THE PUNISHING SIGNAL

Silver Spike
TitleTHE PUNISHING SIGNAL
BrandMUMBAI POLICE
Product / ServiceTHE PUNISHING SIGNAL
CategoryB02. Breakthrough on a Budget
EntrantFCB INTERFACE Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation FCB INTERFACE Mumbai, INDIA
Production FCB INTERFACE Mumbai, INDIA
Additional Company LODESTAR UM Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Susan Credle FCB India Global Chief Creative Officer
Fred Levron FCB India Worldwide Creative Partner
Rohit Ohri FCB India Group chairman and CEO
Robby Mathew FCB India Chief Creative Officer
Joemon Thaliath FCB India Chief Executive Officer
Mukesh Jadhav FCB India Senior Creative Director
Rakesh Menon FCB India Senior Creative Director
Shailesh Gupte FCB India Senior Vice President
Sudarshan Karandikar FCB India Account Executive
Omkar Kulkarni FCB India Account Executive
Mukesh Jadhav FCB India Art Director
Mayuresh Vengurlekar FCB India Art Director
Ravi Ananthan FCB India Associate Creative Director
Siddharth Kutty FCB India Copywriter
Dhruv Jha FCB India Media Consultant
Amit Raina FCB India Media Manager
Alpa Jobalia FCB India National Head - Films
Mazhar Khan FCB India Sr. Films Executive
Akshay Nair 30ML Ideas Productions Director
Sukirth Rao 30ML Ideas Productions Film Producer
Archana Sarkar 30ML Ideas Productions Film Producer
Shwetabh Mishra 30ML Ideas Productions Film Producer
Rupesh Gor FCB India Manager - Design
Dipti Ronghe FCB India AV Assistance
Prashant Pawar FCB India co-ordination
Pratik Mhatre FCB India co-ordination
Ahel Maswood FCB India co-ordination
jeeJaiee Thakur FCB India co-ordination
Vishnu Sudarshan FCB India co-ordination
Yogesh bhusare FCB India co-ordination
Purbali Mukherjee FCB India co-ordination
Arushi Phillips FCB India Coporate Communication Manager

Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

India has been battling excessive honking for decades. Mumbai Police has tried all the “classic” ways to stop this type of traffic indiscipline. But this time uncharacteristically, they decided to change the behaviour with a touch of humour. Instead of punishing perps for reckless honking, they got the signals to do it. If honking decibels cross 85, the signal countdown timer resets. Making the Red stay longer, and the impatient motorists wait more. The signal turns green only when the honking drops. With a simple tweet it became the most trending topic online. Achieved billion impressions with zero spends.

Background

Mumbai has 1675 vehicles per kilometer. This results in traffic jams and also leads to traffic indiscipline. Like excessive honking. 70% of noise pollution on Mumbai’s roads happen due to indiscriminate honking. This has a disruptive influence on citizens’ physical and mental health. With just 1293 people booked in the last 10 years for reckless honking, the Mumbai Police was looking for a solution that did what fines couldn’t – generate instant results and create maximum awareness.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

70% of noise pollution on Mumbai’s roads happens due to indiscriminate honking. This has a disruptive influence on citizens’ physical and mental health. After many attempts to curb it, the Mumbai Police was looking for a solution. The idea: Instead of punishing perps for reckless honking, they get the traffic signals to do it. Results & Achievement (800) • Dip in avg. honk dBs at Punishing Signals a week before and a month after – 32% (Mumbai Police) • Further roll-out in 10 locns. and then to entire traffic system – Mumbai Police (CNN) • B Rao (City Commissioner) announced roll-out in Bengaluru city (ToI) • To make it “Silent City”, Dist. Collector, LK Jatav, announced roll-out in Indore city (ToI) • While solution got instant results, its “film” tweeted by Mumbai Police led to unprecedented buzz – 6.6 Billion Impressions • Most Liked & Shared and #1 Indian Topic,

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

India's roads are a noisy place to be in. Not because of the people or the hawkers, but because of the indiscriminate honks. This is true particularly in the streets of Mumbai, with 1675 vehicles per kilometer. Mumbai Police for decades has tried every deterrent in the law book to curb reckless honking, but change is unnoticeable. Quite uncharacteristically, we decided to change the behaviour with a touch of humour. Instead of punishing perps for reckless honking, we got the traffic signals to do it. If honking decibels cross 85, the signal countdown timer will reset. Making the impatient motorists wait more. While this will have instant results, a film of this activation was tweeted by the Mumbai Police to generate maximum conversation and awareness.

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

Excessive honking on the roads is a civic problem. Mumbai Police has tried all the “classic” ways to stop this type of traffic indiscipline. Now, quite uncharacteristically, they will change the behaviour with a touch of humour. Instead of punishing perps for reckless honking, they get the traffic signals to do it. If honking decibels cross 85, the signal countdown timer will reset. Making the Red stay longer, and the impatient motorists wait more. As they wait, interactive OOH linked to the signal pushes messages LIVE, highlighting their bad behaviour with a wink and a smile. And make them honk less, if they wish the signal to turn green. While this will have instant results, a film of this activation will be tweeted by the Mumbai Police to generate maximum conversation and awareness.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

Results & Achievement (800) • Dip in avg. honk dBs at Punishing Signals a week before and a month after – 32% (Mumbai Police) • Further roll-out in 10 locns. and then to entire traffic system – Mumbai Police (CNN) • Identifying 16 locns., Minister KT Rao, announced roll-out in Telangana city (ToI) • B Rao (City Commissioner) announced roll-out in Bengaluru city (ToI) • To make it “Silent City”, Dist. Collector, LK Jatav, announced roll-out in Indore city (ToI) • While solution got instant results, its “film” tweeted by Mumbai Police led to unprecedented buzz – 6.6 Billion Impressions • Most Liked & Shared and #1 Indian Topic, all social media taken • International buzz – 1000+ articles in 35+ nations (New York Times, The Guardian, CNN etc.) • All, at zero media spend • Mumbai Police’s approval rating hit an all-time high

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