Rupa Frontline urges people to vote, moves a step ahead of humour

Scarecrow Communications has created a new TVC for Rupa's flagship brand Frontline.

Through the film, the innerwear major Rupa is looking to boost the voter turnout in the country. The film shows a group of hooligans going through a street warning people not to vote. Town residents look frightened and don't turn out. One man changes this; wearing a Rupa Frontline vest, the man takes on the hooligans cleverly and manages to register his vote. The film ends with the voice over stating the brand's new tagline: Raho duniya se ek kadam aage.

The sound track of the film, recomposed by Rooshin Dalal, is crafted from the patriotic Bengali song 'Ekla Cholo re' written by Rabindranath Tagore.

On the thought behind the film, Mukesh Agarwal, director, Rupa, said, “Frontline is our flagship brand, and we were very keen to take its communication a step further. The story not only helps us reinforce the core brand thought; but, for the first time, also helps us connect with the society and give out a meaningful message."

Manish Bhatt, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, added, “Apathy towards voting has been a chronic problem. If you look at India's election statistics post independence, almost half of the country never turns out to vote. We saw a poignant issue, which Frontline as a brand could associate with and give a new dimension to its communication. ”

Arunava (Joy) Sengupta, founder director, Scarecrow Communications, explained, “Previously, Sabse Aage was the positioning of Frontline. While the previous films used humour as the plank, with this film we have tried to bring the positioning to life and give the Frontline man a definitive personality. The new tagline - ‘Raho duniya se ek kadam aage’ sums it up perfectly”.

Kapil Tammal, executive creative director, Scarecrow Communications, noted that the attempt was to keep the action in the film real. “Exaggeration helps in humour, but not in courage. We did an intensive recce to choose the right locations and camera angles to stage the intense drama,” he added.    

Unplugged moments

Sarvesh Raikar, Creative Director, Scarecrow Communications, pointed out that the sound was a critical and tough part of the film. "Both the composer and singer (Piyush Mishra) have done a fantastic job of weaving together the grunge (necessary to the drama) and the quintessential melody of the song, seamlessly.”

Credits:

Agency: Scarecrow Communications Ltd.
Creative Team: Manish Bhatt, Raghu Bhat, Kapil Tammal, Sarvesh Raikar, Sushant Dharwadkar, Ankit Dembla
Account Management Team: Arunava Sengupta, Khadija Attarwala
Director: Gajraj Rao (Code Red Films)
Singer: Piyush Mishra  
Music: Rooshin Dalal (4D Studios)
Sound Engineer: Kunal Dabholkar (4D Studios)
DOP: Harendra Singh ( Hari)