IN my previous column, I wrote how, in creating health and safety consciousness with the public, it is no longer enough to do a conventional public-relations or information-dissemination campaign about certain diseases and practices that can cause harm, injury and even death to people. PR professionals have to come up with novel and “cool” campaigns or gimmicks to capture the public’s attention.
I also wrote that, to be more effective, it would be good if such campaigns are endorsed and participated in by celebrities, government officials and other prominent personalities. Also an important factor for success is using electronic, digital and social media, which can help a campaign go “viral” in a very short time.
I cited two outstanding examples of such successful campaigns overseas. The first is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, launched by the ALS Foundation in the United States to promote awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The second is the Dumb Ways to Die campaign, created by McCann Melbourne for Metro Trains in Melbourne, Australia, to promote safety consciousness in riding their trains.
Gangnam Pasko Dance campaign
HERE in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH), by itself or in cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has, in my view, shown the most capability and creativity in using PR to disseminate health information.
The most recent example was the Gangnam Pasko Dance campaign that the DOH created in December. The dance was performed to the tune of South Korean pop singer Psy’s phenomenally successful song (and dance) “Gangnam Style,” which was still popular at that time. The aim of that dance campaign was to help reduce the number of injuries from the lighting of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve, especially among children.
In the days and weeks preceeding New Year’s Eve, Assistant Health Secretary Eric Tayag visited densely populated areas around Metro Manila and performed the Gangnam dance with children. Tayag’s performances were widely covered by the media, especially television. They appeared extensively on digital and social media, as well.
While the number of injuries recorded last New Year’s Eve still increased, compared with that in the previous year, the injuries were milder and were lower among children younger than 10 years old, who were the main targets of the campaign.
The Yosi Kadiri campaign
THE most successful and long-lasting PR program of the DOH thus far, however, was the Yosi Kadiri (smoking is nasty or loathsome, in Filipino slang) program launched by then-Health Secretary Juan Flavier back in the 1990s to encourage Filipinos to give up smoking.
An ugly and villainous mascot, also named Yosi Kadiri, symbolizing the harmful effects of smoking, was created for the campaign. The DOH made use of traditional media at the time (digital media were still in their infancy), including newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, television, posters, stickers and even comic books.
The campaign resonated with Filipinos, especially the younger members of the population, as it made use of a catchy slogan and a graphic and humorous depiction of the evils of smoking, as personified despicably and comically by the Yosi Kadiri mascot.
Even if it was no longer an official antismoking program of the DOH, the Yosi Kadiri slogan and mascot continued to be used long after, either by the DOH itself or by various antitobacco advocates in partnership with the department. This was usually the case during the World No-Tobacco Day, held on May 31 every year, which has been declared as such by the World Health Organization to draw widespread attention to the ill effects of smoking.
On World No-Tobacco Day in 2012, for instance, the Yosi Kadiri mascot stood at various busy intersections in Metro Manila, holding an antismoking poster. It was widely covered by both print and electronic media. And, on the same day last year, the antitobacco NGO HealthJustice, in partnership with the DOH, staged a make-believe tableau—also widely publicized—showing classic comic-book superheroes Superman and Batman as antismoking crusaders throwing punches at Yosi Kadiri.
PR role important
WHILE the efforts to reduce injuries or deaths from the lighting of firecrackers and smoking in the country have made some headway in recent years, the statistics on incidence and mortality from these health hazards are still high. And so the fight to mitigate, if not eradicate, these health scourges continues.
PR campaigns, however, are not, and should not be, the only component of such efforts, which should include legislation, regulation and enforcement, among others. But they certainly play an important part. The more creative and imaginative or “out of the box” they are, the better.
Rene Nieva is the president and ceo of Perceptions Inc.
PR Matters is a rotating column of members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association, the premier association for senior professionals around the world.
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