Launch of Lighting a Billion Lives at Grand Hyatt

Last night at a posh suburban hotel, the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association held an event to launch what could be India’s largest ever Public Service Communication Programme for “Lighting a Billion Lives”. The evening was hosted by President of the IAA, Mr. Raj Nayak and his managing committee. The glittering ceremony was attended by various eminent personalities from the Media, Marketing, and Advertising fraternity. The event was conceptualized by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri in conjunction with the IAA to further the cause of spreading awareness about renewable sources of energy, such as solar energy to bring light to millions of homes in rural India.

As part of this initiative, the IAA invited agencies, organizations, and individuals to submit creative communication proposals that focus on sensitizing individual citizens and corporate bodies to the issue; exciting them about the possibilities of exploring solar energy; enthusing them to be a part of the transformation and motivating them to support the campaign by sponsoring villages affected by this crippling problem. The response to this contest was impressive, with 113 entries being submitted for consideration. The judging took place in two rounds wherein a Creative Jury shortlisted the strongest candidates for further review by an Elite Jury. The winner of the contest was announced on 23.12.08 and present with the “The Creative Lantern,” a specially crafted trophy. With the help of the IAA and other stalwarts in the industry, the winning creative artworks were transformed into a full-fledged, nationwide media campaign.

The event began with a touching and poignant poem penned and recited by Mr. Prasoon Joshi. Further, Dr. Pachauri and Mr. Nayak delivered eye opening speeches that urged the importance of being proactive towards the cause. The event’s Chief Guest, Dr. Farooq Abdullah addressed the audience and explained how consciousness about renewable energy has finally found its way into the minds of the citizens of India. By referencing the 3 most important words to an actor – lights, camera, action - Bollywood actress Asin conveyed a heart-warming message stating that without electricity she would not be where she is today and entreated the audience to act towards helping this great cause. Also, the IAA took this opportunity to bestow the first-ever Young Professionals membership to Lara Balsara.

The event was attended by a bevy of heavy-hitters from Bollywood, Politics and Corporate India. Some of the eminent personalities in attendance included, Soni Razdan, Mahesh Bhatt, Nina Kapoor, Nandini Sen, Sam Balsara, Lara Balsara, Lynn De Souza, Madhukar Kamath, Chintamani Rao, Feroza Billimoria and Meenakshi Madhwani, to name but a few.

All in all the evening was a grand success and guests went away having learned some important lessons about affecting social change through the use of renewable