“Smart Talk”

Talking they say, is a smart thing to do. Especially when it comes to taboo subjects, because it opens doors and eases the hesitance between people. To transform words into action, one needs to talk even more. The BBC World Service Trust, the charitable arm of BBC which specializes in development communications, has launched a four phase campaign to push men to talk more and more about a taboo subject.

To be run over a period of two and a half years, the media mix for the project consists of TV, radio and cinema, supported by billboards and print. The first phase of the campaign, called Jo Bola Wohi Sikander (JBWS), is under way and the BBC World Service Trust is strategically making attempts to generate interest, compel the target group to take action, and thereby create awareness about the taboo subject. The JBWH contest will run between November 30 and December 20, 2007, and will be seen in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

In a clever move, the BBC World Service Trust has rolled out the campaign in the form of a riddle. The riddle is thrown as a bait at the target group (primarily SEC C, D and E men in the reproductive age band), who are pushed to enter a contest, answer a simple question and take away prizes.
The TVC has been dubbed in five Indian languages, including Hindi, depending upon the state in which the contest runs. Audiences will be given a local number to call up and leave their answers on – the lucky winners will receive a mobile phone with free talk time.