Crush a tubelight and then mix it with matchstick head powder. Put this mixture into a lock and light it up. And pop opens the lock! Breaking and entering a house is just that easy. If the idea scares you, it is all the more unnerving hearing it from a former and now reformed thief. Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems has brought together three such calculative minds in its latest campaign to show you just how vulnerable you are given your current home security system.
For Shyam Motwani, EVP and business head, Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems, the idea was to create long-format videos on the importance of safety. “These individuals display how the mind of a robber works, and the only way to prevent such a break-in is to get better security. That is what creates the strong narrative,” he explains. The set is that of a dark interrogation room, a chai glass sits on the table and just the silhouette of the speaker, who recounts his criminal days. If anything, this can be called a clever marketing tactic guised as a public service advertisement.
Godrej calls these individuals “reformed robbers”. But the campaign goes well beyond their break-in expertise to also ask their opinion on preventing such an incident. Ravi Deshpande, founder-chairman, Whyness Worldwide, shares the exhaustive research that went into its making. “We visited multiple jails across India to have them talk about it. We reached out to prison authorities and found our contacts. But even till the day of the shoot, we were unsure if they would talk about it,” he explains.
Motwani calls the whole experience “scary and chilling, but also equally eye-opening”. Considering that the idea was to have the robbers also comment on Godrej’s security locks, it’s safe to say that its products have gained the fail-safe approval — straight from the mouth of the thief. “We did not want to make it in a negative manner or scare people. Instead, the key takeaway for the audience would be to understand the importance of safety, learn about our solutions and eventually enhance security with our products,” he says. How much longer would you wait to fortify your home before a stranger pays you a visit at an unlikely hour?
