CRY pledges voting for child rights

The campaign aims to pursue political candidates to ensure due emphasis is given to child rights in their party manifestos.

With the upcoming General Elections, the time has come when almost every brand communication will either carry a strong political angle or will encourage viewers to exercise their right to vote.

CRY (Child Rights and You) and its creative partner BBH India have joined hands to spread awareness about the importance of voting for child rights in India as part of CRY's nationwide campaign, 'Vote for Child Rights'.

BBH created a campaign around the Childmark, a yellow dot symbolising the vote for child rights. Titled 'Vote for Child Rights', the campaign aims to pursue political candidates to ensure due emphasis is given to child rights in their party manifestos. The mission was to make politicians stand up and take notice. Instead of a simple pledge, BBH India did something unique and created a vote bank.

The campaign was driven online and on ground. The online film demonstrates how the yellow Childmark and a vote bank can make all the difference. It targets political candidates, asking them to give emphasis on child rights in their party manifestos and asks voters to vote for the parties that do so. Essential child rights including the right to education, nutrition, protection and the right to a childhood are highlighted in the film.

The film opens with a young boy lugging a heavyweight object with difficulty. On the side of the screen a finger appears and is marked with a yellow dot (signifying the vote cast). The boy then leaves the load and is shown playing with the yellow dot that converts into a football. The film moves to a young girl getting drenched in a heavy downpour. She soon comes across the same yellow dot that has now taken the form of an umbrella. She picks it up to protect herself from the rain. A young child is shown studying with the help of a candlelight that flickers. The yellow dot now makes an appearance in the form of a lamp that is suspended from the ceiling and brightens up the room so that she can read with ease. The film then features a boy sitting forlornly with an empty plate in front of him. Soon, the yellow dot takes the form of an egg and is shown cooking on the stove. The super appearing on the screen reads 'Vote for child rights' with the yellow dot on the finger transforming into an orange, stethoscope, cover of a medicine bottle and so on. The voiceover explains, "Before this election, let's vote to make children's issues a priority. If we all do that then we change the future of India's children."

The campaign is being promoted online through Facebook and Twitter using digital posters on both the platforms posted along with the hashtag #voteforchildrights.

Elaborating on the importance to reach out to politicians and public through this campaign, Anita Bala Sharad, director, resource mobilisation, CRY, says, "This campaign aims to urge politicians to put children first and the general public to vote for a party that does so. While several nationwide initiatives and policies are in place to protect children against violation of their rights, there is a visible lack of political will to implement the same. We wanted to highlight the support we can garner from the public to ensure that the parties take notice and that the best interest of the child be put at the centre of all policy, legislation and practice. BBH has beautifully depicted the rights of the child and how a vote in support of the same can bring about a lasting change in the child's life."

Speaking about the campaign, Subhash Kamath, CEO and managing partner, BBH India, says, "Child rights is a very real issue. People don't fully understand the concept so we wanted to bring it right up front. Not with a predictable lecture on the issue, but with an inspirational film. We wanted to make it interesting so people will engage and share it with friends."

On the making of the film, Russell Barrett, CCO and managing partner, BBH India states, "The first bit of creative thinking was to suggest that to get politicians' attention, we have to create a vote bank. That's exactly what we set off to do. Having a lovely idea is great, but having the in-house talent to make it come alive is truly rewarding. The team worked their fingers to the bone for weeks to get the writing, illustration, animation, photography, direction and post-production just right. We have to thank the client though, for the immense patience they had while we developed, scrapped and redeveloped things. "

CRY - Child Rights and You is an Indian NGO that believes in every child's right to a childhood - to live, learn, grow and play. Over the years CRY has initiated, launched and organised campaigns to amplify the voice of children and their rights. Some notable ones are 'My School Campaign', 'Tamil Nadu State Elections' campaign and 'Sabko Shikhsha Samaan Shiksha', a campaign on the Right to Education.

These campaigns have focused on specific issues - from influencing child-friendly policies, to rehabilitation efforts in disaster and natural calamities, and creating awareness on the situation of children.