The potential for public Wi-Fi networks to be used as mediums for fraud is vividly portrayed in a new commercial directed by STORY’s David Orr for AARP and Washington, DC agency GMMB.
A coffee shop serves as an unlikely haven for criminal activity in He Said, She Said. In alternating close-ups, a man and a woman describe the ugly details of a case of identity theft. After a bit, it becomes clear that she was the victim of the crime while he was the perpetrator. The man tells how he set up an imposter Wi-Fi network in a coffee shop and used it to lure people into giving up personal information. “Boom! I go shopping,” he says. The woman is mystified over how she was victimized, even as she sits down in the coffee shop…next to him. The spot directs viewers to the website for AARP’s Fraud Watch Network, where information is available on identity theft and other rip-off schemes.
“GMMB came up with a very clever way to illustrate the problem,” says Orr. “Firing up a computer in a coffee shop is something we all do, but we need to remember that other people may be watching.”
“David immediately got what we were going for in terms of storytelling and came with lots of great ideas to bring it to life,” adds GMMB Creative Director Don Corrigan. “His enthusiasm for the spot, his eagerness to collaborate and his amazing attention to detail made the creative team feel like we were in good hands.”
Orr directs the spot with a light touch. Both “he” and “she” seem like average people and their normalness makes the crime appear all the more sinister. “We didn’t want the scam artist to be twirling his mustache,” Orr says. “He’s someone you could imagine yourself being conned by.”
“We shot the woman walking down the street with a hand-held camera to make her seem agitated, rattled,” Orr adds. “We shot the guy with the camera on a dolly, so it’s smooth and fluid. You get the feeling that he is in control.”
STORY is represented on the East Coast by Elyse Emmer (212) 580-8568; in the Midwest by Melissa Thornley (312) 752-5369, in the Southeast by Miller + Associates, (954) 563-6004; in the Southwest by Gossip!, (214) 288-2813 and on the West Coast by Yvette Lubinsky, (310) 827-2626.
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