Ad agency Publicis funds NGO's effort to help rediscover Gandhi

InGandhisShoes.org, an NGO, and Publicis India, its communications partner,  plan to launch a campaign on Gandhi from 30 January, the day of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

The venue or the campagin is Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. A two minute silence will be observed in his memory, which will be marked by a short film clip on Gandhi, the core idea being, "You can kill the man, not the idea."

Titled Let Gandhi Talk, the campaign aims to give Indians the opportunity to rediscover Gandhi.

The campaign has been conceptualised by Shailendra Uniyal, founder, InGandhisShoes.org. The project will not only attempt to resurrect Gandhi's philosophy of peace and non-violence, but also make people realise that it is possible to dissent, demand and drive change without resorting to violence.

At the event people will be invited to sign a petition in the form of a giant postcard, with a commemorative Gandhi stamp and a message blurb addressed to the President of India, demanding that Gandhi's quotes and messages be included on currency notes and other representations of the Mahatma. 
 
Following this, people from the audience can step into a large-size replica of Gandhi's sandals and take an oath of non-violence and also voice their opinions.

These activities will be followed by a campaign, wherein people will hold placards with thought-blurbs consisting of Gandhi's quotes and messages next to his statues, murals and other representations in different cities of India.

The petition will also travel to various places of public interest, including schools, colleges and youth hangout zones, where people can sign it and convey their opinions to the President.

The campaign has been funded by Publicis India. The agency is also welcome to the idea of brand association.

A mix of digital and on-ground activations and events will do the job. The film, which is nearing completion, will be for private circulation and will also be in the public domain through sites such as Youtube.

The team behind the campaign includes Anup Sharma and Saurabh Dwivedi, who are working alongside Uniyal and Prasad Raghavan, who has designed the Gandhi sandals. The team from Publicis India is led by Upputuru and includes Publicis Dialog, the activation partner.

Nomad Pictures is the film production partner; Hanmer MS&L is the public relations partner and Publicis Modem is the interactive partner.