When Balbir Pasha stormed the country

The genesis of SOMAC resulted in unprecedented and farreaching support to concerns countrywide Vitally harnessing and extending the power of communications to public service advertising its longrunning campaigns pitched panIndia changed thousands of livesThe NGO and donor community saw value in knowledgeable professionals finding impactful solutions to social causes Though never the motivation SOMAC won the Global Award at the New York Festivals Advertising Awards and First Prize from the Association of Business Communicators of IndiaFormer collaborators recreate the lessons learnt from that memorable early era of public service communication from the 13thfloor Express Towers office at Nariman Point where it all began Why was SOMAC unique and how did you get involved with itGK Before SOMAC became a special department within Lintas Alyque Padamsee created several public service ads PSAs Tara Sabavala worked with him on an HIV and AIDS programme for the Government of Maharashtra SOMAC was a natural progression exclusively handling communication for the development sectormdashbecoming a fullfledged division offering professional communication strategy and media planning for national and international NGOs and communitybased groups wanting to make a difference Tara left to head Concern India After I joined SOMAC was ldquoofficialrdquoTS I was part of Lintas Public Service work from 1989 to 1992 before SOMAC was an independent unit Alyque was already creating 30second films available gratis for TV channels and cinemas on subjects from dowry to the dangers of tobacco Lintas personnel on creative and client service teams had the opportunity to volunteer pro bono for NGOs coming to us for communication material Alyque demonstrated you can serve the nation right from where you are with the same skill set yoursquod use for advancing in your place of workNO Irsquod worked with an HIV prevention programme in 1990 focusing on Kamathipura sex workers We designed the SOMAC campaign with the government providing and broadcasting accurate information on a mass scaleVC When I joined SOMAC in 1994 what stuck out was that an ad agency invested in a dedicated team creating social issues communication something no other agency had doneGulan Kripalani Radical Transformational Leadership practitionercoach Tara Sabavala social development professional Varsha Chawda behaviour change communication amp brand planning strategist CY Gopinath author filmmaker cook nomad Nandini Oomman global health specialist amp founderCEO The Womenrsquos Storytelling Salon and Pervin Varma development sector consultantHow was this PSA responded to thenTS Often the involvement needed persuasion I recall meetings with the Indian Express editor to run the Causes and Concerns seriesmdashwellresearched articles on education and population There was no budget We produced campaigns if the media did so free of costGK We were a great asset to fledgling initiatives trying to be visible simply unable to afford paying agencies Most NGOs hardly had money to spend on communication of any kindNO AIDS wasnrsquot recognised as a public health problem in India till the late rsquo80s The biggest challenge was a campaign communicating everyonersquos risk of contracting HIV We had to destigmatise this Initially many acted as if this was a foreign problem or thought gay men sex workers and drug users alone were at risk We created a campaign which didnrsquot scare but raised awareness of HIV transmissionCYG PSA advertising was internally funded a lot We worked on shoestring budgets exhilarated to come up with brilliant ideas not costing a bomb There wasnrsquot systematic assessment or a push to measurable monitorable action When work was collaborative with NGOs the metrics of response and impact were usually built into the project A single LintasSOMAC intervention might be part of a larger planPV Exposure to PSA left an indelible mark profoundly influencing career and life choices like mine Lintas birthed social communications as a discipline in India The first batch of Sumit Royrsquos trainees we expected to hear Alyquersquos success storiesmdashthe legendary Lalitaji and Liril campaigns Unpredictable as ever he shared public service films Lintas had produced hardworking pieces of communication changing hearts and mindsWhat were SOMACrsquos outstanding campaignsTS Our campaign against amniocentesis for sex determination was instrumental in the state banning this practice We also ran a questionanswer column with Indira Jaising and Lawyers Collective inviting questions from women and provided guidance on using the law to access their rights Though it was in English we were flooded with mails from across the country in every conceivable language Our HIV campaign for the Maharashtra government addressed misinformation and stigma This was before SOMAC formed as an entityGK The largest was for DFID Department for International