PROMOTING CONDOM USAGE: DUMB CON

The advert titled DUMB CON was done by BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST advertising agency for PROMOTING CONDOM USAGE (BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST/BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION company) in INDIA. It was released in the April 2008. Business sector is Public health & safety.

Credits:

• Advertising Agency: BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST, INDIA
  Creative Director: Radharani Mitra
  Scriptwriter: Soma katiyar
  
  
  Script in English
  Crowd: Chant of 'condom…condom…condom' until it sounds like ‘dumb who...dumb who’
  
  MVO1: Dumb Who?
  
  SFX: Crowd cheering
  
  MVO2: Hmmm...dumb who? The one who does not talk about condom!
  
  MVO1: Hey, be a man, talk openly.
  
  MVO1 & MVO2: Because the one who talks is a winner. Aah haan!
  
  Script in Orginal Language
  Crowd: Chant of 'condom…condom…condom' until it sounds like ‘dumb who...dumb who’
  
  MVO1: Dumb con?
  
  SFX: Crowd cheering
  
  MVO2: Hmm…Dumb con? Jo Condom ke bare mein baat na kiya.
  
  MVO1: Ki bhai Mard bano, khulke baat karo.
  
  MVO1 & MVO2: Kyunki Jo Bola Wohi Sikander! Aah haan!
  
  Brief Explanation
  This radio spot is part of the ‘Kabaddi’ campaign. Kabaddi is a team sport originally from the Indian subcontinent where chanting the name 'kabaddi' during play is a crucial aspect of game. The campaign TV commercial shows a ‘kabbadi’ match being won by the unlikely chant of ‘condom, condom…’ instead of ‘kabbadi, kabbadi’. The strap line of the communication is ‘Jo Bola Wohi Sikander’ - ‘The one who talks is the winner’.
  
  The joke in the radio centres around the word ‘Con’ which is the Hindi word for ‘Who’. When the word condom is chanted in one go after a point it starts sounding like ‘dumb con’ which in Hindi language means ‘dumb who’…The one who does not talk about condoms. The VO is done in the style of an iconic radio artist in India called Amin Sayani. Many generations have grown up hearing him.