The Dali gang takes over Mumbai streets in ‘Money Heist’ style

The state government has partnered with Netflix India and BMC to distribute one lakh masks across Mumbai.

In a bid to remind people to continue to wear masks, Netflix India, the Maharashtra government, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have come together to help distribute one lakh masks across Mumbai.

Citizens dressed in red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí-inspired masks, like the characters of the Netflix show ‘Money Heist’, were seen distributing masks on the streets of Mumbai.

Conceptualised by creative agency The Glitch, the initiative is aimed to drive awareness about the importance of wearing masks at all times.

Speaking to afaqs! about the idea behind this campaign, Varun Anchan, associate vice president- content strategy & business, Flux@The Glitch said, "Just like the fans, the team was thrilled for the new season of Money Heist. We were also mindful that we all have been a little lenient about wearing masks despite it being mandatory. With the covid regulations easing out, we forgot that our fight with the virus is still on. We wanted to remind everyone, ‘it’s not over yet, keep your masks on’."

The message was mainly directed towards the people but it also served as a reminder for the fans of Money Heist that the fight isn’t over for the Dali gang either.

Anchan mentions that over the last few seasons, the Dali mask became synonymous with the gang and what they stood for. That inspired the team to turn their everyday masks into Dali masks and get the message to every Mumbaikar.

We asked him about the brief from Netflix for this initiative. Anchan informed that the initial brief from Netflix was to fuel the fandom for Money Heist and get in new viewers for the show. He added, "Once we cracked the idea and the message ‘it’s not over yet, keep your masks on, it was all about spreading the word to as many people as we can. Getting these masks to 1 lakh people was an ambitious effort; Netflix and Maharashtra Government made sure we had all the permissions in place for seamless execution of the plan."

The team was a bit apprehensive of meeting the one lakh masks target. However, Anchan says despite of that, once the Dali gang hit the streets, they were greeted with an overwhelming response from the Mumbaikars.

The team managed to cover all many major junctions, nakas, and some apartments and offices in the city and every passerby wanted the Dali mask. The boxes came back empty even before the next one was ready.

Anchan shares, "Some people tied a string to their bags and dropped it from their galleries to collect their masks. People found some jugaad to get their masks and it made our day. The BMC and Maharashtra Government helped us maintain the Covid safety measures and ensuring the event was safe for Mumbaikars to participate."

The first part of the fifth season of ‘Money Heist’ was released earlier this month, and the second and final part will be released on December 3.

Commenting on the initiative, Saurabh Punamiya Jain, special assistant to the cabinet minister at Government of Maharashtra (GoM), said, “I am glad that as Office of the Guardian Minister of Mumbai and the BMC, we were able to facilitate the distribution of one lakh masks across Mumbai. Netflix India’s initiative has certainly resonated with the Mumbaikars…”

“Responsible partnerships between private enterprises and the government enable us to engage with civil society in unique ways,” added Jain.

Tara Kapur, films & series marketing manager, Netflix India, also shared her experience in a LinkedIn post. She wrote, “Keep your mask on, it’s not over yet! - a reminder from the ‘Money Heist’ team, Government of Maharashtra and the BMC for citizens to continue to be safe and wear masks during the COVID pandemic. A big thank you to Saurabh Punamiya Jain for all the support provided by the BMC and Mumbai Police for ensuring that things went smoothly on ground, as well as Lavanya Singh and Ambika Khurana for making our idea a reality.”

Credits:

Brand: Netflix

marketing manager: Tara Kapur

agency: The Glitch

associate creative director - Hitesh Shettigar

creative team - Cherian Kunnumpuram, Varun Humnabadkar, Bhavisha Jain, Vishnudas Nair

client servicing: Tanvi More, Kaushik Ananthasubramanium, Amrita Singh

designers: Meghna Roy, Yash Bharaj

associate vice president content strat&business - Varun Anchan

Image credits: Saurabh Punamiya Jain's Linkedin post.