Development in collaboration with NACO National Aids Control Organisation The ldquoHealthy Highwaysrdquo campaign we designed and produced aimed to prevent AIDS among truck drivers and sex workers It covered every state with over 40 NGOs in constant touch with truckers crisscrossing highwaysNationwide outreach workers communicated with drivers at dhaba rest stops and sex workers in brothels Multilingual materialsmdashmobile photo exhibitions a SOMAC invention telling stories with blownup photos real locations actors dialogue in word bubbles films flip charts booklets audio tapes condom boxes bumper stickers posters fliersmdashreached transport company managers STD doctors on highways truckersrsquo wives dhaba and bar owners We trained workers on best using the little time they had with the drivers to stress the importance of protectionWhat we did with PSI Population Services International was unconventional and innovative Visiting brothels we talked to sex workers about condoms did loads of infotainment programmes including popular dances on specially made stages in Kamathipura John Matthew Matthanrsquos film for us Bodyguard was a huge hit We gave free passes to sex workers their customers and pimpsAnother influential collaboration was with Campaign Against Child Labour CACL and UNICEF A corporate partner paid for media releases Hundreds of directly affected labourers were taken off streets and put into schoolsCYG I was involved in a moviehall intervention where sex workers were given tickets for favourite clients The film paused before a song or dance and a theatre skit would be performed on HIV survival skills We scripted a dynamic sex worker character Champadevi who became their mascotNO The AIDS campaign was my first encounter with the public sector in a project productively maximising privatepublic partnership SOMAC couldnrsquot have implemented statewide public health communication without the DHS Directorate of Health Services Maharashtra and the DHS couldnrsquot have designed the mass media campaign without SOMAC content and copyVC ldquoBalbir Pasha Ko AIDS Hoga Kyardquo is one of Lintasrsquo most impactful panIndian campaigns That experience fed into our ethos of communication based on real consumer insights Balbir Pasha became a catchphrase and Harvard Business School case study brand builders refer to even todayldquoHelp a Child Reach 5rdquo winning a Cannes gold and Effies award campaigned across India Indonesia and Kenya It supported Lifebuoyrsquos mission to change childrenrsquos handwashing behaviour preventing under5 diarrhoeal deaths Our 4year leprosy campaign for the Ministry of Health helped eradicate the diseaseWhich other aspects of this journey have been gratifyingNO This was an exciting time in India because different organisations worked on HIV prevention as the public health issue became visible Each played a role in the response to HIV in Bombaymdashraising awareness advocating for rights delivering actual programmes to communities served No single entity can tackle public health partnerships between different bodies are crucialVC I split my 25 years at SOMACLintas into pre and post Balbir Pasha eras Funny how your recommendations are valued once you have one such campaign under your belt Sarkari babus notorious for boring communication were willing to step out of their safe zones I donrsquot distinguish between brand and cause advertising SOMAC used brand advertising tools in social campaigns with effectivenessPV Many of us switched from the corporate to social sector because Gerson da Cunha and Alyque took Lintas to mean so much more than an advertising company I worked for relief in the riots bomb blasts and AGNI The mission brought people together to celebrate their differences rather than be torn apart by them How we currently miss such vision and leadership in endeavoursCYG As far as I can tell public service advertising now covers more topics from COVID safety and climate change to being woke racism white supremacy the importance of hugging and disease preventionGK We spent time understanding issues listening to people affected attempting holistic communication nurturing an enabling environment for change to happen Monthly themed messages on our Babulnath hoarding carried a contact number for people to connect with a relevant NGO volunteer for itFollowing 1993rsquos terrible violence we worked with NGOs CBOs educational institutions the Sheriffrsquos officehellip on ldquoHands of Harmonyrdquo stretching from Colaba to Mulund Citizens too frightened to leave home for weeks became the human chain That event visibly helped start some healingTS Alyque instilled in us a certain rigour not restricted to media campaigns After the Babri Masjid demolition we organised a public meeting to diffuse hate and fear Alyque showed by example how to ldquodordquo not stand silent observer of what needs changingAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom