ZEE pauses content across its network for Coronavirus message

The Government of India continues to encourage good hygiene behaviour to safeguard people against the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it is critical that people act proactively and take precautionary measures to protect themselves and their loved ones. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has launched #BreakTheCoronaOutbreak. As part of the campaign, the company will pause all content across its channels with a 30-second break to encourage viewers to wash their hands. The campaign has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas.

Maintaining basic hygiene by washing your hands regularly has been identified as one of the key steps to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. As per the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, on an average, humans could touch their face over 23 times in every waking hour and there could be many such other spontaneous contact points. Repeated washing of hands is a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus.

Speaking about the campaign, Prathyusha Agarwal, chief consumer officer, ZEEL, in a press release issued by the brand, says, “As a responsible national television network, which entertains 588 million individuals every week, it is our duty to educate and encourage every citizen to adopt and practice healthy habits to fight this pandemic. While several brands are driving awareness around good hygiene, we believe this initiative to pause content and remind our audience to wash their hands will actually drive behaviour. Pausing our content when the audience is most engaged will act as an in-home trigger to wash hands and contribute towards combating the spread of the outbreak.”

"The breaks that we will be giving in between will not be cut from the ad spots," she confirms to afaqs!.

Talking about the initiative, Sagar Kapoor, CCO, Lowe Lintas, says, “Having worked on health and hygiene brands for years, my learning is no matter how much we remind people to wash (their) hands, there will always be laggards. Its importance is at a peak in today’s situation. Hence, a straightforward reminder to wash hands with soap.”

#BreakTheCoronaOutbreak initiative has been rolled out across 40-plus channels of the ZEE network, collectively reaching approximately 588 million individuals all over the country every week.