LIFESAVER

TitleLIFESAVER
BrandAIRCEL
Product / ServiceTELECOM SERVICE
CategoryA03. Best Use of Standard Outdoor
EntrantDDB MUDRA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company:DDB MUDRA Mumbai, INDIA
Advertising Agency:DDB MUDRA Mumbai, INDIA
Media Agency:MUDRA MAX Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Credits

Name Position
Team Mudra

Results and Effectiveness

During the rains, the subway flooded as usual. And people took heed of the message, cut the rope, and volunteer groups comprising of the local people, policemen, BMC(Mumbai corporation) employees, started ferrying people across the flooded subway on the rope. While the action was greatly appreciated by the locals, commuters, cops and politicians, what surprised us was the media frenzy that it created. Photographs of the boat were front page news on all national newspapers, it was telecast on more than 6 television channels, and was featured on more than 20 internet sites. Mission Accomplished!

Creative Execution

We noted that the Milan subway, every time it gets flooded, gets immediate attention from the Television networks as well as the print media. This was an opportunity for Aircel to get the attention that the brand needed, while undertaking public service. We sourced an inflatable dinghy, which was hung on a billboard right next to the subway, with the caption “In case of emergency, cut rope”.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Mumbai’s local trains run on three different lines, the Western, central and harbor lines. These tracks are used to classify the regions within the city into East and West (of the tracks). The subways are points in the city where traffic and people cross over from one side to the other. The Milan subway is one such spot in Mumbai. However, historically, it gets flooded every monsoon (rainy season), due to the sheer quantity of water that flows down to this low lying spot. This has been treated as a fact of life through all these years, despite numerous attempts to prevent the flooding. Aircel is a telecom brand that wanted to reach out to the consumers as a brand that cared. Since it was a new player in the Mumbai telecom circle, the need was to obtain immediate recognition for itself while showcasing this aspect.