As I was walking down a street I encountered a hawker selling fruit juice to a young woman (she seemed to be a construction worker) with a young boy hoisted on her hip. She bought some juice worth ` 10, and asked the vendor Je paani mein daal de (put it in this plastic bag). Ironically the board behind admonished, ‘Say no to plastic bags’.

A simple message just does not seem to work with the common man; I thought to myself as I switched on the FM radio in my vehicle. And on came the heated narrative between a nettled home owner and a shady tenant who had further rented the same accommodation for a premium. This was aired by a Khurafati RJ on a popular FM channel asking you to be his Jasoos. On the broadcast he exposed fake doctors and clinics, massage parlours, illegal drug trafficking, etc., in the national capital. People from all walks of life seemed to be using the broadcast medium to tell their fellow beings about the social ills of the world we live in.
The two contrary scenarios puzzled me, as the impact seemed to be so dramatically divergent. As I sat down to watch the 9 pm news broadcast, I was still not close to any answers. During the news break, variegated shots of a corrupt government clerk, an unscrupulous traffic policeman, even a shady pundit, all asking for an under-the-table incentive to accomplish the task, unfolded…
A spunky young man comes out and tells you that the fault lies with you and it is high time to Khilana band pilana shuru. The message is from a tea brand which tells you, Har subah sirf utho mat, jago re. Gulzar’s poetry comes on next and advises you to Parakh ke dekho, paise ki bhasha samjho – paisa bolta hai. A communiqué issued in the public interest by the Reserve Bank of India. Next, a young mother, who is coughing, cleans her hands to pick up her young baby and is applauded for a good practice that can prevent the H1NI virus from spreading. The impact factor of these messages is tremendous and recall almost 80 per cent — especially the Jago re campaign.
To take you a little back in time the amazing and soul stirring Break Through’s Bell Bajao campaign, that was based on true stories of domestic violence from the house of a bus conductor to that of a so-called educated software engineer, who is subtly, told that the time in his watch is three minutes behind the 8.20 that he conveys, the underlying message — that physical abuse is dated. The result was an increased number of reported and registered cases of domestic violence as well as NGOs and women’s welfare foundations coming forward to help. The cause has been interestingly taken forward by our erstwhile neighbour (Pakistan) in campaigns designed on similar lines by Geo TV Pakistan. Though the radio jingles and the TVC of Bindas Bol and Balbir Pasha Ko AIDs hoga kya? were aired for a limited duration, the impact in terms of increase in condom usage, as well as calls made to Samadhan — the AIDS helpline, were remarkable.
Can you perceive the common thread in the communication that has been mentioned above? It is a simple truth — whenever the intent of the communication is to acquaint us with a malpractice and an attitude or a behaviour change is sought, an impersonal message on a billboard, even when the placard is strategically sited, makes a negligible impact. Second, a dictate like ‘Do not honk;’ ‘Don’t litter’ or ‘Don’t spit here,’ are rebukes that instill resistance. On the other hand the radio and the TV advertisement are casual and conversational. Thus a message asking you to educate your girl child or the Indian cricket team reminding their fellow colleague about taking his child for polio drops or Aamir Khan telling you that treating the foreign tourist as an Atithi will generate revenue for all, reverberate better.
Thus, a message that is matter of fact like the child impacted by the passive smoking advertisement or conversational commercials like calling up the KRIBHCO helpline for farming solutions and the ultimate ones that synchronise billboards, with radio jingles and TVCs like Balbir Pasha, are powerful corrective measures.
The writer is professor, marketing, International Management Institute