Whisper: Touch The Pickle [video]

Credits & Description:

Brand: Whisper
Advertiser: P&G India
Agency: Bbdo India, Mumbai
Chief Executive Officer: Ajai Jhala
Chief Creative Officer: Josy Paul
Executive Creative Director: Hemant Shringy/Sandeep Sawant/Rajdeepak Das
Creative Director: Balakrishna Gajelli
Copywriter: Vivek Unnikrishnan
Art Director: Malvika Srivastava
Graphic Artist: Venkatesh-Shankar/Rajeev-Sameet
Account Director: Rahul Chandwani
Account Manager: Sidheshwar Sharma
Account Executive: Phiroze Marolia
Strategic Planning Director: Rajat Mendhi
Strategic Planner: Naina/Dimple Shetty
Studio Manager: Hitesh Shah
Film Production Company: Red Ice, Mumbai
Director: Shimit Amin
Film Producer: Gary Grewal
Associate Producer: Karan Sharma
Sound Production Company: Red Ice, Mumbai
Music Composer: Hanif
Cultural Context Explanation: In India, Nobody Talks About Period. Its Treated Like A Bad Word, A Curse. Whats Worse? As Soon As They Hit Puberty Girls Are Introduced To Many Different ‘Donts’ – Dont Worship, Dont Enter The Kitchen And The Most Ridiculous One, Dont Touch The Pickle. Because Menstruating Women Are Considered Impure And It Is Believed That If They Touch It, The Pickle Will Rot. Whisper, Indias Leading Sanitary Napkin Brand That Stands For Making Women unstoppable’ Decided That It Was Time To Bust These Myths. And So We Launched, “Whisper – Touch The Pickle” – As A Metaphor To Break Free From All Period Related Taboos
Campaign Summary: Whisper Is A Leading Feminine Hygiene Brand In India. Our Task Was To Drive Relevance By Reasserting A New “Contemporary Conversation” About Periods With Young Urban Women, In A Socially-Interesting, Fame-Generating Way. Research Pointed Us To Deep Rooted Period Taboos Still Alive In The 21st Century That Feed A Culture Of Shame Leading To Young Women Growing Up With A Disgraceful Sense Of Self. Taboos Like Not Entering The Kitchen, And Even Touching Pickles, A Daily Indian Meal Condiment, For Fear They Would Rot With Their Touch. ‘Touch The Pickle’ Was A Movement By Whisper That Bravely Took On The Culture Of Shame Propagated Through Period Taboos. Supported With Strategically Developed Tv-Spots, Branded-Content, Celebrity Endorsements And Activations Across Key Touch Points. In Doing So, Whisper Created A Conversation That Got Over 2.9 Million Women To Participate And Generated Over Usd 6.1 Million In Free-Media And Publicity.
The Brief: The Objective For Us Were… 1. Get The Attention Of And Engage With Our Target Audience 2. Drive Relevance And As A Result Its Sales The Insight For The Whisper Campaign Came From Extensive Research That Pointed Us To Deep Rooted Period Taboos Still Alive In The 21st Century; Taboos That Feed A Culture Of Shame Leading To Young Women Growing Up With A Disgraceful Sense Of Self. Taboos Like Not Entering The Kitchen, And Even Touching Pickles, A Daily Indian Meal Condiment, For Fear They Would Rot With Their Touch. In Challenging The Culture Of Shame Propagated By Archaic Period Taboos, We Believed Whisper Could Not Only Find A Deeper Relevance But Also Impact The Lives Of Millions Of Young Women. Thus Was Born ‘Touch The Pickle’.
The Strategy: In Our Research Amongst Young Urban Women Aged Between 16 To 24, We Realised That Deep Rooted Period Taboos Continue To Prevail And Feed A Culture Of Shame That Holds Them Back From Doing Most Of The Things In Life. Whisper As A Brand That Stands For The Emancipation Of Women Decided To Challenge The Culture Of Shame Propagated Through Period Taboos. Thus Was Born The ‘Touch The Pickle’ Movement.
The Execution: To Kick Start The Movement We Needed To Reach Out To Young Urban Women And Spark A National Conversation And Debate About Period Taboos. So We Started With A Tv Spot That Asked Young Women To Boldly Break Period-Taboos By Touching The Pickle. This Provocative Message Got The Nations Attention. Bollywood-Celebrities And Real-Life Women Achievers Stepped Forward To Spread The Message. Cnn-Ibn, A Leading News-Channel Hosted A Show Called #Letstalkperiod. Radio-Jockeys Across Major Cities Conducted Live Debates And Q&A Sessions. Aditi Gupta, Founder Menstrupedia, Took To The Ted Talks Stage. Comedians And Women From Different Walks Of Life Created Compelling Content To Inspire Young Women And Fuel Conversations And Debate On Social Media.