MTV Shuga, a renowned and globally acclaimed TV drama since its debut in 2009, has made an indelible impact worldwide. Spearheading a comprehensive campaign to foster responsible sexual behavior among the youth across Africa, MTV entrusted me with the opportunity to pitch for their new website. Collaborating with Made Agency, we embarked on the mission to create a digital hub at the core of this transformative initiative.

Our collective aim was to not only match the fervor generated by the TV series but also to catalyze a shift in attitudes and behaviors, while bolstering awareness about sexual health. With a strategic emphasis on user experience (UX), our approach centered on fostering interactive engagement, rendering the online experience immersive and highly pertinent.

The launch of the revamped MTV Shuga website effectively empowered global marketing teams to promote sexual health in multiple languages, ensuring accessibility to a diverse audience. One of the pivotal challenges entailed devising a means to encourage widespread social media participation, mindful of the sensitive nature of the information shared, particularly among the youth. Given the show’s staggering viewership of over 720 million people across 70 countries, with a significant audience in India alone surpassing 100 million, the platform served as a remarkable conduit for reaching millions.

Our proposed solution involved a captivating quiz embedded within the website, enabling users to explore their resonance with various characters from the show through a series of thought-provoking multiple-choice questions. Subsequently, participants were encouraged to select and share character badges across their social media networks.

The outcomes of our collective efforts have yielded commendable results, including a notable 58% reduction in STIs among women, as reported by a study conducted in Nigeria. Moreover, the study revealed that young individuals who were familiar with MTV Shuga were twice as likely to undergo HIV testing, underscoring the campaign’s profound impact on promoting crucial health awareness and fostering responsible decision-making.