2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Branded Content & Entertainment?

The health situation for women in Pakistan is dismal - Pakistan stands at a miserable 153rd place in the health and survival global index. Growing gender disparity is one of the major contributors to this fact. A large number of graduated female doctors are not working in the medical field due to conservative family structures in Pakistan, a massive strain on a country where women refuse to meet male doctors for treatment. Our campaign, starting with a film, aimed to challenge this societal structure, and bring back into practice a number of women who are currently not working.

Background

Girls in Pakistan outshine boys when it comes to academics: almost three/fourths of all medical graduates every year in the country are women. And yet, heart-breakingly, only 23% of these graduates continue to practice medicine after receiving their degree. In a highly conservative and religious country like Pakistan, where women refuse to meet male doctors, this low number of female doctors in the field has led to one of the highest numbers of maternal death, infant mortality and breast cancer rates in Asia. Shan Foods, as part of its corporate social responsibility platform, briefed us to come up with a powerful campaign that would address the shortage of female doctors in the country.

Describe the creative idea

Pakistan has a peculiar phenomenon: the "Dr.Daughter-in-law." The phrase applies to the 77% of all Pakistani female medical graduates who never go on to practice medicine simply because they are not allowed to by their husband's family. Once we had identified this insight, we decided to take it head-on. Our idea was centered around the oath that every medical practitioner takes when they graduate. We matched this sacred oath to the oath most mothers-in-law take in the country currently: to not allow their daughters-in-law to practice medicine. The oath highlighted the stark contrast: as the doctor pledges to serve humanity, society wants her to serve the kitchen. Launched under the hashtag #OathForHer, our campaign asked every mother-in-law in the country to change their stance and support their daughters-in-law who want to practice medicine.

Describe the strategy

A mother-in-law is a formidable character in every Pakistani household. She is the matriarch who rules with an iron fist. She demands perfection from her daughter-in-law in every household task, especially cooking. Most daughters-in-law in Pakistan cannot decide to have a career without their mother-in-law’s permission and this was the heart of our strategic approach. Show the mother-in-law as the wind beneath the daughter-in-law’s wings. In our approach, we portrayed the transformation of a powerful figure who starts off with a traditionalist approach, to one who supports. We wanted to communicate that until the family shares the sacredness of the oath, no doctor will be able to keep her word. Shan as a cooking brand has always stood for the empowered woman who has a life beyond the kitchen, an especially brave stand in a country like Pakistan.

Describe the execution

We launched with a powerful film - the story begins with the start of any doctor’s career: the white coat ceremony, a ritual in every medical school featuring the Hippocrates Oath. We took the oath a step forward, modifying the words repeated as the voice of the society. While the doctor repeats the words, “I, as a doctor, will dedicate my life to serve humanity, my patients’ health will be my priority” we hear society’s version of the oath in the mother-in-law’s voice, “She, as a doctor daughter in law will dedicate her life to her kitchen. Her utmost priority will be what she cooks everyday”. After this hard-hitting contrast, we eventually showcased the transformation of the mother-in-law in the same film. The film was followed by on-ground activations such as sponsoring day-care centers at hospitals and placement help for married women who would like to return to the field.

Describe the outcome

The campaign spread like wild-fire: we had ignited a conversation that was well-known yet unspoken, sparking millions of conversations and becoming a movement. In less than 2 weeks since the campaign launched, the film has touched 74 million impressions, a reach of 16 million, and total views of 12.6 million. The earned media so far is a staggering $24,000,000. For a country where the internet penetration is 27%, this is by far the most successful campaign for Shan foods and for Pakistan on this topic. The country's biggest film producer has announced to turn this campaign into a feature film to further raise awareness. Special shows were done organically by thought leaders and celebrities who are doctors themselves. Morning shows were taken over, as were online blogs.