COLOMBO – According to recent statistics by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the prevalence of diabetes among adults in Sri Lanka is 8.5 per cent. At present, one in 12 adults in the country suffers from diabetes, which totals to around 1.16 million.
TNL Radio partnered with TBWA\Sri Lanka to help tackle the problem by raising awareness around one of the key contributing factors – sugar.
With a different take on conventional public awareness radio ads, which go largely ignored due to their inability to engage listeners, TBWA and TNL created the world’s first #SugarFreeRadio.
The native advertising campaign used mainstream songs that carried sugary-words such as ‘Sweet’, ‘Honey’, ‘and ‘Chocolate’ and disrupted them with a special diabetes warning buzzer.
TNL radio hosts also warned listeners against the rising rate of diabetes, fueled by Sri Lanka’s insatiable love of sugar, and provided important facts around preventative measures. The station also sacrificed revenue by refusing to air endorsements of sugar-related clients for the day, such as Haagen-Dazs and Lindt Chocolate.
With its engaging nature, #SugarFreeRadio picked up significant social media impressions, and many TNL listeners called in to praise the campaign.
