Lifebuoy reprises 'Help a child reach 5' with a new ad

The latest ad in the brand's long-running campaign focusses on neonatal care.

After Gondappa and Tree of Life ads from Lifebuoy's much talked about 'Help a child reach 5' campaign, the brand has come up with a third addition to the series, called 'Chamki' that talks about neonatal care. Like its predecesors, the ad has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas.

The ad revolves around the fact that of the children who die before the age of five, 44 per cent do not live past 28 days post birth. Chamki is the story of an expectant mother called Sangrahi, who discusses her hopes and dreams for the yet unborn child. To help her understand the importance of clean hands, she is shown a message from her daughter (from the future), who is now seven, thanking her for all the things her mother did, most importantly, washing her hands and helping the child live past 28 days. The ad has been shot by filmmaker Anand Gandhi.

Help a child reach 5 campaign began in the year 2013, with a digital ad, the
story of Gondappa
, and a CSR initiative by Lifebuoy, where it adopted the Thesgora village in Madhya Pradesh, that had one of the highest rates of diarrhoea deaths.

HUL took the campaign forward next year, with another ad, 'Tree of Life', which was a story from the Indonesian village of Bitobe. The ad was the story of a woman, who had lost her son before he turned five, and nurtured a tree that was planted in his stead.

Both ads were appreciated and won accolades at multiple award shows. It is to see if the third in the series will be as appreciated.

At the launch of the ad, HUL unveiled a new initiative for neonatal care and handwashing drive in Bihar, in partnership with Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). Samir Singh, executive director, Hindustan Unilever, says on the occasion, "We are excited to release this film and take the hygiene message to where it matters the most: to new mothers in the first 28 days after delivery. The HelpAChildReach5 campaign started in Thesgora and showcased remarkable results. We now impact child health at a very large scale in partnership with the Children's Investment Fund Foundation."

The Chamki ad that was released on November 28 has received over 2,00,000 views on YouTube. The ad was also retweeted around 200 times on Twitter. This health soap from HUL has incorporated public interest and welfare in its advertising on several occasions previously. Other than #HelpAChildReach5, the brand has undertaken hygiene and hand-washing related activities in Kumbh Mela and government schools.