Narsee Monjee Institute of Management

Studies

Balbir Pasha Ko Aids

Hoga Kya - Campaign
Dissection
Integrated Marketing
Communication
Ravishankar Duvvuri – MBA, 2007-09

08
 Balbir Pasha ko AIDS hoga kya ? A targeted mass
media campaign 2002-03
Campaign Dissection

Brief Summary: As a part of the HIV/AIDS prevention

programme “Operation Lighthouse”, a very thought provoking &
aggressive mass media campaign was launched in Mumbai in
November 2002. Mumbai has India’s largest brothel based Red
Light Area. Prior to the launch of the campaign, consumer
research analysis was done which suggested High infection rates
of HIV as also flawed risk perception being the biggest detonator,
especially amongst the poorest sections of society in Mumbai.
This campaign was essentially founded upon the perception that
people can learn by observing the behavior of others and to
leverage this thought a sort of alter-ego was created with the
fictional name of Balbir Pasha. This campaign was in 5 phases as
shown below
3 C’s
1) Customer/ Stakeholder :
a. Urban men, especially in lower socio- economic groups of Mumbai
b. NGO’s working in the same area (aid)
c. Women (not targeted)

2) Competitor – The earlier advertisements on AIDS awareness

a. The campaign “Let’s keep Mumbai AIDS free”
b. The campaign “ Ye bimaari choone se nahi failti”
These 2 campaigns in particular were the predecessors of Balbir Pasha
Campaign. These were largely informative and didn’t address the final
focus point directly. Scare tactics were used and they seem to have
banked more on the fear factor to create awareness. Such messages
might alienate the actual target segment who would then get pushed
into the, “ye mere saath nahi ho sakta” mentality.

So, a totally new approach was to be understood and followed and

based on research about the disease and human behavior, the
campaign was designed. This was more positive in approach and made
the people discuss the issue rather than shelve it into the closet.

3) Corporation Strategy: Here this would mean whether or not the campaign
was aligned properly to the said objectives of the Operation Lighthouse. It
was definitely aligned to the objectives set and infact achieved more than it
set out to. And since they withdrew the 4th phase of the campaign in the face
of protests, it clearly shows that they were there just to set out their targets
and not hurt public sentiments.

6M’s
Mission:
1. To increase awareness of the spread of HIV AIDS from unprotected sex
2. To bring out the topic into the open and to subject into to discussions in
public forums
3. To motivate people to use the helpline services meant for disseminating
information about AIDS and allaying any fears/ clearing misconceptions in the
minds of people.

Message:
1. Intrigue
2. People forget things when they are drunk and so are likely to forget wearing a
condom which will expose them to the threat of AIDS
 3. You might be visiting the same CSW for sex or some person who isn’t your
spouse. But that person might be having other visitors which again opens you
up to the threat of AIDS
4. Better ‘safe’ than ‘sorry’
5. Even healthy looking people might be carriers of HIV/ AIDS
6. Positive messages rather than the messages of earlier campaigns like “ ye
bimaari choone se nahi failti” which created more of a fear perception
7. “Common man” was the character in every ad which said that everyone
needs to be aware
8. AIDS discussion is not a taboo
9. Serious issue

Gender: Male
Type of Message: Rational message as it gives information about the
various issues related to AIDS and wants the people to give a thought and be
rational about the threat. This doesn’t bank on the emotional type of
message as was used in the Shabana Azmi advertisement or on the moral
platform as the moral messages are more prescriptive in nature unlike this
campaign which is more of helping the person make a thoughtful decision.
For instance, it is not saying in the advertisement that alcohol is bad or don’t
drink alcohol. It is simply saying that alcohol may make us forget wearing a
condom so be aware about it.

Market/Target:
Though all males in Mumbai were the target, it was more directed towards males
from the lower sections of the society who are the least aware and the most likely to
contract and transmit the virus.

Media:
Wide range of media was used including print media, radio & television
commercials, billboards, posters in local trains & on buses. Mumbai was flooded
with the communication from all angles. Each medium was chosen and used as per
research. Be it an upper middle-class or a lower class person, no one in Mumbai is
outside the purview of the local trains. People might bash the local trains as much
as they want but they can definitely not ignore them as they are the lifeline of
Mumbai. So the local trains were selected to display posters. Buses again are used
frequently in Mumbai as so they were selected. A TV set was there in almost every
house. Thus every medium selected chose to put the message across to the right
person at the right time.

Appropriateness/Recommendations : The campaign was in Hindi and the

name Balbir Pasha was a very catchy name. However some points of concern which
we felt were
1. The use of the name “Manjula”- Manjula is a fairly common name and
any lady with that name might have undergone mental strain due to the
use of this name. This name was used in the ad, “ Balbir Pasha sirf
manjula ke paas jaata hai, par Manjula ke paas aur bhi to jaate
hain”. Research should have been done prior to the campaign to see
what names the sex workers normally use and whether or not they fall
into the lexicon of general names. For instance “Chameli” is a common
 sex worker name. So it should have been researched to see whether it
was being used by the general public. If not, then use that.

2. Woman, an equal stakeholder, not used appropriately: All the

advertisements were trying to protect the man from getting AIDS. The
lady is an equal stakeholder in this. So the message could also have
included at some stage an appeal from the sex worker herself to the client
to use a condom. Not involving the lady in this might have given the
perception of stigmatizing women. “Men make the difference” might be
the concept of UNAIDS where the onus is on men to change attitude and
behavior, but in a country like India where women are exploited day in
and day out, inclusion of women would have been more powerful as they
would have got a voice and self empowerment.

3. GLBT not addressed: Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexuals and transgender not

addressed at all. Gays constitute a considerable proportion in Mumbai.
And there is no limit for fantasies and no lack of perverts. These people
are infact more unsafe than the normal straight relationship people. This
was not at all considered.

Money: With funding from the USAID, there was no dearth of funds and a bouquet
of media was used to communicate.

Measurement: The success or failure of a campaign depends on its recall value in

the mind of the general public and whether it has achieved what it set out to
achieve.

Positives:
1) It was one of the most popular campaigns at that point in time and a point
of discussion in every drawing room. It certainly had a huge impact on the
psyche of the Mumbai male.

2) In order to measure the effectiveness of the campaign, TNS MODE

gathered data from interviews with individuals belonging to the target
group at two specific points in time:
• In November, prior to the launch of the "Balbir Pasha"
campaign, and
• Mid-February through early March, immediately following the
last phase of the campaign

Results of noticeability & awareness were as under:

“Balbir Pasha” recall in conjunction with 25% of respondents

AIDS issue
Condom message recall 52 %
Recall of discussing Balbir Pasha with 54 %
somebody else
 PSI’s confidential help line “saadhan” 28%
recall
People who said they might call in future 60 %

3) 250 % increase in no of calls to the hotline number

Negatives:
1) Homework not done properly. The 4th stage of the campaign was
withdrawn 4 days prior to schedule because of a protest by the
Maharastra women’s Commission. NGO’s protested and so did other stake
holders. So probably taking one or two stakeholder’s into confidence
before launching a campaign might be prudent.
2) Sentiments of people not taken care of properly

Overall we can say that, it achieved what it setout to achieve. So on a scale of 5

we can give a rating of 3.5