It all started with a Facebook page 'Bring BQC Back' by 19-year-old Sydenham student Rahul Sethi about five months ago. But what followed was an unprecedented online movement across blogs, Youtube and micro-blogging site Twitter, with people expressing their support for Bournvita Quiz Contest’s return. “I was really glued to the show as a kid, so we decided to start a movement on Facebook, and it did surprisingly well. Within a month we had 10,000 likes and soon enough, we managed to get Cadbury’s attention,” Rahul says.
In response to the page, users have come up with one-liners like ‘Don’t be Stupid, Bring BQC Back’ and ‘Bring Sexy Back, Bring BQC Back’ that have been converted to banners and badges on the page.
The page located at www.facebook.com/bringbqcback now has Cadbury’s stamp of approval. The page features various sub-sections including a ‘Hall Of Fame’ area where past winners and runners-up have been acknowledged and a ‘Vote For Your School’ bit where you can choose which school would win the quiz contest were it to participate. If a particular school isn’t listed, users can upload their school’s profile along with a photograph too. “We’ve tried to incorporate the same theme on the Facebook page as that on the show. For instance, the connect-the-dots design was also used on the show itself,” Rahul says.
In response to the page, users have come up with one-liners like ‘Don’t be Stupid, Bring BQC Back’ and ‘Bring Sexy Back, Bring BQC Back’ that have been converted to banners and badges on the page.“We are overwhelmed by the response to the movement on the Facebook page,” mentions Narayan Sundararaman, director for powdered beverages, gum & candy, Cadbury India, adding, “We are in the process of discussing the possibility of bringing BQC back on air soon with Derek O’Brien and some leading channels.”
Though Derek wasn’t available for comment, he wrote on May 24 from his Twitter ID quizderek, “The team from Cadbury-Kraft will spend the day in our office today. Will certainly talk about #bringbackbqc on TV. Watch this space.”
The quiz show that made historyThe Cadbury Bournvita Quiz Contest started out in 1972 as a live quiz show that was held in cities across India. It also has the reputation of being the country’s longest running quiz show.
It then moved to being a radio show, before being picked up by channels in the ’90s such as Zee TV and Sony respectively.
The original hosts of the live show were Hamid Sayani and later, his brother Ameen Sayani.
But BQC’s most popular host has been Derek O’Brien, who has since authored several quiz books as well.
The show was taken off air about four years ago, though the company has been continuing their school contact programme.
It has reportedly reached over 11,25,000 students, in 4000 schools across 66 cities.
It then moved to being a radio show, before being picked up by channels in the ’90s such as Zee TV and Sony respectively.
The original hosts of the live show were Hamid Sayani and later, his brother Ameen Sayani.
But BQC’s most popular host has been Derek O’Brien, who has since authored several quiz books as well.
The show was taken off air about four years ago, though the company has been continuing their school contact programme.
It has reportedly reached over 11,25,000 students, in 4000 schools across 66 cities.
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