MUMBAI: GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK) has launched a new public awareness initiative – Project 90. It features Soha Ali Khan, Milind Soman, Neelam Soni, and Rohan Bopanna. The goal is to raise awareness about shingles, a painful viral disease.
Shingles is a disease of the nerves caused by the same varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox. The virus remains inactive in the body’s nerves after a person recovers from chickenpox and may reactivate anytime later, largely in ageing adults above the age of 50 years with weakened immunity to cause shingles. The campaign is named ‘Project 90’ because the virus is potentially present in over 90% of Indians over the age of 50 years.
The multi-phased social media campaign kicked off with a simulated takeover of the celebrities’ Instagram profiles by intrusive “Project 90” spam and pop-ups. The fans of the celebrities were made to believe that Project 90 had disrupted the celebrities’ Instagram accounts to create a buzz and generate interest in the campaign. This disruption looked to mirror how the virus may suddenly re-activate to disrupt the lives of ageing adults. Soha Ali Khan, Milind Soman, Neelam Soni, and Rohan Bopanna shared informative reels on the disease and highlighted the heightened risk associated with shingles in individuals aged 50 years and older.
Dr Rashmi Hegde, Medical Director, GlaxoSmithKline India said, “Through this campaign, we want to increase awareness about shingles for people above the age of 50.1 Past studies have shown that the virus that causes shingles may be potentially present in over 90% of Indians aged 50 years and above.2 We are confident that the voices of celebrity influencers, Soha Ali Khan, Milind Soman, Neelam Soni, and Rohan Bopanna for this campaign will bring attention to the seriousness of this disease, encouraging open conversations that have the potential to save ageing adults from the pain of shingles.”
