Adgully Exclusive | Big ado about the little ones

But as the day earlier was known for Chacha Nehru and his little friends across the country, these little ones gradually started being exposed to a lot of consumer products. Today the child in a family is looked at as a potential customer, so much so that the marketers plan their activities to woo the finer sensibilities to that tiny hand that drags the mother/father to a section in a mall.

This year too a lot of brands and media planned many activities around the day for the little ones. From assuring pure indulgence to reaching out to the lesser privileged mates of His this year there was an extravagant Children's Day in place.

HomeShop18 had offers across an exciting range of products from Hot Wheels and the new age HCL Handheld gaming Consoles. The offers were showcased on 14th November'10 at 4:30 p.m. on HomeShop18.

HomeShop18 was offering the HCL Handheld gaming Console with a free Reebok Watch with a 3D glass top. It also had to offer toys for all age groups ranging from Educational Toys to Indoor Games, Puzzles, Baby Toys, Soft Toys and Dolls.

On the other hand Nick India in association with Landmark launched a special gift card to celebrate Children's. The card allows a kid to buy from a huge variety of items like games, toys, CD's, coloring, story books and the newest catch and chuck game Squap.

This one-of-a-kind card works like a debit card that has no expiry date and can be redeemed for any Nick merchandise available at Landmark stores across India (including the online store). Purchased at a specific value (starting at Rs. 50/-), it can be reloaded at any Landmark store and is not redeemable for cash or credit.

While MasterChef India had an all exclusive episode where the guests to be sufficed were kids, there was a lot happening on radio too. 92.7 BIG FM tried to bring alive some childhood memories of famous Bollywood celebrities through its offering "BIG Lagayega Bollywood Ki Class' on 14th Nov, 2010 across its 35(Hindi Speaking Market) stations. The special programme had kids taking on Bollywood celebrities in an exclusive tête-à-tête.

Saloni Daini - famous for her mischievous antics played a teacher and indulged in a witty conversation with Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta along with Big FM RJ's Divya and Ketan.

The initiative celebrated the playful innocence of every child. 92.7 BIG FM put television and Bollywood stars in an awkward situation wherein kids posed interesting questions to these celebrities that ranged from naughty moments to most embarrassing moments, in a light hearted and engaging manner.

Talking about the special Children's day programming, Soumen G. Choudhury, Business Head, 92.7 BIG FM, said, "Children's Day is a day when we celebrate the spirit of being a child. Childhood is all about being carefree, mischievous, playful and innocent. This year, we aim to bring alive the mischievous side of the child within each of us through this engaging and interactive offering. The show will take the listeners through the infectious playfulness of enthusiastic children and give a chance to grown-ups to revive their most mischievous side. ."

On the other hand, Radio Mirchi gave a chance to its listeners to discover different aspects of its RJs. Radio Mirchi will played voice clips of RJs. Listeners could also enter a contest by logging onto the Radio Mirchi page on Facebook, listeners have to just identify Mirchi RJs from their childhood photographs. Lucky listeners stand to win some great prizes.

While the radio channels tried to engage their listeners, brand like McDonalds extended the celebration of this day to underprivileged kids in association with the NGO- Crayons. The kids from the organization were given an opportunity to meet Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal and Music composers Sajid-Wajid.

Where the marketers and brands were busy pleasing the little eyes and bringing smiles to them the President of India Pratibha Patil inaugurated "From Pledges to Action ' A Partners' Forum on Women's and Children's Health" on the 13th of November 2010. With some 1000 participants from about 50 countries being present in Vigyan Bhawan and including Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary General and Margaret Chan, the Director-General of WHO, the exuberant members of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health listened to accolades for a job well done--and support for the challenges ahead.

For all the excitement and not just consumer potential but policy makers' mention, it is about time for the tired little ones to acknowledge the attention and say "Job well done. Day well spent". A Belated happy Children's day. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]