Amitabh Bachchan speaks up for women’s rights and Unilever’s Waterworks campaign gains PR praise

 7th March 2013    Good and Bad PR 

Hindi film industry legend Amitabh Bachchan speaks up for women’s rights for Breakthrough
 

In the run up to Women’s Day on 8th March, the legendary Amitabh Bachchan has spoken in support of Breakthrough’s (which innovates media and technology for human rights) campaign #ringthebell against domestic violence.

Riding on star power, the campaign managed over 200 retweets in just 15 minutes. Bachchan is now asking for one million men to pledge their support  on Women’s Day to end domestic violence .

The over 70 movie star is well known for his active social media presence on Twitter and in the blogosphere, and this time he is putting it to use for a very good cause.

Unilever’s crowd sourcing for clean water scores Great PR  
 

Unilver’s unique effort to bring clean water to water scarce regions around India has certainly gained the consumer PR praise. This initiative, called Waterworks, was featured in Economic Times weekly supplement “Brand Equity”, which included the  a glowing article in support of  Unilever’s priority to sustainability and environment, even calling the CMO of Unilever “Captain Planet”!

Waterworks is a Facebook app and a partnership between Unilever Foundation and water NGO PSI,  Waterworks™ is among the first Timeline applications for charitable giving, connecting Facebook users around the world with real individuals and communities in need. Users of the app will partner with a PSI-trained Waterworkers and choose a small daily donation – as little as €0.10. Their funds will directly support the water-poor communities, where Waterworkers will provide education about the benefits of clean drinking water and distribute life-saving Pureit water purifiers and sachets to families in need.

An innovative social media campaign and a great brand fit with Unilver’s water purifier Pureit. All in all, a great way to generate sensible PR around an important issue.

#DimagKiBattiJalaDe with Mentos India murder mystery
 

Everyone loves to sink their teeth into a good murder mystery. Confectionary maker Perfetti Van Melle India has come up with a truly different way of getting the attention of consumers for its mint brand Mentos.

This video introduces you to a possible list of murder suspects in a bizarre murder mystery:

And to sweeten the candy pot, contestants can win Rs. 25 lakhs if they guess the identity of the killer. A first for a food company to run a contest where players need not actually consume a Mentos candy to be eligible to win.

This engaging contest has got it considerable online traction.

Quirky contest #WorldsStrongestRishta drives Domino's to the top of Twitter
 

Pizza maker Dominos managed to top Twitter during the early part of this week, riding on the back of a contest asking consumers to write about the world’s strongest relationship.

#WorldsStrongestRishta started trending at the top, with a range of oddball answers that commented on politics, football movies and just plain old everyday life. Here is a bunch of tweets from the contest:

 

 

Interesting twist on relationships in a country where emotions and relationships tend to take priority at work or at play.