In Wake of Shooting American Sikh TV Ad Raises $150k

Seattle Sikhs Raise $150,000 for National TV Ad Campaign in America

 

Seattle, Washington: (June 16, 2016): 200 Sikhs came together to raise funds for the National Sikh Campaign's media initiative to create awareness about Sikhs and Sikhism in America. $150,000 was raised by an enthusiastic audience at an evening gala from various parts of the Seattle suburbs and also all the way from Salem, Oregon and Salt Lake City, Utah. The program began with a moment of silence for the victims of the Orlando shootings where 49 people were gunned down. The community realized the need for this media outreach effort amidst concern for the backlash from the weekend Orlando massacre where the killer had pledged allegiance to ISIS. Any previous such occurrences have had a negative impact on Sikhs across the nation.

The National Sikh Campaign (NSC) will run a historic, presidential-style TV Ad campaign for Sikhs that will educate Americans about the Sikh identity and Sikhism. The campaign is working with President Obama's media firm, AKPD, founded by David Axelrod, former senior advisor and Hillary Clinton's former Chief Strategist, Geoff Garin to fundamentally change the way Sikhs are perceived in America. 30 second ads on Sikhs have been prepared by AKPD under a strategic plan devised by Hart Research Associates, headed by Geoff Garin. These ads will be shown on major TV channels across America.

Inderpal Singh, coordinator of NSC's team in Seattle, said, "We are very thankful to the Seattle area community for showing their support for this very important initiative for Sikhs in America. It is for our future generations. The amount raised by the campaign has set the record for the largest fundraiser for the Seattle Sikh community." Devenderpal Singh, of Indian Idol, entertained the audience with his enticing numbers and Raginder “Violinder”, a Sikh violinist from California, presented his talented music at the event.

The National Sikh Campaign has been gaining momentum in the past few months as they steadily reveal their sophisticated ads, website, and cutting edge research to select cities across the country. They have organized successful fundraisers in San Francisco, Los Angeles and in Chicago in the past year and are inching towards their goal of raising $1.3 million to run the ad campaign later this year or in early 2017.

Gurwin Singh Ahuja speaking at the gala

Gurwin Singh Ahuja, the executive director of the National Sikh Campaign, made the case for the campaign's strategy and unveiled the design of the National Sikh Campaign's sleek new website. He emphasized that one of the main purposes of the campaign is to build a future where a Sikh tying their turban in the morning can look in the mirror and be assured that people will understand that they are tying a symbol of respect for all humanity, not an object of inevitable discrimination.

Dr. Rajwant Singh speaking at the Gala

Rajwant Singh, the NSC's senior adviser and chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, said, "Sikhs across the nation are responding positively to this effort. They have participated in many outreach efforts at the local level but they all realize that the community needs massive national exposure. We are confident that ads on social media and local TV channels will fill that gap. A survey of Americans who watched these ads has shown that 65% of them will develop warm and positive feelings towards Sikhs."

Mohinder Singh Sohal, a community leader in Seattle, said, "This kind of positive awareness about our community is something we all have been waiting for and it is critical that we all join together to make this happen. We do not have any other choice."

Ish Bakshish Singh, NSC's Tech Director based in Seattle, said, "This project is not about throwing money at television ads. If you look at it carefully, there is a plan to calculate the outcome, and also to put similar efforts through social media in parallel to TV ads. Being someone who has expertise in digital marketing, I can say that I am very happy with the approach so far, and plan on positively contributing. The need of the hour is to unite, and support people who are making a very well structured effort."

 

 

He added, "The effort of NSC is transparent, meaning that they are telling you complete breakdown. I have spent the last two years or so volunteering to help Sikh kids that get bullied at schools. The most common reason for such bullying is that the other person does not know anything about Sikhs. So I see this project as a great opportunity to start raising awareness about Sikhs among Americans. Guru Gobind Singh ji (tenth Guru of the Sikhs) gave up his four sons so he could protect us, are we not in a position to spend a few dollars in order to protect the next generation of Sikhs?"

Gagandeep Singh Oberoi, a community activist and an officer at the Microsoft, said, "This is a historic opportunity for us as a community. We are hiring the same team that led messaging and media for both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns. We are hiring the same talent and the sophistication to introduce the Sikh community to America." National Sikh Campaign is planning similar fund raisers in Fresno, New York, Yuba City and many other cities across the nation.