n a day and age when Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are synonymous with PR initiatives, Star Care seems to be playing a different game. The recent commercial with cricketers Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni stands testimony to Star Care's commitment to the Heroes Project and the cause of HIV/AIDS. For the record, the Heroes Project was launched in July 2004 - by Richard Gere and Parmeshwar Godrej - to work with media organisations and societal leaders in India. It seeks to develop coordinated campaigns to address the spread of HIV/AIDS and reduce stigma and discrimination by educating the public. Its public education partnership with the Star network has now lasted nearly two years.

For the uninitiated, the 25-second spot starring the cricketers has a simple creative. Pathan and Dhoni seem to be playing a game where they seem to be bouncing - seemingly heterogeneous - ideas off each other. While one says "saath khana khane se" the other says, "haath milane se", it slowly dawns upon the viewer that they are discussing the different ways by which HIV/AIDS do not spread. The viewer would presume that both the cricketers have scant knowledge of HIV/AIDS, until one discovers that they are actually recounting ways in which HIV/AIDS does not spread. A male VO at the end elicits viewers to log on to heroesprojectindia.org to get more information on how HIV/AIDS does not spread. The TVC has been prepared by Ogilvy and Mather, Mumbai.... more