Leo Burnett behind humour tax in Sri Lanka

Leo Burnett Solutions in Colombo, has successfully launched a new “Laugh Tax” campaign, to hail the sequel to the popular theatrical comedy by StageLightandMagic Inc about fictitious Sri Lankan President, Pusswedilla. To effectively bring Hon. Puss (as he is affectionately known) to life in the public domain, Leo Burnett treated this ‘president’ as if he were a real president. A real president who does real things, such as introducing new taxes.

According to the creative team, taxes are a big issue in Sri Lanka as the Government regularly uses them as a budget remedy to generate income. Brand new vehicles are now taxed 310% of manufacturer’s price, and new taxes are being introduced all the time.

“So we believed that another absurd tax – this time on laughter – was an ideal way to arouse the interest of people. The idea is especially relevant to the content of the comedy drama” said Trevor Kennedy, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc, Sri Lanka. “The general public began to talk so much about the campaign that a real minister referred to the term ‘Pusswedilla’ – which literally means ‘shooting blank bullets’ – during an actual political rally.”  

To mimic an authentic campaign, Leo Burnett used the usual media that a real tax launch would feature, including national newspapers, television interviews, and public notices. The Laugh Tax news was also posted in the public domain in the form of posters and stickers, offering details in a variety of languages, and Hon. Puss interacted with his fans directly via Facebook and Twitter.  

Leo Burnett added to the credibility factor by involving the public and their responses to the new tax. This included the response of the actual current Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on radio, using a voice artist to imitate the politician’s very identifiable voice. Other responses included a famous local comedy drama director and a popular television show host.      

The venue for the drama was of course declared a Laugh Tax haven where people were encouraged to laugh as much as they wanted. An actual Government Gazette was the programme and souvenir that people received on the day of the drama. The play was an unprecedented success.