#ToTheHumanRace is a bouquet of stories by McCann India that recognise the exemplary efforts of everyday heroes amidst the Covid-19 pandemic
Celebrating the ability of human spirit to persevere and to always emerge stronger, Coca-Cola India has released a series of stories narrated through the digital medium as short films, static posts on its social assets and long format stories on Coca-Cola India Journey titled ‘Ummeedo Wali Dhoop’, recognising beacons of hope, countless acts of selflessness, kindness and courage.
The campaign features stories of everyday heroes who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help the community amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Shrenik Dasani, vice president of the sparkling category, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said: “At a time when the human spirit is being tested like never before, this was our attempt to share an inspiring, optimistic message with people and collectively reaffirm our unshakeable faith in the resilience and power of the human spirit. In equal measure, the campaign is a small expression of our gratitude to all those individuals, who acted as living proof of that resilience, when they went above and beyond what was expected and rose up in aid of their fellow human beings in a time of great need.”
The campaign titled #ToTheHumanRace, offers an ode to humanity and the human spirit in these challenging times. In the first phase of the campaign, the company had released an inspiring film saluting the generosity and courage of the everyday heroes ‘Ummeedo Wali Dhoop’.
The anthem has been written by Prasoon Joshi, CEO of McCann World group India and chairman (Asia Pacific). The now released stories are an extension of the campaign which features ‘heroes’ from across the country and various walks of life.
Meet the Heroes
Bilal Khan, a 29-year old lawyer from Delhi is ensuring slum dwellers do not go hungry through his ‘Four for All’ initiative in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Click here to see his short film.
Chhayarani Sahu, a 57-year-old farmer in Bhadrak district of Odisha has been distributing vegetables from her farm to nearby villages, sharing her abundance with many during the countrywide lockdown. Click here to read her story.
P Naveenkumar, a 26-year-old social worker from Munsiyari in Tamil Nadu is doing his bit by distributing food, water and providing other forms of assistance to street dwellers during the pandemic, through his NGO Atchayam. His work is a great example of starting at grassroot level and influencing a larger cause. Click here to read his story.
Supratik Chhaperia, a 25-year-old owns a designer cake shop in South Delhi. When the lockdown was announced in March, like for countless others, his world went topsy-turvy as operations shut down abruptly. His immediate thought however was not about his business, but to reach out to alleviate the distress of daily wage workers, the community hit the hardest during this period. Click here to read his story.
S. Veena, a transgender from Bengaluru is reaching out to transgenders, single women, and widows during the lockdown. Till now, she has distributed about 10,000 kilograms of rations. Click here to read her story.