“Reaching out to all Americans is a critical component of the We Are Sikhs initiative and placing our ads on the Fox News Channel will further our message to an important, conservative audience,” said Dr. Rajwant Singh, co-founder and senior advisor of the National Sikh Campaign. “We are working proactively to connect with our neighbors from all walks of life representing broad ideological and political views,” he continued.
The Sikh community has been the target of discrimination, intimidation, harassment and hate crimes since the 9/11 Attacks largely because of a collective misunderstanding of what the turban means in the Sikh faith. Sikhs wear the turban to show their willingness to serve others in the community and their commitment to equality for all people. 99% of individuals wearing turbans in the U.S. are of the Sikh faith.
The advertisements will showcase Sikh Americans’ contributions to society and highlight the fact that Sikh values are American values. In an effort to reach conservative voters across the country, the advertisements will run on select Fox News programming from Tuesday, August 15 until Tuesday, August 31.
The commercial spots, which have already run on a variety of national and local TV stations since the campaign launch in April, can be viewed here.
For this PR work for Sikhs, NSC had engaged AKPD, President Obama's media team and Hart Research Associates, which does strategy work for the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Harvard University. In addition, it has hired FP1 Strategies, a conservative and Republican leaning marketing team which has done strategy work for President Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaign and it has done marketing for Facebook and Ford Motor Company. President Bill Clinton's speech writer planned and edited the content of the website WeareSikhs.org. NSC held fundraising events in 14 cities to garner support from the community and the total cost of this campaign has cost $1.3 Million.
The Sikh community has been the target of discrimination, intimidation, harassment and hate crimes since the 9/11 Attacks largely because of a collective misunderstanding of what the turban means in the Sikh faith. Sikhs wear the turban to show their willingness to serve others in the community and their commitment to equality for all people. 99% of individuals wearing turbans in the U.S. are of the Sikh faith. National Sikh Campaign's local chapter in Fresno sponsored the Fourth of July fireworks in Visalia, California and a baseball game in Fresno. This is part of the national effort to create awareness about Sikhs in the U.S. During the Fresno Grizzlies baseball game, a young Sikh boy threw out the first pitch and Sikh-Americans held the American flag as the national anthem was sung. They also sponsored Selma Cultural Exchange to reach out to fellow Americans.
About the National Sikh Campaign
The National Sikh Campaign (NSC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the many contributions Sikh Americans are making in their communities every day. Whether it’s serving multiple tours overseas, leading Fortune 500 companies, managing family farms, serving as elected officials or promoting equality and serving the local community, Sikhs put into action the values that make America great.
NSC’s mission is to ensure that more Americans can immediately recognize and understand who Sikh Americans are, what their faith is all about and how it shapes their significant contributions to American life.
Great news! Our ads are back – and will be airing on Fox News and Fox Business over the next several weeks. That means you have another chance to catch them on national TV and help us spread our positive message at this very important time.
In an effort to reach conservative Americans across the country, the advertisements will run on select Fox programming from Tuesday, August 15 until Wednesday, September 1. Similar to our previous campaign that ran extensively on digital and on TV across networks like MSNBC and CNN, these advertisements will showcase Sikh Americans’ contributions to society and our values. We hope you’ll help us spread the word about these ads, doing your part to help your neighbors gain a greater understanding of Sikhism and the values we, as Sikhs, stand for.
Tune in to one of these shows this week to see our ads:
Fox News Special Report
Tuesday, August 15th – 6-7pm
Fox Business Mornings with Maria
Tuesday, August 15th – 6-9am
Lou Dobbs Tonight
Wednesday, August 16th – 10-11pm
You can view the full schedule at WeAreSikhs.org/Fox.
We hope you enjoy these ads – and more importantly, we hope that you’ll take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family, including non-Sikhs, to encourage them to tune in as well.
We are proud of the great strides we’ve made to educate our communities about Sikh values and all that the turban represents – freedom, service, equality and so much more – but there’s more work to be done, and we can’t do it without your support!
Sincerely,
The National Sikh Campaign