The Punishing Signal
70% of noise pollution on Mumbai’s roads is due to excessive honking. After many attempts to curb it, Mumbai Police did what fines couldn’t – they changed behaviour with an unexpected dash of humour by turning traffic signals into Punishing Signals. When honking crossed 85 dB, the countdown timer at a signal would reset, making impatient motorists wait more. A film of this solution was cut and tweeted by Mumbai Police. It soon became the most liked and shared topic in India, creating instant results as well as nationwide chatter.
- MediaUse of Press & Outdoor
- ExperientialPublic Environments
- PRLow Budget Campaigns
- ImpactInitiative/Not for Profits
- PRUse of Events & Stunts
Country
- India
Client
- Mumbai Police
Production Company
- 30ML Ideas Productions
Advertising Agency
- FCB India
Account Director
- Sudarshan Karandikar
Account Executive
- Omkar Kulkarni
Media
- Dhruv Jha
- Amit Raina
Art Direction
- Mukesh Jadhav
Copywriter
- Ravi Ananthan
Agency Producer
- Alpa Jobalia
- Mazhar Khan
Film Direction
- Akshay Nair
Film Producer
- Archana Sarkar
- Shwetabh Mishra
- Sukirth Rao
Chairman
- Rohit Ohri
Coporate Communication Manager
- Arushi Phillips
Global Chief Creative Officer
- Susan Credle
Worldwide Creative Partner
- Fred Levron
co-ordination
- Purbali Mukherjee
- Ahel Maswood
- Vishnu Sudarshan
- yogesh bhusare
- Jaiee Thakur
Chief Creative Officer
- Robby Mathew
Senior Creative Director
- Mukesh Jadhav
Executive Creative Director
- Rakesh Menon
Associate Creative Director
- Ravi Ananthan
Copy Assistance
- Siddharth Kutty
Art Director
- Mayuresh Vengurlekar
- Prashant Pawar
Social Brand Manager
- Shreyas Deshmukh
Senior Brand Manager
- Rahul Shenoy
AV Assistance
- Dipti Ronghe
- Rupesh Gor
Chief Executive Officer
- Joemon Thaliath
Senior Vice President
- Shailesh Gupte
70% of noise pollution on Mumbai’s roads is due to excessive honking. After many attempts to curb it, Mumbai Police did what fines couldn’t – they changed behaviour with an unexpected dash of humour by turning traffic signals into Punishing Signals. When honking crossed 85 dB, the countdown timer at a signal would reset, making impatient motorists wait more. A film of this solution was cut and tweeted by Mumbai Police. It soon became the most liked and shared topic in India, creating instant results as well as nationwide chatter.
Comment from D&AD Community
A masterclass in behaviour change on a budget, with hard-to-find humour built in.
— Ali Gee, Deputy CEO & Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard FishburnThe Punishing Signal lifts a page out of the social learning experiments of the 50s and 60s and applies it to the 20th century. Effortlessly simple and direct, the medium delivers the message. Impatience is measured in decibels and rewarded with a timeout. A light-hearted and effective reminder slow your roll, even at a standstill. Even seemingly small actions can have a huge impact. I can't wait to see this initiative roll out across India beyond.
— Sarah Moffat, CCO, Turner DuckworthThey got right into the heart of the problem in a very direct way and it’s such a simple idea, there was no innovation that made it possible it was just creative thinking.
— Shula Sinclair, Global Head of Strategy, Spark Foundry
