HOW MANY Sundays do you remember when you ventured out of four walls of your house and visited a neighbour or a relative? We seem to have been too pre-occupied with the television that we have made it a point to visit friends or relatives only on the parties. In order to return to the days of walking in the park, visiting an old aunt or simply shopping for grocery, Hindustan Times is coming up with an interesting initiative.

They are urging Mumbai people to switch off their television sets on 29th January and reconnect with some mortal beings. In a world where the housewives’ world is governed by the various tele bahus and the student’s world is governed by MTV Roadies and the likes, switching off the television for an entire day could be a bit difficult. However HT is seeing to it that everyone in Mumbai gets the message and accordingly take part in it.

Calling it a ‘no TV day’, the media outlet is asking the people to talk to their real F.R.I.E.N.D.S and show the Masterchef of the house a good time. Aiming at a very nice and interesting thing, the success would depend on how much they can get the Mumbai people excited to go along with them. However the prestigious media house is doing everything to get the attention of the people. They are painting the city blue (literary) with hoarding asking the people to switch off the television on January 29. Not only that they are also sticking big stickers on buses, local trains and telecasting adverts over television, radio and internet.

Recently Hindustan Times is taking to the human side of their readers and initiating many processes. It is a good marketing strategy and they are pleasing their readers as well and attracting prospective readers. The last time they advertised for people to stop wasting resources like electricity, water etc. We had a number of advertisements slamming people on the head with a rolled HT paper if they wasted any of the natural resources. The present campaign, if successful would take the minds of the people away from the idiot box and some new connections would be made or older ones reconnected.