Sony Max set to play dumb charade – Bollywood style

The new property, 'No Talkies', is India's first dumb charades competition for its media buying agencies. It will be held in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore

Sohin Sen | Mumbai | September 6, 2013

Sony Max has announced India's first competitive dumb charade for their media buying agencies. Titled 'No Talkies', the property is Max's innovative idea to engage its media buying partners on a more 'filmy' level.

"No Talkies is our way of taking forward our brand campaign of 'Max - Deewana bana de'. We have had a longstanding relationship with the agencies. And this initiative strengthens our perception as a brand which is all about movies and events. This activity has been conceptualized to draw in the movie buffs who have a little bit of movies madness embedded in their daily lives," said Vaishali Sharma, Head of Marketing, Sony Max.

The premium Hindi movie and special events channel had recently launched its 'Deewana bana de' campaign through a host of TVCs. The idea behind that was to find the 'filmy keeda' in all of us. The latest 'No Talkies' initiative would be to find the same 'keeda' or madness in the teams.

The property would be the country's first dumb charades competition, taking it away from the usual friendly gatherings or school parties. Dumb charades is a simple game whereby teams or individuals act out names, especially movie names, through gestures and actions. Throughout the game one is not allowed to use verbal clues, which gives the game its name. The format to be followed in 'No Talkies' would essentially be the same with a host of special features and twists.

Interested participants can register on the microsite of the event, notalkies.sonymax.tv, by filling up a form. Each team would have three participants including one leader. Entries received by September 13, 2013, would be slotted into different groups who will compete against each other. The city rounds will then take place. Delhi will kick off the event on September 18, followed by Bangalore on September 19 and Mumbai on September 25.

A total of five shortlisted teams – two from Delhi, one from Bangalore and two from Mumbai – will meet in the final round in Mumbai on October 1, 2013. The final round will be hosted by well-known VJ, actor and presenter Gaurav Kapoor.

To make sure that the buzz around the event grows, the channel has tied up with JWT to design posters. These posters, along with tent cards, desktop pop-ups and standees would be put throughout agency offices in the three cities. Some customised hoardings for a few key agencies will be placed right outside their office. There would also be print ads in the trade media and emailers would be sent out. Several activities are also planned within the agencies to amplify the noise around the activity.

Sohini.Sen@BestMediaInfo.com

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