Talk of romancing the stone, and there’s no better way of doing that than voting in the Taj Mahal to give this monument of love its due place in the new list of Seven Wonders of the World.

And when all of three days are left for the declaration of the new list of Seven Wonders, it’s apt that brands piggyback on the event. That, in essence, is the driver for Indian brands such as Radio Mirchi, Airtel, Zee News, Fair ’n Lovely, Travel Port Holidays, Club Mahindra and a host of others which are now going overboard to encourage voters to root for the white domed marble mausoleum.

And all that jazz in the face of stiff competition from Machu Picchu of Peru and the Great Wall of China. The results of the New Seven Wonders of the World global poll would be announced on July 7 in Portugal.

For starters, Radio Mirchi along with IMCL-Bhaskar group has launched a nationwide campaign since June 21 to encourage people to vote for Taj Mahal. Radio Mirchi is even playing the Taj anthem rendered by A R Rahman in six languages.

“We promote the vote for the Taj campaign across 17 stations and have been getting celebrities to endorse this initiative,” says Kaushik Ghosh, the radio channel’s senior vice-president, marketing. Besides on-ground activities such as distribution of awareness leaflets linked to the vote has been an ongoing part of Radio Mirchi’s promotional thrust. Even Zee News and Zee Business have started a similar campaign called Mera Taj Mahan. Both Zee News and Radio Mirchi would urge their audience to SMS and vote for Taj.

Now take Travel Port Holidays, for example. This Mumbai-based travel portal’s website was created December last, right after the New Seven Wonders contest was announced by the Zurich-based New7Wonders Foundation.

“We wanted to give visibility to the contest and provide a boost to voting for the Taj since it is very much a symbol of India in the rest of the world,” says Jason, CEO of JND Technologies, which set up and now runs the website. “As of today, there are already more than 30,000 contestants who’ve voted for the Taj on our website,” he claims.

Bharti Airtel, too, has announced a free SMS campaign for all its 40-million plus mobile customers across India. “The Taj Mahal is a historic landmark that symbolises India’s rich heritage and culture. This initiative is a special gesture by us, inviting all of Airtel’s 40-million plus family members to come forward and make their vote count,” says Sanjay Gupta, chief marketing officer, mobile services, Bharti Airtel Limited.

While voting for the campaign will close on July 6 midnight, it has already attracted over 7 million votes through SMS, and about 14 million votes on the internet in India, contends a source. “If the Taj Mahal has to come within the top seven positions, it will require at least 25 million votes.”

Source:The Economic Times