Global Campaign in Association with Indian Movie Star

Western Union Launches Global Campaign in Association with Indian Star Shahrukh Khan’s Much Anticipated Movie Ra.One

Ra.One first Bollywood film to collaborate in a global mass-media campaign

[Auckland, New Zealand] September 27, 2011: Western Union, a leader in global payment services, will launch a global mass-media campaign in association with Indian film superstar Shahrukh Khan’s most anticipated movie Ra.One, which will be released during the Diwali holiday, to honour the millions of Indians working overseas.

Ra.One, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is pioneering special visual and sound effects that is set to transform the Indian film industry. The global mass-media campaign collaboration is the first of its kind between a Bollywood film and a global company.

Western Union’s association recognizes the symbolism behind the movie, anchored to a superhero called G.one, a character that signifies heroic love and commitment to his family in a world of good and evil.

Western Union’s mass media campaign will roll out in India and around the world across US, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific focusing on key Indian diaspora countries. It encompasses TV, radio, print and outdoor advertising as well as local activities at Western Union® Agent locations.

The campaign creative will also reflect the company's new global brand platform “Moving Money for Better”. Its focus is to convey Western Union products and services as solutions to create moments of better for consumers, while sustaining the company’s 160-year history of innovation and helping people improve someone’s day.

“G.one, the hero of Ra.One, calls to mind real life superheroes - fathers and mothers - working hard to make any sacrifice for the welfare and happiness of their children, and in particular the millions of Indian parents who work overseas,” said Mr Anil Kapur, Managing Director and Senior Vice President, Western Union, South and South East Asia.

“Whatever they do in their careers from medical practitioners, engineers and construction workers, software professionals, labourers or service personnel, whatever they do in their jobs, they are giving the world much more than manpower and intellectual capital.

“Just like G.one, parents are making great personal sacrifices to make a better life for their families. By giving their children better living standards and educational opportunities, they are also building the next generation of Indians,” he said.

Western Union has been operating in India for more than 17 years and India currently receives money from 190 countries via a network of 80,000[i]Agent locations across 7,000 towns and cities.

“We are pleased for our film to be associated with a global brand like Western Union that connects families across the world and is creating history by launching the first ever global media campaign with a Bollywood film”, said Mr Shahrukh Khan.

“Anyone who works hard for their child is a hero, but it is a special heroic sacrifice to leave home. Fuelled by their love for their families, families working overseas put aside separation from loved ones, being homesick or lonely, or living in distant lands with different cultures, so that they can provide greater opportunity for their loved ones at home. Similarly our film embodies superheroes,” he said.

Western Union has over 80,0001 Agent locations in India, delivering international money transfer services with reliability, convenience and speed. Western Union’s Agent network in India is the largest domestic network in Western Union.

According to the World Bank, India is the world's largest remittance receiving market in the world, with remittances of US$55 billion in 2010.[ii] The Ministry of Overseas India Affairs states there are over 25 million people of Indian origin living outside India[iii].

ENDS

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