Sunlight brand to bring communities together
View(s):A well-known and long-standing corporate entity in Sri Lanka is to wage a gentle battle to eliminate the fear, hatred and distrust that prevailed in the minds of the people after the April 21 Easter Sunday terrorist attack.
In a move to strengthen the bonds of friendship in Sri Lanka, Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd (USL) is launching a campaign titled ‘Manudam Viyamana’ through established soap brand Sunlight.
Shamila Bandara, Unilever Marketing Director – Home Care, Food and Refreshments of the company, speaking at a recent media conference at the USL auditorium in Colombo, revealed that they conducted a survey among the people on the issue of the April 21 incident which found that 60 per cent of the people are still gripped with fear, hatred and distrust.
She said that this attempt is something beyond a normal CSR campaign – like building a community well. It is an attempt to uphold humanity – love to each other, to mend the fear psychosis that ruptured the minds of the people, to symbolically ‘Open Hearts and Open Homes’ in building trust, understanding and care for one another – to encompass the entire nation.
Reminding that this country is known the world over as a caring and hospitable nation and was just raising its head out of the haunting repercussions of the 30 year-long internal conflict, she indicated that the Easter Sunday terror attacks shook the nation. She said that all similar incidents have torn the social fabric of the people and stressed that harmony among communities is an essential prerequisite.
Ms. Bandara said: “Stemming from this incident, as a nation we have created reservations in our hearts towards each other, and our legendary hospitality is being tested as homes closed its doors to diverse communities and Sri Lanka closed her doors to unity”.
She said that with a brand purpose to ‘strengthen bonds with care’, and a 135-year-old heritage of trust in the country, Sunlight recognises the importance and the need to reweave the threads of trust in Sri Lanka.
It will start several initiatives including a national awareness drive on the importance of building strong bonds with each other as Sri Lankans, an islandwide pledge collection that will resonate the people’s mandate to strengthen bonds and will be presented to the leaders of the country.
A ‘Manudam Viyamana’ anthem will be sung by a diverse group of Sri Lankan artists who will join hands with Sunlight to spread messages of trust, understanding and care in the country.
While the brand has been working with various religious and civil organisations to help survivors of these attacks, the emphasis is also on helping the wider 21 million population who were shocked by these events, and this became a priority and led ‘Sunlight’ to give birth to the Manudam Viyamana initiative.
Shamara Silva, the company’s Marketing Manager – Home Care said that Sunlight is closely knitted in the lives of the people and has over decades helped strengthen the social fabric of the people.
For the first time in the history, she said that, all major electronic media organisations would join hands with Sunlight to take ‘Manudam Viyamana’ to all parts of Sri Lanka, creating awareness and capturing the voice of the nation that believes in the importance of strengthening their bonds as a country.
Introduced in Sri Lanka 135 years ago, Sunlight is a leading household brand in the country that understands local values and heritage. It has won the trust of Sri Lankans for over a century and is the leading laundry brand in Sri Lankan homes.
(QP)