Lowe Lintas creates 'Talk for India' hour for Idea

Lowe Lintas has come up with a 'Talk for India hour' for Idea Cellular, which will see the telecom major urging its subscribers to pick up the phone and talk as much as they can on 26th November this year, between 8:36pm and 9:36pm.

Idea plans to donate all revenue generated all those calls towards purchasing better safety gear for the police force. Sub-standard security equipment for the police department was exposed to its fullest during the 26/11 terror attacks at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai.

Pradeep Srivastava, CMO, Idea Cellular said, "The Idea brand is about ideas that have the power to change the society. Be it 'Walk when you talk', 'Democracy' or our 'Education' films, Idea has always come up with new possibilities. With 'Talk for India hour', the idea is to channelise people's anger about 26/11 in a constructive manner."

As part of the campaign, Lowe Lintas has produced a TVC which sees Idea Cellular brand ambassador Abhishek Bachchan urging the nation not to remain silent, but to 'talk for India'. Hence the 'Talk for India' hour, which starts at 8:36pm when the first bullets were fired by terrorists.

Lowe Lintas says the intention is not to boast about Idea's donation or to urge consumers to talk more. "This is not a marketing initiative," says Tarun Chauhan, executive director, Lowe Lintas. "As citizens, this is our little gesture towards the fight against terror. 26/11 is an emotional chapter in the memory of all Indians. Through this campaign, we'd like more and more people to participate in the fight against terror," he said.

The film is shot mostly in black and white and shows Abhishek Bachchan along with several other citizens assembled near the Gateway of India for a candle light protest.  Surrounded by protesters holding placards, Abhishek talks straight into the camera, reminding viewers of the 26/11, the day when the country was silenced by terrorists. "But that was then. And now I won't remain silent. I will make a difference," he says. "I will talk for India."

Srivastava said that Idea has also partnered with NDTV, Rediff.com and BIG FM for this initiative.

Watch the TVC here:

Credits

Creative agency: Lowe Lintas
National creative director: R Balki
Creative director: Ashwin Varkey, Jaywant Dabholkar
Copywriter: Subodh Menon
Art director: Shishir Kapre
Production house: Chrome Pictures

Director: Amit Sharma
Post-production studio: Pixion
Media agency: Mindshare