MUMBAI: This Raksha Bandhan, Cadbury Celebrations-the much-loved chocolate brand has decided to celebrate the festival by making a meaningful difference to a child’s life through its special campaign – #MyFirstRakhi.

Many children with physical disability in the country miss celebrating this festival, among other crucial life experiences. To truly bring a meaningful difference to the lives of these children and help them celebrate this moment of joy in the most fulfilling way possible, Cadbury Celebrations has partnered with Social Hardware- an organisation working towards providing assistive devices and rehabilitation services to underserved communities- to develop a unique sensor-based prosthetic arm that will let these children feel the sense of touch, an integral part of growing up.

Building on the same sentiment is the campaign film that beautifully captures the story of a sister and her physically disabled older brother, Shubham who yearns to experience the feeling of a Rakhi tied around his wrist. The feeling is brought to life as the brother’s wish is fulfilled with a low-cost sensor enabled prosthetic hand advised by his doctor. The story sees a sweet ending as the older brother enthusiastically prepares to experience his first Rakhi, tied onto his wrist by his equally excited little sister. The brother, for the very first time in his life, is able to actually feel the sensation of the thread symbolising the bond they share, through his sensor-enabled prosthetic arm.

While these children often opt for prosthetic hands to help them build their lives, the journey for them is a long one, where as the child grows up, the prosthetic arms recommended change, based on various factors. They typically start with basic prosthetic arms which lack the sense of touch, a very important sensation in their formative years. The chocolate brand has pledged to provide these low-cost sensor-based hands to many children across the country by continuing to partner with Social Hardware in the coming year.  

Mondelez India senior director – marketing, Anil Viswanathan said, “For years now Mondelez India has been an innate part of festivals and occasions like Raksha Bandhan, and has redefined the joy of gifting and shared moments with Cadbury Celebrations. Through #MyFirstRakhi, we wanted to make a meaningful difference to the lives of these kids who don't get to experience festivals like we do. To celebrate Rakhi you need to feel the touch of its threads and hence we provided a solution to give them a sense of touch. With the focus on spreading happiness and banking on the proposition of ‘Kuch Achha Ho Jaaye, Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’, the campaign promises a new start for children who have missed experiencing the joy of celebrating this festival in its truest sense.”

Commenting on the campaign, Ogilvy India chief creative officer Sukesh Nayak, said, “Raksha Bandhan is a very special festival celebrated across the country. With #MyFirstRakhi we are helping ensure that every brother who has so far missed experiencing the joy of celebrating this festival, can now feel the bonds of this beautiful relationship on his hand.”

The campaign will be led with a digital film and further amplified through social activations along with innovative OOH advertising.