MUMBAI: Kids are soon going to be empowered and how! Pogo is back with its Amazing Kids Choice Awards. This time round the kiddies channel will give away a child benefit policy of Rs 100,000 to the winners.
In addition, the channel has also roped in ace quiz master Derek O'Brien (Bournvita Quiz Contest fame) to lend credibility to the awards in terms of the search and selection processes.
The Pogo Kids Choice Awards 2005, will have two main categories - Pogo Kids Awards and Pogo Voice Awards. More categories have been added and through the new selection process, there is scope for more kids to participate in the awards this time.
As opposed to last year's five categories in the Pogo Kids Awards, this year four more categories have been added. The categories are as follows: Pogo Amazing Kid musician, artist, dancer, genius, sports star, business kid, leader, entertainer and Future Bollywood Star.
Kids between the age of 4 - 14 can participate in the awards. The last date for submitting entries is 16 August.
The channel is giving away the entry forms at 900 Bata outlets across 330 cities and in 238 Reliance Webworld outlets across 104 cities. Apart from this, forms will also be distributed in 3000 schools across the country to as many as 1.5 million kids.
Derek O'Brien & Associates Pvt. Ltd will manage the entire selection and search process for the awards. Principals of the schools will be asked to nominate the kids in their school for the Pogo Kids Awards. After the nominations come in, 10 kids in each category (except Future Bollywood Star) will be shortlisted and three finalists will be chosen in each category.
Derek O'Brien
Derek O'Brien & Associates Pvt. LTD CEO Derek O'Brien said, "We at Derek O'Brien & Associates have been working with schools for over 14 years now. We are amazed at how bright and talented children are today. Wherever we go we find them these Amazing Kids! The Pogo Amazing Kids Awards is a call to all children to express themselves and showcase their many talent."
The nine categories of awards will have a different jury comprising three members from the respective category field that they belong to. For example: Pogo Amazing Kid Sports Star category may have a jury comprising Rahul Dravid, Sania Mirza and Kapil Dev and so on.
On the other hand, the Pogo Voice Awards will empower kids to "exercise their choice" by voting for their favourite icons amongst nominees in various award categories like Best Actor (male and female), Best Film, Best Newcomer, Best Singer, Best Song, Best Comedian, Best Sports Hero, Best Toon and Best Pogo show.
The call for entries will be promoted by the channel via on-air promos, SMS, billboards, bus backs and print ads. Kids can send in their votes online via www.pogo.tv. Apart from that voting booths will also be put up in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata.
Three lucky kids, who vote, will get the chance to attend the awards in Mumbai later this year. Additionally, 1000 other children will receive exclusive Pogo merchandise by participating in the voting process.
Vivek Krishnani
Cartoon Network and Pogo India director marketing Vivek Krishnani said, "Pogo Amazing Kids Awards celebrates children's achievements, voices the choice of Indian kids and is the country's only televised kids' awards. Delighted by the overwhelming response and participation the awards received last year, Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2005, aims to raise the benchmark for children's awards in the country and provide a platform for the extraordinary accomplishments of the Indian kids. Right from the solicitation phase up to the grand finale that will be on air towards year end, every phase of the awards will reflect executional brilliance and promises to be yet another spectacularly dazzling television event, especially produced for our loyal viewers in the country."
