TOI's campaign "Aman Ki Asha': Phase 2 begins

The Times of India's (TOI) campaign "Aman Ki Asha' is now moving towards its second phase from toady. The campaign will involve a massive on-ground activity that will invite music lovers from India and Pakistan to come and lend their voice and art and become a part of the multi-faceted culture.

The "Aman ki Asha' - Destination Peace' campaign looks beyond the confines of a 62-year-old political boundary to the primal bonds that tie together the people of India and Pakistan.

The festival begins from January 16 2009 and will continue till January-end. It will run in both the countries with some creative overlapping and some of it developed independently for the respective region.

TOI has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as the face of the campaign. It has been created by Taproot India, while the media business is being handled by Lodestar Universal.

In the second phase of the campaign "Aman Ki Asha', a music festival is oraganised that will bring together music lovers from the two countries and will see the participation of musicians like - Kailash Kher, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, and Shubha Mudgal, among many others.

The campaign will run in collaboration with the Jang Group of Pakistan, who have come together to develop a stronger Track 2.

The campaign has involved - television, print, outdoor and radio also. In terms of digital, TOI has taken the website route to promote the campaign. In fact, the campaign has also involved the social networking sites like 'Facebook, Orkut and Twitter, to make its presence felt.

As per the media sources, chief marketing officer (CMO), TOI, Rahul Kansal said, "The campaign would continue for a year or even longer."

On the same, co-founder-chief creative officer, Taproot India, Agnello Dias said, "The idea was to make a start in reducing the build-up of mindless hatred among Common people on both sides of the border. The objective is not to forgive or condone fundamentalism, terrorism and violence, be it in any form."