There are 2 -3 key guidelines

a) The Drugs and Magical Remedies Act

b) Prescription drugs not advertised

c) No unnecessary fear creation

Since we are doing public health awareness of a well practiced solution - a surgical treatment - we are not contravening any of the rules and regulations.

Everyone’s heard about AIDS and Cancer. But how many have heard about the Cleft? Over a million children in India alone are affected. 1 in 10 will die before their first birthday. Yet most know nothing about the cleft and why a cleft charity like Operation Smile India struggles for support.

Also, we didn’t have millions to spend on billboards, press and TV. So we needed to design a simple method to tell people what Operation Smile does, and then take their help to make cleft a popular cause.

idea:

:{to:) , the CleftToSmile

A ‘type-able’ logo to bring the Cleft in the public eye.

:{to:) very simply showed the life-changing transformation Operation Smile brings to the lives of children with cleft. Hence, spreading awareness about the issue without the need of saying a single word.

And so we asked people to tweet the logo to spread awareness.

Insight: People love sending smilies anyway. But this time, it meant much more.

With only a small budget, we were tasked with spreading widespread cleft awareness. We needed to spread awareness across the nation and if possible even beyond its borders.

On April 1st, 2013, through simple videos and posts, we asked India to tweet to support the cause.

Anyone searching CleftToSmile led them directly to our website and a video of the campaign.

People love sending smilies anyway. But this time, it meant much more.

:{to:) was so easy to spread, that it became only natural for people to tweet it.

20,000+ Tweets.

Soon major celebrities joined in and spread awareness for Operation Smile to millions of their followers, not just in India but across the world.

100+ Celebrities

From one to many to many more, this message spread and today a lot more are aware of the cause.

Total Reach – 30 Million.

“Inspiring use of twitter” – Twitter.com

“One good thing this logo has done is when we now go seeking support to corporates and foundations, they at least don’t ask us ‘What is cleft?’” – Prashanti Mikalya – Administrator, Operation Smile India.

This logo needed no billboards or big budget campaigning. And because our logo wasn't bound by font or color, everyone with a keypad and a willingness to help could instantly re-create it and spread awareness.

And so we used to the viral power of Twitter to take the message from one to many to many more.

1 in every 700 Indian children is born with the cleft. It’s a facial deformity that brings a life of immeasurable pain, hardship and ridicule. But there is hope. A simple treatment for can bring a smile back to these lives. But since people know nothing about it, support is very hard to come by.

Since 2003, Operation Smile India has provided this simple, life-changing treatment to more than 15000 children free of charge. But with over 1 million still untreated and unable to afford surgery, a lot more needed to be done.

There is absolutely no mainstream health or pharma advertising for the cause of cleft in India. This despite the fact that 1 in every 700 Indian children is born with a cleft, and over a million children in India alone are affected by it.