This million dollar ad campaign is making Sikhs loved and known in the USA
The month-long, US $ 1.3 million "We are Sikhs" ad campaign was launched by National Sikh Campaign on April 14, that has led to a inform Americans about Sikhism, and positive perception about the religion, as per a recent survey.
National Sikh Campaign is a non-profit organization that launched the campaign on the holy day of Vaisakhi for Sikhs.
The campaign is holding grassroots events in Gurdwaras across the US and ads on CNN and Fox News nationwide are aired, presenting Sikhs as proud Americans. The ambition of the million dollar campaign was to inform Americans across the USA about Sikhs. It covered aspects like, the beliefs, respect for women and other religions.
Sikhism is the fifth largest religion, was the central theme of the campaign, along with others.
59 per cent of Fresno residents – a clear majority – say they know at least something about Sikhs who live in America. Sixty-eight per cent saw Sikhs as good neighbours and 64 per cent saw Sikhs as generous and kind, as per the survey.
The survey was carried out in Fresno, California, where tens of thousands of Sikhs live and where violence towards Sikh Americans has been repeatedly seen in the past few years, including two deaths in the recent months.
57 per cent who saw the ads are also more likely to associate a bearded man wearing a turban with Sikhism, while 67 per cent of Fresno residents who saw the Sikh ads believe that Sikhs believe in equality and respect for all people. While 60 per cent of Fresno residents that saw the Sikhs ad believe Sikhs have American values.
"Despite tense race relations and an extremely polarised political environment, the We Are Sikhs campaign has been able to make headway in creating awareness of Sikh Americans, who can commonly be identified by their turbans and beards," said Geoff Garin, president of Hart Research Associates.
"This effort is a testament to the Sikh community's commitment to reaching out to people of all faiths to help them recognise that we all have shared values, and that is a ray of hope that proves that understanding can bring people of all walks of life together," he said.
-PTC News
