The channel Fox Crime was relatively new in India and the client wanted to raise awareness. I worked with my team on a few campaigns which were liked but didn't see the light of day. They were, however, very interesting. (Pardon the art direction as this was still the concept stage).
CAMPAIGN 1
IDEA: CRIME PE CRIME (In English, Crime after Crime). The idea was based on the fact that most crime stories are multilayered. They are not based on just a single crime. But a multitude of crimes, happening simultaneously or in succession and they are all somehow connected.
THE PRINT CAMPAIGN
THE TV CAMPAIGN
TVC 1 - 'Painting'
The film opens in a museum where we see a man stealthily
walking along a dark corridor. All is quiet and we can only hear his footsteps.
He looks around to see if anyone's watching. He approaches a painting on the
wall. He expertly dodges the red laser rays and smiles satisfied when he
reaches it without setting any alarms off. He slowly takes it off the wall. He rolls it
up and puts it in a cylindrical container (the kind used to store paintings).
Cut to him walking outside in an alley, and we see behind him, the words
"City Memorial Museum" on the gate.
He slowly goes up to a dustbin, picks up a briefcase
from it, nonchalantly puts the painting in the dustbin and walks away. After he
leaves, a distinguished old man comes up slowly to the dustbin. He checks
around to see if anyone has followed him, takes a handkerchief out of his
pocket, unfurls it and uses it to pick up the painting. That done, he starts
walking away quickly.
Cut to the old man's study where he unrolls the painting
on a table and admires it. Suddenly, the phone rings and the old man picks up
the phone. We hear a voice on the phone.
Voice: If you want your granddaughter alive, get the
painting to City park.
We see that the old man is in an awkward situation: he
finally has the painting but he also has to get his granddaughter back. He
reluctantly puts the painting in the container and leaves home.
Cut to him at City Park where he is waiting for the
kidnappers. A car with the kidnappers stops, and three men with masks get down.
A small girl her hands tied and a blindfold over her eyes is also with them.
The old man slowly walks towards the men, hands over the
painting, and quickly grabs his granddaughter.
Cut to the kidnappers escaping in the car over a city
bridge. We see a road sign that says: Speed limit 80 kmph. The driver looks at
the speedometer and the car is doing 100 kmph. Suddenly, they hear police
sirens and the kidnappers see a police car in the rearview mirror. The
kidnappers look at each other, as if waiting for someone to do something.
Realising their situation, the kidnappers throw the painting out. It falls down
the bridge into the back of an open truck, into a bucket. The lid of the bucket
slams shut.
As the truck enters the gate of a compound, we again see
the same words (City Memorial Museum) inscribed above the gate. Cut to the
truck entering the parking, and we see the words on the truck: AZ Cleaning
Services. We realise that it's a janitor's truck. In the back is a bucket
filled with brushes and bottles of cleaning liquid, and of course, the
painting.
The janitor gets out and picks up his stuff from the
back of the truck and enters the museum. That is when the museum alarms go off,
and red lights flash at the gate. Security comes running to the man, and we see
that the janitor is the same thief and he has been caught with the same
painting. Only this time, he is unaware that he has the painting with him. We
end with the shocked face of the thief as he is taken away.
Cut to super.
Fox Crime. Crime after crime.
TVC 2 - 'Money bag'
The film opens on a jewellery store. We see a man with a
mask enter the store. He holds up the cashier at gunpoint. Cut to him coming
out of the store with a bag full of the loot. He takes off his mask (we see a
close shot of his face), gets into his car and drives away in his car. We see a
close-up of the bag and it has the initials AW with a golden emblem on top. Cut
to him stopping at a petrol pump. He goes to the restroom and when he comes out,
he finds his car gone. He is shocked.
Cut to two punks driving the man's car merrily. They are
enjoying the ride. One of the punks spots the bag in the back seat and opens
it. They are shocked and overjoyed to see the bag full of money and jewellery.
Cut to the two punks parking the car outside a building.
They enter the building and we see that it is an underground gambling den. We
see the punks walk up to a table and place the bag on the table. They are given
poker chips in return. Cut to the gambling table where the punk is playing
against a mean looking gangster. The punk raises the last of their share of
chips. The gangster smiles at the punk. We see him slyly pull out a card from
his sleeve. He wins the hand. The punk is simply devastated on losing all his
money. The gangster laughs and his goons scoop up the bag and they leave.
Cut to a strip club where the gangster is being served
drinks by a stripper. They are enjoying the attention, and the gangster hands
her some money. Cut to him going home with the stripper. They enter the bedroom
of the gangster where the gangster throws the bag on the table beside the bed.
The stripper playfully pulls handcuffs out of her pockets. She ties the
gangster to the bed, grabs the bag, gives him a flying kiss and leaves. The
gangster screams angrily.
Cut to the girl driving up to a house. She honks once. A
man enters the car and hugs her. The stripper points to the bag behind her. The
man turns and we see that it is the same robber. He cannot believe that his own
loot has found its way back to him. He smiles.
Cut to super.
Fox Crime. Crime after crime.
