Tata Motors' 'Dipper Condoms', HUL's 'Lo kar lo baat' win Media Lions

Rediffusion won a Silver Media Lion for its Dipper Condoms campaign for Tata Motors. PHD India won a Bronze Media Lion for its Lo kar lo baat campaign for HUL's Wheel. BBDO won a Bronze Cyber Lion for its Dads Share the Load campaign for P&G's Ariel.

Last night, India won three Lions.

1. Rediffusion Y&R won a Silver Media Lion for its 'Dipper Condoms' initiative for Tata Motors.

Truck marketer Tata Motors wanted to promote safe sex among Indian truck drivers. According to studies, around two million truck drivers visit sex workers during their long journeys across India's winding highways at night, but only 11.4 per cent of them use condoms. AIDS awareness was found to be low, and about 16 per cent of the drivers were found to have STDs.

Tata Motors wanted to reach out to truck drivers in remote, media and internet-dark locations, in a language they understood best. So, the company created a condom brand called Dipper. About six million trucks on Indian roads have this message painted at the back - 'Use dipper at night'. It is a message that urges the driver reading it to dim his headlights at night.

The condoms were manufactured by HLL Lifecare. They were distributed in 'condom wallets' and the packaging had 'truck art' on it, that is, colourful patterns and pictures that reflected what the team calls 'highway culture'.

The condoms were distributed at health clinics, service centres, highway eateries, petrol pumps and convenience stores, by TCI Foundation, a government-backed organisation. Here's the best part - this was a 'zero media spend' initiative.

2. PHD India won a Bronze Media Lion for its 'Lo Kar Lo Baat' campaign for HUL's detergent brand Active Wheel.

About 90 million married couples in rural India live apart because one of them is away trying to earn money for the household. Mobile phone calls, the only way of staying in touch, are too expensive for these couples. To mitigate this problem, HUL's laundry brand Active Wheel created a new mobile service through which couples could make a three minute phone call for free.

The campaign targeted villages that had just about 30 per cent media coverage and low literacy rates. Ten million packs of Wheel, that displayed a special free-to-dial phone number and the promise of getting a call back from actor Salman Khan (brand ambassador of Wheel), were distributed.

When those who dialed the number did receive the call back (in Salman's voice), they were asked to dictate the mobile number of their loved one. And voila! Suddenly, they were on a call with their long-distance spouse. This was done using a software that recognises 19 different Indian dialects.

What's in it for Wheel? Well, while the call is being connected, an ad for Wheel is played. The campaign has helped connect 16 million people (that is, eight million couples). Wheel Active has seen a 145 per cent increase in top-of-mind awareness and a 14.5 per cent growth in sales volume. Ten months after the first batch of packs was distributed, the team continues to get two lakh calls per day.

3. BBDO's 'Dads Share the Load' campaign for P&G's detergent brand Ariel Matic won a Bronze Cyber Lion. Read our detailed interview with BBDO's Josy Paul about the genesis of this campaign here.

(All figures have been sourced from official Cannes Lions AVs).