ends with the above moral, and the way it unfolds is the winner here. Shot in the most rustic of Indian villages, featuring real faces, rituals and literally much dirt, the film is what runaway viral TED talk videos are made of.
The characters here are made endearing, it’s refreshing to see a father son relationship, more so muddled in a ritual none of us urban rats know about. The camerawork adds much to the emotional high that develops, capturing the upside down Gundappa from corners and reflections. Moreover, the South Indian setting and the folky background score fit perfectly too, leaving no place for sophistication. It’s Lifebuoy we’re talking of, not the soap of the stars!
That said, there are many ingredients that make the spot effective. All the focus is on the hands here, as is shown in ‘daag acche hai’ moments of them splashing mud. The message is well wound up with the short but all-text message about cleaning hands in the end. Besides, the tourist is the ‘outsider’ here, personifying the urban viewer, giving a curious perspective. Finally, the all-text docu-style ending makes this an unadvertisement, but not without mentions of Lifebuoy and a link to take a ‘pledge’. Our only problem – why are the people talking in Hindi? We also thought it needs some brevity but when there’s no question of buying airtime, it doesn’t matter. Here’s to more hands-on campaigns of the un-advertisement kind!
Check out the campaign on Youtube.com/helpachildreach5
