Indiantelevision.com Team

(21 August 2007 4:10 pm)

NEW DELHI: An Indian media relations campaign aimed at promoting the consistent use of condoms as part of safe sex practices and family planning has been chosen for the 2007 United Nations Grand Award for outstanding achievement in public relations.

The campaign, Condom Bindaas Bol, was designed to address a decline in condom use and sales across eight northern Indian states that account for 45 per cent of the condom market in India. These states include Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh which makes up 40 per cent of India’s population.

Through the slogan, Condom Bindaas Bol (Say Condom Freely), the campaign aimed to encourage people to talk about condoms using two messages. The first is that “condom” is not a taboo word and its usage should be discussed freely. The second is that condom usage is for everyone, not just individuals in high-risk groups.

The United Nations Grand Award will be presented as part of the 2007 IPRA Golden World Awards at a ceremony on 6 November in London.

The annual award is jointly sponsored by the United Nations Department of Public Information and the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), a professional organization for senior international public relations executives. The Grand Award was established in 1990 to recognize excellence in campaigns that address UN priority issues.