P&G Shiksha uses humour to drive awareness on learning gaps in children

Delhi: P&G Shiksha, the CSR program of P&G India, launched its new campaign - #StandUpForLearningGaps, to spotlight the issue of learning gaps in children, which affects over 6 crore children in the country as per National Achievement Survey 2021.  

This year, the initiative aims to address the issue of gaps in foundational knowledge, which can sometimes manifest online as seemingly naive responses by children, often leading to mockery. 

Speaking about the new film, Abhishek Desai, Vice-President – Brand Operation and Category Leader – Grooming, P&G India, said, “For 19 years now, P&G Shiksha has championed access to education for millions of underprivileged children in India, impacting over 45 lakh children. We have reinforced this with our commitment to driving large-scale awareness regarding learning gaps, which impact over 6 crore children in India. These gaps can lead to frustration, a lack of understanding, and even ridicule. However, what often gets missed is the reason behind. By raising a pertinent question - “Would you laugh, if this happened with your child?” we are seeking to educate parents, guardians, teachers and well-wishers on the existence and impact of learning gaps, while also empowering them to identify and take steps to bridge these. We can come together to #StandupForLearningGap. Timely action can unleash a child’s full potential in leveraging education as an enabler for a brighter future.”

Conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett, the film begins with two memes being played in a standup comedy show, in which a journalist asks very simple math questions to the children. The children misunderstand the question being asked, and answer incorrectly, eventually sending the audience into a laughing frenzy. Amidst the laughter, the show lead – standup comedian Rahul Dua, poses a pertinent question to the audience – “Would you laugh, if it were your child in the video?” 

This is when the focus turns to the audience as they take the pause and realize that the incorrect answers in the meme were symptoms of learning gap. At this stage, the film then moves on to the interventions that P&G Shiksha is driving on ground along with its NGO partners to remediate learning gaps and urges the audience to stand up against learning gaps.

The campaign also includes a discussion featuring personalities from diverse backgrounds who will explore the issue of learning gaps. In-store activations at partner retail locations will further amplify the message.  

Rajdeepak Das, CCO Publicis Groupe South Asia and Chairman Leo Burnett South Asia, said, “To draw attention to one of the most overlooked problems in education in our country, "The Learning Gap" - we have used humour as a platform for our latest campaign for P&G Shiksha. We often come across memes of children making mistakes on the internet, not realizing the grim reality behind this. This is actually a learning crisis that affects almost 6 crore kids in India. By using stand-up comedy as a medium, we want to build awareness of this critical gap in learning.”

P&G India
Agency Credits:
Creative Agency - Leo Burnett
Public Relations – Madison PR
Social Media Partner – Sociowash
Events and On-Ground Activation Partner - Synergy Experiences
Online Media Activation Partner - Starcom 
Offline Media Activation - Essence Mediacomm

Film credits:
LB TEAM
Chief Creative Officer – Publicis Group for South Asia and Chairman – Leo Burnett South Asia: Rajdeepak Das
Chief Creative Officer: Vikram Pandey
Managing Partner: Abhimanyu Khedkar 
Brand Services Partner: Kaavya Narang
Senior Brand Services Associate: Khushi Panchal
Executive Creative Director: Vinit Sanghvi 
Associate Creative Director: Piyush Jaiswal
Senior Copywriter: Tabassum Hashmi 
Copywriter: Eesha Sharma
Art Director: Sameer Salvi 
Art Director: Ronak Banberu
Motion Designer: Shubham Mojar
Brand Strategy Director: Vrudhi Doshi
Brand Services Intern: Kavya Gulati 
Brand Services Intern: Lyla Shroff

 LB FILMS
Head of Films Department: Jignesh Maru
Agency Executive Producer: Anil Sonawane
 
 OFFROAD FILMS 
Director: Gary S
Executive Producer: Khalil Bachooali
Producer: Norten Menezes 
Associate Producer: Daya Suryavanshi
DOP: Shankar Raman
1st AD: Deepak Magoo 
2nd AD: Naveen Bharti
DA: Akshay Srivastava 
Line Producer: Siva Konar
Production Manager: Karan Kandhari and Ankit Satarkar
Production Designer: Shoumini Ghosh Roy
Wardrobe Stylist: Neha Panda
Hair & Makeup: Sneha Rodricks
Casting Director: Chhavi Vij
Post Producer: Vikrant Kapoor
Post Supervisor: Rahul Chavan
Offline Editor: Anshul Gupta
Grade: Dennis Gerasimov
Online Edit: Shyamal Sahoo 
CG: Rajiv (White Apple)
Music Director: Hanif Shaikh
Sound Engineer: Prince