TVC
3 - 'Gun'
Film opens inside a park. We see two men sitting together on a bench. The bald man pulls out a picture of woman and shows it to the man with the French beard. The French beard man nods his head. Then the bald man hands the French beard man a suitcase. The French beard man opens the suitcase, we see lots of money inside and a gun. The French beard man closes the suitcase and leaves.
We see the French beard man waiting outside a building wearing gloves. We see the woman from the picture emerge from the building. French beard man looks at the picture to confirm and then pulls out the gun and shoots her dead. We see him dispose the gloves in one dustbin and the gun in another.
Cut to see a homeless man find the gun. He hides it in his dirty coat. We see him enter a pawn shop and sell the same gun for few rupees. The homeless man leaves looking happy.
Cut to a woman entering the pawn shop. She goes through many guns and finally settles on the same gun sold by the homeless man. She pays for it in cash and leaves the pawn shop.
We see the woman sitting inside the house and flipping through magazine. We hear the keys turning in the door. We hear a man entering the house saying;
"Honey
I'm home"
Hearing
this she puts her book aside, pulls out the newly purchased gun and fires at
the man. We see the same French beard assassin fall in front of her feet. She
drops the gun in front of his face. The dying assassin looks at the familiar
gun and looks shocked.
Cut to super.
Fox Crime. Crime after crime.
INTERACTIVE OUTDOOR/ONLINE
Idea: What happens next?
An interactive outdoor-cum-online campaign that takes
the idea of 'Crime after crime'
forward. A picture of the first crime will be put up on hoardings in the city, shown on
cinema screens, web banners and the Fox Crime website. The task is to continue
the story forward by predicting the next crime in the series. People can log on to the website and put up their version of the story.
COPY ON THE WEBSITE BELOW
What you see here is a crime waiting to happen. But this
is just the beginning.
What happens next? Who is the sniper out to kill? Does
he hit his target? Is there a twist in the tale?
Surely there's more crime here than meets the eye.
Don your thinking caps.
Come up with a gripping story that could follow this one and your story
could be made into a film and featured here. Simply log in on foxcrimeasia.com or sign up and start
writing your stories. Good luck!
Kevin's story idea gets selected (circled in red): He shoots the girl in the bathtub in the opposite house.
Meena's story idea gets selected (circled in red): After her, they kidnap her sister.
Arun's story idea gets selected (circled in red): Thieves hold up the kidnapper's car.
Karina's story idea gets selected: The thieves kill the driver and run away with the ransom money.
Copy after all the story pieces come together: Good job! Your story will now be filmed and featured right here. You can then share it with your friends. Way to go partner!
CAMPAIGN 2
IDEA: TRUST NO ONE
TVC 1 – Phenyl (Strong floor cleaner)
The film opens on an old, rich woman dressed in a satin housecoat
and sitting on her living room couch.
She is wearing big jeweled rings and chains. We see a maid approaching
her with a smile and serving her a glass of milk.
The old lady smiles back and takes the glass.
Just as she is about to sip the milk she suddenly stops with the
glass still near her mouth and her eyes focused on the maid who has now moved
away to another chore.
We see the maid slowly opening a bottle of white phenyl. We see
slow shots of the phenyl being poured into the bucket.
The old woman’s eyes go wider. She looks at the glass of milk in
her hand and at the phenyl.
The maid while she is pouring just glances at the old woman once,
smiles a little (which looks mysterious) and goes back to pouring the phenyl.
The old woman smiles a small, quick smile back and looks serious again.
Just then her cat climbs into her lap. The old woman pets her cat
while still looking at the maid. The maid looks back at her.
The old woman then quickly pours the milk into her cat’s bowl next
to the couch.
Her cat rushes to the bowl and starts licking the milk.
The old woman stares at the cat as if expecting something to
happen and then at the maid. The maid stares at the cat too (with a look that
could mean she has been caught or just surprised by the old woman's action) and
then at the old woman.
Super: Fox Crime. It gets to you.
TVC 2 – Mechanic
The film opens on a car in a
garage. A mechanic slides out from underneath the car. The rollers of the
creeper (the skateboard like thing) make a squeaking noise.
He stands up behind the rear of
the car, looks ahead at the female driver who is seated inside.
Inside the car, the woman looks
at the mechanic in the rearview mirror and sees him dusting his hands and pants
and gives her the thumbs-up indicating that she can drive away.
The mechanic is this huge, burly suspicious looking man and the
woman keeps looking at him (a little nervous) in the mirror as she slowly turns
the key in the ignition.
Just as the car starts and she drives a little ahead, she suddenly
sees the mechanic removing some wires from his pocket and winding them around
his hand. He has a pair of pliers, wrenches, etc. in the pockets of his overalls.
The driver, now scared, stares at the mechanic in the rearview
mirror suddenly realizing that her brakes might have been tampered with.
The mechanic just smiles
back.
She then quickly slams on the brakes expecting her fears to come
true but the car stops immediately with a jolt. She gasps heavily, closes her
eyes and droops her shoulders in relief.
