The Emvie citation for the "out of home" category described the campaign as a captivating and fresh approach to raising awareness about a very serious public health issue. Further evidence of the campaign's success is demonstrated by the fact that 16% of callers to a helpline established to provide information about the nearest sputum testing centres credited the outdoor hoardings for getting them to call in.
The innovative hoardings are part of the Bulgam Bhai mass media campaign introduced in March 2012 as part of Project Axshya, a civil society initiative to strengthen TB control in India led by The Union South-East Asia Office (USEA). The campaign, which also includes TV, radio and print ads was designed in collaboration with Population Services International (PSI), India and BBC World Service Trust. Its goal is to spread awareness about tuberculosis and support Project Axshya's objective of a TB-free India through an early diagnosis and complete cure.
At the heart of the campaign is "Bulgam Bhai," a superhero who detects and attends every cough in the country and asks the cougher "Do hafte ho gaye kya?" (Has it been two weeks yet?). His catchphrase effectively highlights the cough as the commonest symptom of TB and functions as call to action for testing and treatment. The primary aim of the campaign is to encourage people to assess whether they are at risk for TB, while emphasising the non-discriminatory and treatable nature of the disease.
In the "coughing hoarding" installations, advertisements are placed in heavily populated areas and they regularly emit the sound of a wracking cough. The coughing track serves to snap passers-by out of their reverie, grab their attention, and arouse their curiosity as to its cause. Bulgam Bhai then chimes in with the query "Has it been two weeks yet?" prompting his audiences to reflect on they may be at risk for TB. The audio is supplemented by text on the hoarding with critical information about TB services, including free sputum testing available at the nearest DMC (designated microscopy centre) and the free of cost DOTS treatment.
The strategy employed in the coughing hoardings thus successfully combines a cost-effective mode of disseminating the message with an extensive reach. An impact assessment study of the whole Bulgam Bhai campaign is being conducted in September to decide the directions in which it may be most effectively expanded.
