MUMBAI: While Mumbai voted on 24 April, DDB MudraMax and Thincquisitive Foundation celebrated democracy, by hosting India’s first ever Voters Party at Hard Rock Cafe, Andheri, Mumbai.
Being a Voters party, only people who had voted, by showing proof of the Black Dot, could enter. The hosts screened the IPL match and this was followed by live performances by Anushka Manchanda, Spud in the Box and Vasuda Sharma.
Operation Black Dots objective was to bring a shift in the way politics is looked at in India and by making it more engaging and inclusive. Open hangout sessions were held, at regular intervals with eminent political leaders, journalists and economists such as Priya Dutt, Ajit Ranade, Aarthi Saathe, Mahrukh Inayet, Sanjay Jha, Milind Deora, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, where a various number of topics were discussed such as Section 377, Political Ideologies, Money spent on political campaigns etc.
The team also got the youth interested and tuned in, by visiting most colleges across Mumbai, and helping students get their voters id and also answer all queries they had regarding any subject. Apart from this, Vishal Dadlani, Purab Kohli, VJ Jose and Anushka Manchanda were roped in to spread the word and get as many youngsters to vote by tweeting and posting messages about #OBDIndia on their Twitter and Facebook pages.
On 23 April, Tata Nano Twist helped promote the initiative by supplying six cars and four bikes that went all around the city, encouraging people to vote, the next day. The team also took to outdoor for the final leg, by asking Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan where they’re going to be on voting day.
Commenting on the success of the campaign, Operation Black Dot founder and DDB Mudra Group chief youth marketer Samyak Chakrabarty said, “Thorough this campaign, not only is this an incentive for the disinterested voters to go out and vote, but is an excellent way for them to celebrate their vote and consequently democracy. From getting MPs on bean bags to breaking down complex political concepts into quick fun videos, we did it all to ensure our TG finds such discourse interesting and engaging. Our team of 100+ volunteers who were mainly students themselves did a great job in engaging their peer groups for this cause."