She looks at the mechanic in the mirror and he looks back at her
quizzically.
She gets a grip on herself, puts the car into gear and starts to
move ahead while still looking at the mechanic in her rearview mirror. But just
as she reaches the exit to the road outside, a mobile phone rings. She checks
her mobile in her pocket, but it’s not ringing. She’s puzzled and looks around
to see another mobile next to her. She’s startled and nervously picks it up. We
see sweat trickling down her forehead.
Just as she is about to press the answer button, her eyes go wide
as she sees the mechanic in the rear view mirror waving goodbye.
Super: Fox Crime. It gets to you..
TVC 3 – Garden
The film opens on the husband in the garden busy watering the rose
tree.
We see his wife walk towards him with a smile on her face. He
looks up to see her approach, puts down the watering hose and picks up a big
garden scissor.
Seeing this, his wife stops mid-way, smile gone from her face.
We see her husband bend down and carefully snip a beautiful red
rose and gift it to her. She smiles again. He smiles back.
But suddenly he stops smiling. We see his wife has picked up a
shovel and is busy inspecting its sharpness with her finger. Few drops of blood
gush out from her finger.
Satisfied she turns and smiles back at her husband. But this time
she again stops smiling.
We see she has discovered a freshly dug up pit behind the rose
tree, in fact, it's just her exact size.
Her husband smiles again.
Super: Fox Crime. It gets to you.
CAMPAIGN 3
IDEA: CRIME TAKES OVER ENTERTAINMENT
The idea was to take the existing entertainment formats of dance shows, family drama serials and news debates and inject crime into them making 'crime' the new entertainment option.
TVC 1 - Judge
The film opens on a live dance show where a young female
contestant has just finished her performance.
As is the norm, the contestant faces the judge and waits for their
score.
Host: And now for the judges’ verdict…
The first judge, a man, smiles, gives her the ‘thumbs up’ and
raises the score card which reads ‘10’.
1st
Judge: Good show…
The contestant bows and smiles happily. The audience cheers.
The second judge, a woman, holds up her score card which reads
‘9’.
The contestant shrugs her shoulders, smiles and takes a bow again.
Audience cheers.
The 3rd judge is this typical snobbish, arrogant
looking judge (there is always one on every panel) who gives her the ‘thumbs
down’ and raises his card which reads, ‘4’.
The judge then smiles an arrogant, hateful smile while there is
the sound of disappointment through the audience.
The contestant looks stone faced and suddenly without warning
pulls out a gun from her pants and shoots the judge squarely on his forehead.
There is a look of utter shock on the judges face as the impact
topples him and his chair backwards.
The crowd gasps and the contestant just blows away the smoke
coming out of her gun very coolly.
VO:
Crime takes over entertainment. Fox Crime.
TVC
2 – Saas Bahu serials (Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who are always at loggerheads)
The film opens in a kitchen setting like the typical saas-bahu
serials.
We see a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the kitchen.
They both are facing the gas stove and cutting some veggies but on
different cutting boards.
There is a vessel on the stove.
The daughter-in-law turns the knob of the gas burner on.
The mother-in-law stops cutting and quickly thrusts her hand
forward and turns it off.
The daughter-in-law gets annoyed and then turns it on again.
The mother-in-law turns it off again.
The daughter-in-law, more irritated, turns it on again.
The mother-in-law turns it off again, makes a triumphant but
arrogant sound ‘hmmp’…and walks to the fridge.
The daughter-in-law can’t take it anymore.
While the mother-in-law is bending down and looking for something
in the fridge, the daughter-in-law stands behind her and holds the freezer door
open.
The moment the mother-in-law stands up the daughter-in-law bangs
the freezer door from behind her head. The mother-in-law screams.
Before she can recover, the daughter-in-law bangs her head on more
time. Then again . And again.
Cut to the daughter-in-law shutting the freezer door and we just
catch a glimpse of just the mother-in-law’s head inside the freezer with a
shocked expression on her face.
The daughter-in-law then shuts the door, makes the same ‘hmmp’
sound that the mother-in-law made and triumphantly turns the gas on again.
VO:
Crime takes over entertainment. Fox Crime.
TVC
3 – Debate
The film opens on a debate taking place on a news show. The participants
are prominent figures from politics and business.
We see everyone sharing their opinions and people agreeing and
disagreeing.
However, there is one particular man (Man 1) who disagrees with
everything Man 2 says.
Every time Man 2 makes a point, Man 1 shakes his head and says I
don’t agree.
He keeps doing that up to a point where it really irks Man 2. He
still manages to hold back.
Then he says something again, and Man 1 once again shakes his head
vigourously and says: No, I don’t
agree’.
This is the last straw. Man 2 suddenly gets up, holds Man 1 by his
neck and slams his head on the table. Not once but thrice. Bam bam bam. Until
Man 1 is out cold.
Everyone in the newsroom gasps.
Man 2 then hold up Man’s 1 limp neck and moves his head forward as
if he is nodding and tells the audience: See,
now he agrees.
VO:
Crime takes over entertainment. Fox Crime.
