Tanglish debuts in EC campaign

Audio, visual and movie clips have been uploaded to engage the youngsters with the campaign theme “mai” (ink in Tamil) having bilingual onliners targeting the urban youth and first-time voters, Sahoo said. “Since the indelible ink plays a pivotal role in the elections we were asked to focus on the indelible ink and the Tamil word “mai” said creative director Shree Prakash of Feswa creative, the agency handling the election campaign.

Every “mai” counts, Oh mai makkale (Oh my people), Ilamaiyil Vote (vote when your young), Its mai time, (It’s time to get inked) mai vote, mai choice (my vote, my voice interpreted as ink your vote and choice) are the Tanglish phrases worked out till now.  Besides the Tanglish campaign, there are regular English and Tamil campaigns like say no to cash, no voter to be left behind. With the cricket fever picking up, the slogan whistle podu for Chennai cricket team is rephrased as elections ku vote Podu, Prakash added.

“The campaign has attracted traction on social media and we are sure it will create an impact among the urban pockets where polling is usually low,” Sahoo emphasised. “Come out and vote,” “Poll is a superpower” are the campaigns in English. To target the Tamil audience, the election department had planned short films and popular punch dialogues from movies to intensify the digital traffic among netizens.

The department will also reach out to the government to carry election-related social media campaign on its websites. Government departments like Chennai Corporation, Metro Water and Southern Railways will be requested to carry election-related content on their websites. For the first time an election quiz competition will be held for college students at Anna University, the CEO added.

The department had also roped in singer SP Balasubramaniyam, actors Vijay Sethupathi and Vivek to promote voting. “Some more actors are to join. The political inclinations of celebrities are studied and those without political affiliation are being considered,” an official said.