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Power
Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:03
A scene from the
POWA commercial

A commercial developed for POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse) by Ogilvy and produced by Frieze Films was one of the few South African films recognised at Cannes.

Directed by Jonty Fine, it documents real-life responses to two different types of neighbourhood disturbances, one violent and the other not.

Shot in a townhouse complex, it was in truth a social experiment conducted over two different nights. The first night candidly records neighbour’s reactions to a tenant playing the drums. As expected, the neighbours take action by complaining to the tenant. A violent domestic argument was recorded in studio and prepped for broadcast on the second night. The neighbours took no action at all in this case.

The team were insistent on not alerting neighbours to any strange activity so the event could unfold as naturally as possible, therefore the cameras and crew were secreted into the complex so as not to give anything away.

To date the viewership tops 620 000 on YouTube and comments from users reflect the impact of the commercial.

(Report by Anton Crone)



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