You must have heard the phrase ‘use dipper at night’ behind trucks, pick-ups etc. running on the road. (use dipper at night) You must have seen this written. What do you understand by this written behind the vehicle in front of you? It is quite possible that you understand that, use dipper while driving at night. But its meaning is not limited to this. Yes, this small thing has a big connection with contraceptives i.e. condoms and the country’s leading vehicle manufacturing company Tata Motors. Let’s know the interesting story behind this-
behind the vehicles though ‘use dipper at night’ The practice of writing this phrase is very old. It is written so that the drivers coming from the opposite direction do not face any problem due to bright light at night and any accident situation can be avoided. When bright light falls on the eyes, the driver coming from the opposite direction cannot see anything. But in the year 2016, Tata Motors started a campaign with this phrase and apart from using it for headlights, it was also used for the promotion of condoms.
What is the story behind the scenes:
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The story behind this phrase dates back to 2005, when studies conducted by the Transport Corporation of India (TCI) found that out of the nearly 2 million truck drivers who meet sex workers in India, only 11 percent use condoms as a safety measure. The study also found that awareness about AIDS was very low among drivers, with about 16 percent of them suffering from some form of STD.
At that time, to control the increasing number of HIV patients, the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) decided that this problem will not be solved until truck drivers and sex workers are made aware about unsafe sex. The organization believed that AIDS can be controlled only when both truck drivers and sex workers agree to use condoms.
AIDS was spreading rapidly:
This was the time when Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was spreading rapidly in the country. The main reason for the spread of this disease was Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which was spreading due to many reasons like unsafe sex, sharing needles or syringes, coming in contact with the blood of an infected person. But one of the main reasons was unsafe sex which could have been prevented to a large extent by using condoms.
Research has found that truck drivers in India travel thousands of kilometers. In such a situation, they have to stay away from their homes for a long time, sometimes for months. In such a situation, they came in contact with sex workers, which increased their chances of getting infected with AIDS. It is very likely that you remember that to get rid of this problem, NACO also used to distribute condoms for free. At that time it was named Nirodh.
When the idea of the brand name came:
Speaking to the Indian Express, S.Y. Qureshi, the then head of NACO, said, “At that time, the National AIDS Control Organisation was distributing condoms for free. But we thought that for these two categories (truck drivers and sex workers), we should bring special brands. During a meeting to discuss names, I suggested that for truck drivers, the name Dipper could be great. The reason was that at the back of every commercial vehicle, you can see the phrase ‘Use Dipper at Night’, which is basically a request quote to use dim headlights.”
Qureshi further explains, “We thought we would get the benefit of free publicity on 40 lakh trucks. Because these trucks already had these phrases written on them. Our focus was to make truck drivers aware of STDs and the use of condoms… Just like the use of dipper lights at night is important for safe driving, the use of dipper condoms is important to protect them and their wives from this dangerous disease.”
Horn please and ok tata:
Deeper Condoms are manufactured by Hindustan Latex Limited (HLL) Lifecare. For packaging, Rediffusion has used the same style that truck drivers or owners use to decorate their trucks in a colourful way. This style is called ‘Truck Art’ in creative language. The colourful design on the packet of this condom was largely inspired by Indian trucks and highway culture.
Qureshi says, “Some more catch-lines were also suggested to promote the use of the new condom. Like “Day or Night, Dipper is Right”. Apart from Dipper, the agency also suggested the names “Horn Please” and “Ok Tata”. For this reason, both these names were painted on the back of almost every truck seen on Indian roads.”
This was a campaign for which no big amount was spent for its promotion. At that time, neither the media was so powerful nor the reach of the internet was so great. A phrase that had been in use for years ‘use dipper at night’ was used as a weapon to treat an incurable disease of our time.