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Shifting the guilt trip in drunk driving

In a touching ad film created by FCB Ulka for Mumbai Traffic Police, the emotion of 'guilt' has been portrayed beautifully and effectively. Creative honchos have applauded the shift from responsibility of the driver to the responsibility of dear ones

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Shifting the guilt trip in drunk driving

Shifting the guilt trip in drunk driving

In a touching ad film created by FCB Ulka for Mumbai Traffic Police, the emotion of 'guilt' has been portrayed beautifully and effectively. Creative honchos have applauded the shift from responsibility of the driver to the responsibility of dear ones

Raushni Bhagia | Mumbai | May 6, 2016

drunk-driving Click on the image to watch the TVC.

Through a wonderfully crafted three-minute ad film, Mumbai Traffic Police has urged people to be responsible for their closed ones. A campaign created and conceptualised by FCB Ulka hits the 'guilt trip' emotion in an impactful and dramatic manner. The message is quite clear: Be a responsible friend. Call a cab after the Party.

The campaign termed as 'Guilt' focuses on 'Don't Drink & Drive', urging people to be responsible friends after they drink. It revolves around the fact that people forget to act responsibly, letting their friends drive after drinking – the consequence of which can be fatal.

The film opens on a funeral scene where a wife, a mother and many others are weeping their hearts out at the death of their loved one. There arrives a gentleman in a shabby appearance, possibly still in hangover, to pay his final respect to the departed soul. The 'boss', as he is identified later in the film, is overwhelmed with guilt when his mind goes back to the party he attended the previous night.

He drinks with his colleagues on one casual evening. The fact that he didn't stop one of his colleagues from drunk driving, which leads to his death, takes him on a guilt trip, which even goes to the extent that he hallucinates and imagines his dead colleague to be staring at him.

The film also portrays the irreversibility of the consequences a mistake like this can have.

Commenting on the campaign, the Joint Commissioner of Police, Mumbai Traffic Police, said, “We never want anyone to drink and drive; however, if you are drinking while partying with friends, always be responsible, and call a cab after the party. Do not allow anyone to drive in a drunken state. The film does a great job in communicating this.”

Swati Bhattacharya Swati Bhattacharya

Swati Bhattacharya, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Ulka, said, “This is a film that's as much about responsible friendship as it's about drinking and driving. The irony that so many of these deaths happen on days of celebration makes it even more poignant. Every time we hear someone say 'have one for the road'...we need to remember this ad.”

Vinci Raj, Senior Creative Director, FCB Ulka, said, “Most of the road accidents also happen because people forget that drunk driving can kill. It can be very traumatising too to take the guilt of letting someone drive when drunk. What triggered this campaign was the death of a dear friend on the road.”

The campaign is aimed at making people aware of the fact that just by being a responsible friend, things can end differently.

What a film, say creative honchos

Creative leaders have lauded the film for being hard-hitting, impactful and for creating a real difference in the way the 'Don't Drink and Drive' message is being told. The shift from driver to well-wisher has been noticed by all the creative minds.

Rahul Jauhari Rahul Jauhari

Rahul Jauhari, Chief Creative Officer, Rediffusion Y&R, said, “It's a powerful message delivered well. I like the fact that instead of saying the usual don't drink and drive, the film shifts the onus to the friends of the victim/driver. There is truth in it and that's why the film strikes you. The performances are good and the film engages the viewer all through.”

However, Jauhari pointed out a little disconnect in the execution, saying, “The only thing that struck me as out of place, and it's not too important in the scheme of things, was that cops seemed to be from Karnataka, while the message was from Mumbai Police.”

Another expert, Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands, has praised the film for clearly giving a call for action in an impactful and direct manner.

“I quite like the film since it calls for action. The whole thing of driving under influence and causing death has been done to death. However, what is interesting here is the shift of responsibility from the actual guy who is driving to someone else who should be responsible too. It is a straight call for action as most of the times people are not drinking alone. The shift of responsibility from the driver to the well-wisher is really good. It should do very well on social media. Mostly four-wheeler drivers are shown in such ads because the assumption is that four-wheeler drivers feel more confident since balance is not a question. Here they are talking about two-wheelers, but it's not so very evident.”

The TVC:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/

Credits:

Agency: FCB Ulka Advertising

Chief Creative Officer: Swati Bhattacharya

Senior Creative Director: Vinci Raj

Client Servicing: Amit Raina

Director: Vinci Raj and Mridul Nair

Producer: Mridul Nair

Production house: Trends Ad Films, Bangalore

DOP: Manoj Kumar Khatoi

Editor: Babu Rathnam

Music Director: Ranjith Meleppat

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