Category: Best Use of Special Events and Stunt/Live Advertising
Advertiser: PERCEPT
Product/Service: PERCEPT
Agency: PERCEPT/H
Chief Creative Officer/Executive Creative Director/Writer: Ryan Menezes (Percept/H)
Creative Director: Prasad Venkatraman (Percept/H)
Creative Director/Writer: Sahil Ratna (Percept/H)
Art Director: Arun Balagopal (Percept/H)
Producer: Danny Mamik (Percept Pictures Team)
Media placement: Trains - Western & Central Railyways - 25/11/2011
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
In a span of 2 years, terrorists had shaken Mumbai and the world with 7 bombings in public places. Their modus operandi was to place bombs in school bags which they would then abandon at public places. There was a need for awareness to be spread quickly.
Campaigns in conventional media that warned people to stay alert and report abandoned bags to the police were not working. We needed to spread awareness in a non-conventional manner so that people would remember the message.
Creative Execution
We decided to use the terrorists' weapon against them. So to caution the general public and build awareness, with the aid of law enforcement agencies, we placed a special knapsack inside local trains. The knapsack contained a device that would tick like a time bomb and then announce a safety message.
Results and Effectiveness
Within 3 months of conducting this exercise, 2,140 pieces of unidentified baggage were reported and investigated, thereby making Mumbai aware and a whole lot safer. This initiative is now being taken to cities across India.