Zara Tapas Bar and Chennai traffic police campaign against drunk driving and Vodafone Foundation India uses a rickshaw to raise money

 20th March 2013    Good and Bad PR 

Great PR
 

Tapas Bar and Chennai traffic police launch innovative campaign against drunk driving
 

India has the maximum number of road deaths every year and poor detection of drunk drivers. Alcohol is one of the five biggest causes of deaths on the road, including seat belt violations and not wearing helmets.  

In order to convince people to not drink and drive, Chennai traffic police and Zara Tapas Bar in Chennai got together to create this video which made Yama, the Lord of Death, the brand ambassador against drunk driving.

Surprised commuters were greeted by an ornately dressed actor as Yama with one clear message: Drink and get driven.

In a country where driving is nothing less than a Formula 1 race with few rules, alcohol is one of the biggest causes of accidents and deaths on the road. This is a timely video, which neatly avoids a lecturing tone and uses humour to put across its message. No surprise then, that this campaign gained both media coverage and over 60,000 viewers on YouTube.

Creative communication, all the more interesting, coming from a stodgy government wing.

Vodafone Foundation India sees red in women power
 

Two women, 1500 Kilometres, five states in India. Laura Turkington, director of the Vodafone Foundation in India, and Carina Deegan, project manager of the Johan Cruyff Foundation, have just completed a nine day journey in – believe it or not – a red rickshaw, driven by a female auto driver from Delhi, Sunita Chaudhary.

Travelling from Delhi to Mumbai crossing five states in India, including the deserts of Rajasthan and the spectacular Western Ghats to the bright lights of Mumbai, these women turned the spotlight on extraordinary women across the country while raising money for or three NGOs — Apne Aap Women’s Collective, Breakthrough and Corp India.

The campaign has already raised INR 3 million for the three NGOs. The Vodafone Foundation will match the amount of INR 3 million as well as contribute an additional sum of over INR 10 million. All funds generated will be used by the three NGOs for educating the underprivileged, facilitating sustainable livelihoods, and providing safety for women.

A creative campaign that managed to draw strong attention to a worthy cause. The use of the humble rickshaw was a clutter breaker and a novel way to raise both money and awareness. Not surprisingly, the effort generated high profile stories.

Have you seen any great or even bad PR?
 

Contact Paarul Chand by emailing paarul@prmoment.in or tweet @PaarulC or @PRmomentIndia throughout the week and we’ll happily credit you for your trouble.