Watch Bates' new TVC for Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile has launched a new campaign 'SMS free after first three' which promotes a new scheme where the subscriber has to pay for the first three SMSes in a day and can send free SMSes after that.

Watch the TVC here:

The brief given by the client was to drive a tangible change in behaviour where the target audience (youth) thinks SMS first and voice next.

Says Rohit Malkani, creative director, Bates 141, "The insight for the campaign came from SMS behaviour itself. We message when we are bored or when we can't say something out aloud. SMS therefore is nothing but the art of private talk in public life. The film cleverly uses this device of speaking your mind out loud through SMS."

He adds, "In the film, the protagonist speaks aloud what she would normally be texting. When juxtaposed with the situation in which she is, this creates a hilarious experience for the viewer who is watching from an outsider's perspective."

The film is directed by Prasoon Pandey of Corcoise Films.

The outdoor and BTL work takes a slightly different approach from TV. Explains Malkani, "Since thumbs are what you use to send messages from your phone, we thought of dramatising them. With an interesting personification and play of words, the outdoor shows a thumb dressed like a commando/soldier behind sand bags, with a line that says 'Get your thumbs ready for non-stop SMS action'."

The creative team behind the campaign includes Sonal Dabral, Rohit Malkani, Priti Arora, Sandeep Sawant. The exposure includes TV, print, digital, print and BTL.