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Balbir Pasha : The Baadshah of Aids Campaigns in India

PSI, a Washington DC – based non-profit organization, worked around the globe in the
area of health care for the low-income population. In 2002, PSI as part of its Indian
operations, started ‘Operation Lighthouse’, a program aimed at bringing about behavioral
change in target group members in order to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS contraction. As
part of this program, a campaign was launched, which later came to be known as the
‘Balbir Pasha’ campaign. The campaign was launched in Mumbai, the city considered to
be the epicenter of India’s HIV/AIDS problem. As part of this campaign, PSI worked
with Lowe, an advertising agency.

The four-month-long campaign (November 2002 – February 2003) was successful in


achieving its objectives. Post-campaign research revealed that the campaign had made an
impact on the target group and changed their attitudes toward risky behavior. Though a
number of campaigns had been launched earlier in Mumbai, which conveyed messages
relating to AIDS, they were more informative and educational in nature and did not
address the consumer directly. For example, the messages conveyed were, ‘Let’s keep
Mumbai AIDS free’ or ‘HIV/AIDS does not spread through touch’.

The Balbir Pasha campaign was direct and addressed the individual. The campaign also
provided information about HIV/AIDS hotlines and counseling and testing services
available for people.

Pre-campaign research revealed that one in every three men who visited a commercial
sex worker (CSW) was ignorant of the fact that a healthy looking individual could also be
a carrier of HIV. Many among the target group were unaware of the fact that the men
who patronized CSWs had a high risk of contracting HIV. A strong link was also found
between high-risk behavior and alcohol consumption.

PSI India devised a campaign focused on urban men in the age group of 18-34 and
belonging to the lower socio-economic groups, as they were part of the high-risk category
that frequented CSWs. The campaign wanted to generate a discussion about HIV/AIDS
among the target population and also aimed at increasing the perception of HIV/AIDS
risk among the high-risk groups by personalizing the message through the creation of
identifiable real-life situations.

The campaign was based on the Social Learning Theory of Albert Bandura, which said
that people could learn by observing the behavior of others. An ‘alter-ego’ , Balbir Pasha
was thus created to serve as a behavioral model to communicate risk awareness among
the target group.

The character, which the target group could identify with, was used to convey the
message in an approachable and easy manner. The campaign used a number of media
vehicles to communicate its message. An appropriate mix of vehicles was selected which
included print ads, mainly in language newspapers, television and radio commercials,
billboards, ads in cinema halls, posters in trains, and bus shelters. The objective was to
ensure that these messages gained top of the mind recall among the target audience.

The campaign had three phases starting with a teaser campaign aimed at building intrigue
and to get through the clutter of ads the audience in Mumbai was bombarded with. This
three-week-long phase saw men belonging to the lower and middle income group asking
each other, ‘Will Balbir Pasha get AIDS?’ The second phase, which lasted for eight
weeks, which was also the main campaign phase, depicted specific behavioral patterns
displayed by Balbir Pasha. The second phase made the target group question themselves
about their own behavior and whether they fell in the high-risk category.

The third phase of the campaign, which lasted for two weeks, provided the target group
with a helpline number that could be used to get reliable information that the audience
would like to seek with relation to high-risk behaviors that would result in the contracting
of HIV/AIDS. The third phase motivated the target group to call the helpline. This phase
also carried messages like “I don’t want to become Balbir Pasha. What should I do?”

A post-campaign evaluation study by TNS Mode with 1500 people revealed that a
quarter of all respondents recalled the Balbir Pasha campaign spontaneously. Of the
respondents, 62% recalled the campaign after hearing the word ‘HIV/AIDS’, while 90%
remembered the campaign after hearing the words ‘Balbir Pasha’. It was observed that
PSI’s ‘Saadhan’ HIV/AIDS hotline saw a 250% increase in the number of calls it
received after the campaign. Almost a quarter of the respondents knew the name of the
hotline; more than 75% believed that the hotline would provide reliable information to
the caller. Respondents also recorded increasing awareness levels regarding high-risk
behaviors and what they could do to avert the disease.

The campaign was assimilated as part of the local culture. Amul, known for its satirical
and topical billboard ads, used Balbir Pasha as one of its billboard themes. The ad came
with the caption, ‘Who does Balbir Pasha wake up with every morning? Amul Butter.
Regular Item’. Four months after the campaign, a leading daily came up with a cartoon
on Balbir Pasha. The campaign was also discussed in the local media. An independent
film on sex and AIDS used the ‘Balbir Pasha’ name while a B-grade movie also used the
name ‘Balbir Pasha’ in its title.

Questions for Discussion:

1. “The (Balbir Pasha) campaign was assimilated as part of local culture.” What attracted
the target group to the personality of Balbir Pasha?

2. “Post-campaign research revealed that the campaign had made an impact on the target
group and changed their attitudes toward risky behavior.” How did PSI try to bring about
a behavioral change in the target audience?

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