Wunderman Thompson crowdsourced shots, sounds for Tata Pravesh's new ad...

India loves to welcome people, know them, entertain them and sometimes, even make relatives out of them. 'Pravesh', which means 'entry', is often used daily, in some form or the other, in homes across the country. We simply can't keep our doors closed for long. In fact, people in many villages and towns don't close their doors at all during the day.

When Tata launched its brand of steel doors and windows in 2014, it put 'Pravesh' in its name – Tata Pravesh, a marketing masterstroke.

The brand's latest ad film, however, goes against the company and the country's 'welcome' spirit. Called #DoorsOfIndia, the film starts with a series of colourful doors. Then, we see a montage of closed doors spanning the different geographies of India. The messaging is clear: India has closed its doors to the Coronavirus, and a country that's united can win against the virus.

But, the most interesting aspect of the ad is the way it was made. Unlike other ads made during the lockdown era, Tata Pravesh's film doesn't use stock images, or archived footage. Instead, Wunderman Thompson, the makers of the ad went online and crowdsourced what it needed.

It took to Instagram and Twitter, where users posted shots of doors, using the hashtag (#DoorsOfIndia). The agency compiled closed door shots from six cities, and it even created the background score from live sounds found online.

Senthil Kumar, chief creative officer, Wunderman Thompson, says, "Even the soundscape has an interesting twist to the work from home situation. An entire Indian classical music rhythm pattern was created, not by using traditional percussions, but by using live sounds of doors being shut, and the usage of latches, hinges, stoppers and locks, along with ambient street noises and dialogues. These sounds were recorded live across the country using the (hashtag) #DoorsOfIndia."

With everyone working from home these days, the editing part must have been a pain. Says Kumar, "Any film is created by a team of individuals at different stages. Usually, we are in the studio when the edit, the music and the final online and post-production happens. Now, since we are all working from home, the roles had to be more individual, but all working towards the same narrative. And, the collective soul of independent talents across the country came together."

"From the creative team, led by Arjun and Moenuk in Kolkata, to Nobin and Abhishek from the production house to Priyank, the editor, to Subhojit, the music director and sound engineer. All of them delivered their elements from behind the closed #DoorsOfIndia, and it was all stitched together into one stellar film for Tata Pravesh," he added.

"The time is now to stand for what the country needs to do. Stay behind our locked doors of steel. The #DoorsOfIndia will remain locked down for as long as it takes to shut out Corona. While Pravesh means entry, this was all about 'no entry' for the common enemy. Stay home, stay safe from the virus," Kumar signs off.

Back in March, to raise awareness about the importance of staying indoors, Wunderman Thompson, for a Tata Pravesh ad film, turned to its colleagues in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, and asked them to send in videos of them shutting, bolting, and latching the doors in their homes.