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Mumbai Mirror takes pride in being hated

The latest campaign in the 'I am Mumbai' series, conceptualised by Taproot, shows the hatred of criminals for Mumbai Mirror as they are running scared because of its brave reporting. The message this time is 'Hated by Some, every morning, thankfully'

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Mumbai Mirror takes pride in being hated

Mumbai Mirror takes pride in being hated

The latest campaign in the 'I am Mumbai' series, conceptualised by Taproot, shows the hatred of criminals for Mumbai Mirror as they are running scared because of its brave reporting. The message this time is 'Hated by Some, every morning, thankfully'

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | November 3, 2014

Mumbai-Mirror-TVC Click on the image to watch the TVC.

Mumbai Mirror is back with yet another powerful campaign in the 'I am Mumbai' series which shows the point of view of criminals in the city who are running scared. The campaign, conceptualised by Taproot, scripted by Agnello Dias, and directed by Abhinay Deo of Ramesh Deo Productions, has retained the essential message that 'we (the paper) will stand by our reader, and against all the injustices he faces', but has inverted the prism through which the story is being narrated in this campaign. The newspaper also takes deep pride in being hated because it believes that hated by few means change, and it is always better than being loved by all.

The TVC opens with criminals in different professions – like doctors, contractors, women involved in prostitution racket and thugs – giving excuses for the crimes they commit and accusing Mumbai Mirror for making a big issue of it every time. They vent their anger against the reporters of the newspaper who have ruined their lives. Towards the end, each of them is shown chased by the police and they curse the newspaper. The last shot shows a copy of the Mumbai Mirror is shown burning in the middle of rubble and the message comes on screen: 'Hated by Some, every morning, thankfully'.

Agnello Dias Agnello Dias

Commenting on the brief, Agnello Dias, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India, said, “The brief was to continue to position the paper as the crusading newspaper in the city, which campaigns to protect the rights of the readers, and raises a voice against the ills of society. Last year, the idea was to tell stories from the victim's perspective and be their mouthpiece. This year, it is the view of the newspaper among the villains, thugs and anti-socials. Both the views are very different from one another because, for the victim, Mumbai Mirror is like their hero and partner, but for the villain it is hated and thus comes the line in the end that says 'Hated by Some, every morning, thankfully.'”

Rahul Kansal Rahul Kansal

Discussing the insight behind the campaign, Rahul Kansal, Chief Marketing Officer, Bennett, Coleman & Company, said, “Today, Indian society is extremely agitated about the way in which criminals and corrupt people get away with their misdeeds with impunity. The average citizen is impatient to bring an end to this impunity. We decided to show these bad elements being finally brought to book, thanks to the fearless exposes done by Mumbai Mirror.”

The last scene of the campaign shows the Mumbai Mirror being set afire. On asking how difficult was it to persuade the client to take such a bold step, Dias said, “It has always been the DNA of the newspaper to be very bold and different from the others. Talking of this particular campaign, Rahul Kansal accepted our idea wholeheartedly and was confident of it just like us.”

Back in 2011, Mumbai Mirror had released its first campaign 'I am Mumbai' which was received extremely well by the audience and was also the winner at various national and international platforms. It narrated the story and the angst of the common man and how they picked up the loudspeaker and shared their pain and grievances in the public because 'No one can silence their voice'. It had the message 'Mumbai speaks every morning. Are you listening?'

BestMediaInfo.com spoke to a few creative heads to understand their views on the new and bold Mumbai Mirror campaign.

Powerful and ballsy, but the earlier one was better...

Pratap Bose Pratap Bose

Pratap Bose, President, Ad Club, commented, “It is a nice take on the being hated part and it is quite a brave thing to talk about issues which are not openly discussed. It requires guts, and kudos to the agency for telling the client to make such a bold film. It is a well-crafted and directed film and undoubtedly Mumbai is about all these issues. However, I felt the earlier film was stronger, more impactful and soul-stirring, which I found missing in this film.”

Suresh Eriyat Suresh Eriyat

Suresh Eriyat, Founder and Creative Director, Eeksaurus, said, “It is a great film with bold content. But it will have more impact if it is shown as a TVC rather than just on the digital platform. I feel that like its earlier 'I am Mumbai' campaign, this will also fetch many international awards because of the way India has been projected. I am not saying that what is shown is wrong, but then this is what the international community likes to see.”

Priti Nair Priti Nair

Priti Nair, Co-founder, Curry Nation, remarked, “The new campaign is very nice and beautiful and it actually describes what the paper is all about. Mumbai Mirror has always stood for supporting local issues and bringing them out to the public. However, I feel the earlier campaign was of a different league all together, and this one is more about casting and direction.”

Prathap Suthan Prathap Suthan

Giving a different perspective, Prathap Suthan, Chief Creative Officer, Bang in the Middle, said, “It is no doubt a very powerful ad, but it is also something which is a bit too intelligent. The common man might find it difficult to get the message. Also, the duration of the ad could have been a little shorter, as it was sort of dragging towards the end. Another point which I felt was that showing only the angst and crime taking place in the city, it narrows the definition for what the newspaper stands for. Does Mumbai Mirror stand only for reporting the unhappy events in the city?”

Robby Mathew Robby Mathew

, National Creative Director, Interface Communications, was all praise for the new campaign. He said, “I simply loved the Mumbai Mirror film, because it is ballsy, different and fresh and is told from the perspective of the city's underbelly. It is very well written and well directed. It makes you uncomfortable, when you watch it, which also why it is effective at the same time.”

New ad:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/

Old ad:

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