· With a comedy contest inviting participation from senior citizens, Columbia Pacific Communities aims to fight age related stereotypes and use humour to foster positive ageing.
· The social media led comedy contest will be open from April 12 to April 14, 2021 and the winners will be announced on April 16, 2021.
Bangalore, April 8, 2021: Despite being an embodiment of wisdom, wit and a lifetime of experience, senior citizens face stigma and stereotypes and are often perceived as morose, serious and grumpy.
In order to challenge the belief that seniors lack a good sense of humour, India’s largest senior living community operator, Columbia Pacific Communities is launching a unique initiative — an online comedy contest titled #LaughLines providing a platform to senior citizens to showcase their humorous and witty side.
Stand-up comedy as a profession is dominated by the youth. But there are many seniors with a great knack for comedy who don’t know how to showcase their talent. Through this initiative, the brand wanted to create a platform for senior citizens to express themselves freely and perform comedy.
Speaking about the initiative, Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities, said “Humour has an important role to play in ageing positively. Research suggests that humour and laughter have psychological and physiological benefits in older adults. Unfortunately, humour is mostly associated with the youth, while senior citizens are often deemed to be incapable of exhibiting or enjoying these emotions. This initiative has been planned to dispel these notions as we attempt to re-affirm the beliefs that getting old is just a mind set and seniors today are active, humorous, joyful and full of life”
The comedy contest is open to all senior citizens in India, which means anyone older than 60 years can participate. To send a valid entry, participants would have to share a video of up to 90-second of them sharing a few jokes or performing a comic act in their own unique style on social media and tag Columbia Pacific Communities’ Instagram or Facebook handles using the hashtag #LaughLines.
The submissions will be judged on the parameters of content, delivery, style and technique by internal judges and the winners will be announced on April 16, 2021.
This comedy contest is a unique opportunity for senior citizens to showcase how joyous and fun-loving senior citizens can be, contrary to the conventional perception.
Correlating the initiative to the brand objective of positive ageing and fighting ageism, Piali Dasgupta added, “We have always worked towards creating avenues for seniors to be able to live a fuller life. As performing and viewing a comic act evokes laughter and joy in both the performer and the audience, this contest is a win-win opportunity for senior citizens as they spread happiness and cheer while performing or watching others. The whole initiative boosts our efforts to promote positive ageing amongst seniors.”
The winners of the comedy contest will receive attractive gifts from the official gifting partner of the contest, Seniority, India’s largest shopping destination for seniors. The winning entries will be compiled in a video and will be promoted and celebrated on the brand’s social media channels.
