 "In the fight against AIDS, Tata Motors asks truck drivers to use 'Dipper' at night")
Truck drivers in India have for long been singled out, by non-governmental organisations and health care professionals, for their vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Research by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) in India, for one, shows that one in ten truckers is a victim of STD. Ask anyone working with AIDS in the country, and the community comes up tops in terms of the people affected as well as the most likely to be hit by the disease. They also tell you that given the constant mobility that truck drivers are subject to, using traditional and digital media to get the message about their perilous existence across is nearly impossible.
As the country's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors was all too aware of the problem. And it was keen to address this issue, given that truck drivers are its core target customers. Along with its ad agency Rediffusion Y&R, the company set about looking for a solution. And the biggest challenge they found themselves staring at was bringing about behavorial change: Would truckers buy into the message at all?
Experts say that truckers remain vulnerable to AIDS despite the government's efforts to increase the use of condoms among this community. Clearly, they were either not convinced about the danger at hand, or were too embarrassed to do anything about it. It was important for the agency and the client to not only propagate the message of safe sex, but also convince them about the need to change.
Dhunji Wadia, president, Rediffusion Y&R, explains, "We were going through a number of ideas and were inspired by the line, 'Use Dipper at Night' that appears painted on the back of millions of trucks across the country. Truck-drivers know what this means: Dip headlights at night. We used the word 'Dipper' to create a condom brand. This would, we believed, help them sit up and take notice. It also became a convenient way for us to propagate the message."
HLL Lifecare, which makes the Moods brand of condoms in India, was roped in. And TCI Foundation, the social wing of the Transport Corporation of India, came on board as a distributor. Health workers at TCIF's 'Khushi clinics' - three of them located in Ludhiana, Kanpur and Vashi - sold condoms (Rs 2 for a pack of three) at 'trucking points' including service stations, highway eateries, petrol pumps and convenience stores. Condoms were also distributed at the Khushi clinics for those drivers who frequented them, explaining to them the importance of safe sex.
Some 45,000 condoms were sold in April alone following launch in Ludhiana, Kanpur and Vashi, prompting Tata Motors to scale-up the project. The first phase will see roll-out in 11 cities, three of which have happened so far. The balance eight, cities that have a high concentration of truckers, will happen in due course, Wadia says.
'Dipper Condoms' fetched Rediffusion Y&R a Silver Lion in the media category at Cannes and a Bronze Lion in healthcare, both worthy wins given the magnitude and importance of the exercise. "The beauty of the initiative was that the trucks themselves became a medium for the message," says Wadia. And the simplicity of the entire exercise has bowled over peers in advertising and marketing. Tata Motors is definitely not complaining.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
As the country's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors was all too aware of the problem. And it was keen to address this issue, given that truck drivers are its core target customers. Along with its ad agency Rediffusion Y&R, the company set about looking for a solution. And the biggest challenge they found themselves staring at was bringing about behavorial change: Would truckers buy into the message at all?
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Experts say that truckers remain vulnerable to AIDS despite the government's efforts to increase the use of condoms among this community. Clearly, they were either not convinced about the danger at hand, or were too embarrassed to do anything about it. It was important for the agency and the client to not only propagate the message of safe sex, but also convince them about the need to change.
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Dhunji Wadia, president, Rediffusion Y&R, explains, "We were going through a number of ideas and were inspired by the line, 'Use Dipper at Night' that appears painted on the back of millions of trucks across the country. Truck-drivers know what this means: Dip headlights at night. We used the word 'Dipper' to create a condom brand. This would, we believed, help them sit up and take notice. It also became a convenient way for us to propagate the message."
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HLL Lifecare, which makes the Moods brand of condoms in India, was roped in. And TCI Foundation, the social wing of the Transport Corporation of India, came on board as a distributor. Health workers at TCIF's 'Khushi clinics' - three of them located in Ludhiana, Kanpur and Vashi - sold condoms (Rs 2 for a pack of three) at 'trucking points' including service stations, highway eateries, petrol pumps and convenience stores. Condoms were also distributed at the Khushi clinics for those drivers who frequented them, explaining to them the importance of safe sex.
Some 45,000 condoms were sold in April alone following launch in Ludhiana, Kanpur and Vashi, prompting Tata Motors to scale-up the project. The first phase will see roll-out in 11 cities, three of which have happened so far. The balance eight, cities that have a high concentration of truckers, will happen in due course, Wadia says.
'Dipper Condoms' fetched Rediffusion Y&R a Silver Lion in the media category at Cannes and a Bronze Lion in healthcare, both worthy wins given the magnitude and importance of the exercise. "The beauty of the initiative was that the trucks themselves became a medium for the message," says Wadia. And the simplicity of the entire exercise has bowled over peers in advertising and marketing. Tata Motors is definitely not complaining.
The last in a four-part series on award-winning work at the Cannes Ad Fest 2016 looks at Rediffusion Y&R’s ‘Dipper Condoms’ campaign that won a Silver and a Bronze Lion
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
- Created by Rediffusion Y&R for Tata Motors, the Dipper Condoms campaign won a Silver Lion in media (category: Public Health & Safety) and a Bronze Lion in healthcare (category: Health & Wellness)
- The objective was to promote safe sex among Indian truck drivers, the most vulnerable segment of the population to AIDS
- A condom brand called Dipper was created, inspired from the message 'Use dipper at night', commonly painted on the backs of trucks
- To a trucker 'Use dipper at night' means to dim headlights at night. By branding condoms as 'Dipper', the agency ensured it was both familiar and attractive to truck drivers, who did not shy away from asking for the product
- The condoms were manufactured by HLL Lifecare, distributed in 'condom wallets' and the packaging had 'truck art' on it
- They were distributed at health clinics, service centres, highway eateries, petrol pumps and convenience stores, by TCI Foundation, the social arm of the Transport Corporation of India
- A pack of three Dipper condoms sells for two rupees, the target was to sell 45,000 condoms within two months. But the TCI Foundation workers say they hit the numbers within a month