Mankind Pharma's Unwanted 21 Days aims to normalise conversation around contraception through #ShhNotOkPlease

Contraception and family planning are conversations that happen behind closed doors and in a hushed environment. People are not comfortable talking about it in the open, let alone in front of parents and elders. Although this always is the case when two individuals get married, the immediate question the respective families have is, 'How soon will they get to see a grandchild?'

Unwanted 21 Days from Mankind Pharma decided to tackle this twin-edged challenge with the launch of the latest campaign, #ShhNotOkPlease. The brand aims to normalise the conversation around contraception, family planning and raise awareness in a fun, relatable, and engaging manner. Logicserve Digital, a digital marketing company and the Indian arm of Logicserve Group, was entrusted with the campaign's responsibility.

Central to an Indian wedding's key events such as the engagement, sangeet (pre-wedding), wedding ceremony, and honeymoon, the musical film features the most relatable characters. The lyrical narrative created for the video features intrusive instances of enquiries that family members make to newlyweds and their tongue-in-cheek response to such queries. The campaign is aptly titled #ShhNotOkPlease as the song and the dance moves showcase ways to overcome the perceived taboo about family planning and child spacing.

The campaign was launched in a phased manner, wherein the pre-launch campaign featured various family members being introduced doing the Shh (shush) action. The objective was to create curiosity around the campaign and then to accelerate it with the main video.

On what made the brand go with the thought of #ShhNotOkPlease, Joy Chatterjee, General Manager, Sales and Marketing Head, Mankind Pharma, said, "There has been a sea of change post-pandemic in the way people have been using contraceptives. Leveraging this aspect of consumption, we thought right now would be an ideal time to come up with a messaging that is aimed at changing consumer behaviour, than anything else. We believe changing consumer behaviour and having an open discussion about family planning and contraception will lead to more awareness and will result in more sales. Logicserve Digital not only understood our brief but also gauged the reason behind it, which is why they were able to articulate the messaging in a wholesome and entertaining fashion."

The videos:

Marathi:

Bhojpuri:

Hindi:

Bengali:

A look at the brand’s informative and engaging content on its Instagram page

https://www.instagram.com/unwanted_21days/

The relevant regional influencers are also sharing their 'shh' hook step to spread engagement and awareness in a fun yet catchy manner.

Commenting on the conceptualisation of the campaign, Manesh Swamy, VP, Creative, Logicserve Digital, said, "Typically in an Indian household, family-planning discussions are not openly spoken about or even if someone initiates, it's mostly shunned. Our approach was not to be preachy but at least attempt to normalise the conversation. And with the wedding season around, we thought a song-and-dance approach would be an excellent fit to drive home the message literally. We are glad we could create an earworm song that is share-worthy.” 

The campaign video was launched in Hindi and adapted in three other languages: Marathi, Bhojpuri, and Bengali. So far, the video has managed to garner over two million views.