Seen this video gently mocking the likely Republican Party candidate for the US elections, Donald Trump? You probably have by now.
It took five months of pitching, planning and execution for a Bangalore-based agency to pull off the tea-stunt that could well have stumped Donald Trump. In the news for the “most audacious campaign” of their professional lives, the guys at Fisheye Creative Solutions say they were rather lucky to have an “incredibly gutsy client in Te-a-me”, a Kolkata-based tea company.
Talking to Scroll.in about how the campaign was put together, Creative Head Orko Basu said: “It was a multi-city, international effort to deliver the tea. Given Donald Trump's profile, security was intense.”
The brief was simple. Says Basu: “Te-a-me has a range of different teas for different needs. Our task is to raise awareness about the various flavours and various benefits.”
A team from India flew to the US and worked in tandem with local talent to put together the campaign, which was executed in a week's time.
The video, shot at various iconic locations in New York city, shows a Indian woman on giant display screens exhorting Trump to drink the tea, even as sari-clad women deliver a large box of tea bags (6,000 of them) to Trump's security. Men and women cheer the Indian woman as she talks about how the tea could clear his head and heart with a handful even joining in the chorus: “Trump, drink the tea.” After all, as the campaign says, “If we cannot stop him, we can surely change him.”
Says Basu: “Being a political subject, there were other concerns as well. It was difficult to find partners to take on the risks of being associated with a project as provocative as this one. And in the end, Fisheye itself organised the delivery and produced the film, putting together a team of the ballsiest and most passionate people that we’ve ever worked with.”
The most controversial figure in the US right now may not be the most popular guy in NYC. It did complicate matters for the team, which says it has received an “overwhelmingly positive response” to the campaign, along with a few “hateful threatening comments” . To be fair, Trump's team did allow the delivery to be made and to be filmed – even if it was on the basis of the adage that all publicity is good publicity.
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