‘The Racist Cover’:Tackling racism one key at a time
Dentsu Webchutney has reprised its ‘The Racist Cover’ campaign this time with an interesting physical manifestation of the idea to demonstrate it in an innovative way

Sometimes even the most basic principles of humanity need reiteration. Just as the instances of blatant racism have been on the rise, so is the need to understand why discrimination based on the colour of one’s skin is misguided. Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from the stable of Dentsu Aegis Network, has found a rather simple and yet powerful medium to make this very point about racism. It’s all in the notes or rather, the absence of the notes.
Dentsu Webchutney has reprised its ‘The Racist Cover’ campaign with a physical manifestation of the idea that Racism = No Harmony. The Dentsu Webchutney Innovation Lab has created a special keyboard with no black keys at all.
Speaking about the keyboard, Chief Creative Technologist, DentsWebchutney, Gurbaksh Singh, said, “The Racist Keyboard was made as a symbol of protest against racism. It represents a world where there can be no harmony if racism prevails. Even the most seasoned musician cannot play a perfect harmony on this keyboard which pronounces the core message of the campaign, Racism = No Harmony.”
A typical digital keyboard has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black. The Racist Keyboard designed by Singh and his team has no black keys. It only has 52 white keys. Speaking about designing the keyboard, Singh said, “Designing the keyboard was quite a challenge. We had to thoroughly understand the functioning of the keyboard and how it produces the music and so on and so forth.”
Normally, the white keys have space to accommodate the black keys. To build the keyboard, special white keys were created with no space for the black keys. “The biggest challenge that we faced was designing the keys. The white keys have a groove to fit in the black keys. Once we removed the black keys, we had to redesign the white keys. It took us three months to get it right!” The keyboard has been launched through a web film showcasing Aman Bathla, World’s Fastest Pianist playing the famous song from the movie Titanic – My Heart Will Go On. As Bathla plays his iconic song, the average listener does not have any inkling about the song he is really playing. The campaign once again proves that black or white, every voice matters.
Interacting with this piece of innovation is what drives home the point about the disharmony in music when the black keys are missing. “The Racist Keyboard is available to musicians for concerts, gigs and music tours. It is also available for display at schools, college fests, public places, malls and museums.” Anyone who is interested can write to the team at theracistcover@gmail.com or tweet using the hashtag #theracistcover to borrow the keyboard.
Singh said that the team is working on sending the keyboard to Europe and other places that are facing the menace of racism. He also hinted at more such innovations that will express the same idea. “The campaign will feature 3-4 innovative pieces,” he revealed.
The agency first launched a digital campaign in December with Bridge Music Academy titled ‘The Racist Cover’. The video featuring students of music was a special version of a song played on a piano or keyboard without using the black keys.
In one version children played the notes displayed to them and could not identify the song they were playing. Once again when the notes were displayed, this time with the black keys, they could immediately identify the song. One child profoundly commented on the experience of playing the song without the black keys thus: “If we play white keys, it is not a song. If you play black keys, it is also not a song.” The experiment taught children that discrimination does not create harmony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-DtUXQBq9A
Credits:
Chief Creative Officer – Sudesh Samaria
Chief Creative Technologist – Gurbaksh Singh
Associate Creative Director – Vishal Sagar
Art Director – Sachin Kumar
Interactive Lead – Hemant Kumar
Agency Junior Producer – Thanglalson Ngaihte & Sumantra Talukdar
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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