Brands need to have a powerful point of view.
Being socially relevant is also a way of selling. Thankfully, after spending a decade in the industry, I have found that more and more marketers are willing to be socially relevant and do all it takes to make a brand stand out.
Few days back, I was fortunate to launch a campaign for Roca. With #CleanYourHeart, Roca and We Are Water Foundation India has made a powerful point on a unique facet of open defecation. The digital film brings to forefront a prominent issue faced by millions of domestic helps every day, i.e. ‘access to toilet’.
The digital film addresses the stigma that many domestic helps in India continue to face i.e. the lack of access to household toilets in households/families they work for. Even the most progressive Indian households are hypocritical when it comes to the domestic helps using their toilets.
After handling Roca for close to two years, I realized this is something no one was focusing on. I felt it was important to create communication around this topic. We, from the so-called modern homes of India are often not even aware if our maids have access to toilets throughout the day. Most of these domestic helps work for long hours, going up to 8-9 hours without using a toilet. At times, there’s access to a servants toilet, at times not. Even when a servant’s toilet is available it might not be in the same block, or conveniently located. As a result, they end up relieving themselves on the way to work; exposing themselves to a lot of health hazards and safety issues.
This is arguably the first time any brand has done any communication on this topic. That’s the reason why, we kept the communication simple and to the point.
Anindita is a Creative Director with Dentsu Impact.
