Ad guru Piyush Pandey will direct film star Aamir Khan, who is riding high on the success of his recent blockbuster PK, for a road safety campaign. The Government has roped in the two celebrities to create an onscreen advertisement that would have an immediate connect with the masses.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), which is worried about nearly 1.3 lakh people dying annually in road crashes across the country, has engaged the Ogilvy & Mather India executive chairman Pandey to make ad films for educating the masses.
“We have hired professionals for this job as we know that they (Pandey and Khan) understand the pulse of the masses. They know what connects and what will make an impact,” said Vijay Chibber, secretary, MoRTH. He was speaking at a conference on status of road safety and safe mobility initiatives in India. “The ratio of accidents and people dying in India is absolutely unacceptable and we have to bring it down,” he said.
Statistics with the MoRTH show that in the year 2013, at least 1,37,572 people died in road crashes. Highest casualities were reported in Uttar Pradesh (16, 004), followed by Tamil Nadu (15, 563), and Andhra Pradesh (14, 171).
Another set of data with the Ministry shows that in the decade 2003-2012 the official toll of people killed on Indian roads was 11,54,553 and at least 49,61,970 people were injured in road accidents across the country. Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has also written to States to issue advisories to all cinema halls to screen road safety ad films before screening the actual commercial film.
This is the third time that BJP leaders have engaged Pandey. last year, Piyush Goyal-led power Ministry had hired his agency along with Madison World chairman and MD Sam Balsara and Sunil Alagh, a marketing consultant for a compelling campaign around saving electricity. Ogilvy’s sister agency, Soho Square and Madison, are also credited with helping the BJP with its lok Sabha poll campaign.