Unreal Campaign Extends Its Global Reach to Thousands of Young Consumers

INTA’s Unreal Challenge, which began as an effort to galvanize INTA members to become more involved with the the Unreal Campaign, has extended the Unreal Campaign’s reach to more than 1,800 young consumers (ages 14-23) across the world, educating them about the importance of trademarks and brands, and the dangers of purchasing counterfeit products. As the year comes to an end, INTA’s Unreal Challenge celebrates its successful conclusion.

At the forefront of this initiative is INTA President David Lossignol (Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland) who first issued the challenge in May at INTA’s 2019 Annual Meeting. Since its launch, the Unreal Campaign Challenge has taken the world by storm, with Mr. Lossignol leading the charge.

With schools coming into session after the summer break in the Northern Hemisphere, the Unreal Campaign Challenge began the fall term at the IP Symposium, organized by the U.S. Department of Justice in Nigeria on September 17. The event, focused on the harmful effects of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and piracy, was led by Mr. Lossignol and Lara Kayode (O. KAYODE & CO, Nigeria). In addition to numerous high-level panels and discussions, students from the Caro Favoured Schools in Lagos, Nigeria, who had previously participated in an Unreal Campaign program in 2018, performed a five-minute skit on the dangers of purchasing counterfeit products. The students’ performance provided a unique opportunity to showcase of the knowledge they had gained about the value of trademarks and the dangers of counterfeits.

Two weeks after the presentation in Nigeria, on September 26, the Unreal Campaign traveled to India to host an event at the Symbiosis Law School in Noida. This marked the first time the Campaign was presented in a university setting in India, following the announcement of the extension of the Campaign’s target age group earlier in May. The presentation reached more than 180 law students and was led by Mr. Lossignol and Rachna Bakhru (RNA IP Attorneys, India). Also attending were INTA India Consultant Gauri Kumar, Pankaj Aseri (Novartis, India),and Padmini Paonam (RNA IP Attorneys, India).

To mark another first for the Unreal Campaign, volunteers took on the Challenge one day before INTA’s 2019 Asia Conference to present the Campaign for the first time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. October 16 was a day filled with Unreal Campaign events, with presentations at three different schools taking place throughout the course of the day.

Marion Heathcote (Davies Collison Cave, Australia), Joanne Kong (Wong Jin Nee & Teo, Malaysia), and Wai Hoong Loo (Wong Jin Nee & Teo, Malaysia) took on the Challenge at Convent Bukit Nanas in Kuala Lumpur, reaching more than 100 girls. A little outside of Kuala Lumpur in the city of Cheras, Lin Li Lee (Tay & Partners, Malaysia) and Kok Jin Low (Tay & Partners, Malaysia) were joined by Mr. Lossignol at Cempaka Cheras, where they delivered the Unreal Campaign presentation to 150 students. To close the day off, 11 INTA member volunteers traveled to the city of Mantin to educate students of Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar. Not only did the 130 students attending receive the Unreal Campaign presentation, but also had the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions with the following volunteers: Karen Abraham (Shearn Delamore & Co., Malaysia), Safir Anand (Anand and Anand Advocates, India), Amita Haylock (Mayer Brown, Hong Kong), Ameet Purba (Shearn Delamore & Co., Malaysia), Lorenzo Litta (Spheriens, Italy), Janet Toh (Shearn Delamore & Co., Malaysia), Marion Heathcote (Davies Collison Cave, Australia), Pei Yee Kuek (Skrine, Malaysia), Brenda Matanga (BMATANGA IP ATTORNEYS, Zimbabwe), Jin Nee Wong (Wong Jin Nee & Teo, Malaysia), and last but not least, Mr. Lossignol.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the Unreal Campaign took on Lima, Peru, on October 30. Adriana Barrera (BARLAW – Barrera & Asociados, Peru) was joined by Mr. Lossignol at the Colegio Nacional de Mujeres Virgo Potens, to educate more 100 girls. Shortly after, Maria Herrera (BARLAW – Barrera & Asociados, Peru) and Daniela Rojas presented at the Institucion Educativa Parroquial Reina de las Americas and engaged with more than 200 students.

Since the inception of the Unreal Campaign, the initiative has reached more than 44,000 students around the world, teaching them about the importance of trademarks and brands, and the dangers of purchasing counterfeit products. In 2018, the Campaign launched its digital presence to connect with more young consumers around the world. Since then, it has reached more than 1.2 million users, received more than 18,000 engagements, and more than 1,000 followers.

None of this would have been possible without the support of the Campaign’s volunteers and sponsors. 2020 Sponsorship Opportunities for the Unreal Campaign are now open! Become a sponsor today and help us educate the leaders of tomorrow.

For more information, contact INTA’s Unreal Campaign Associate Catherine Shen, at [email protected].

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.

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