Why did WhatsApp use a classic Hindi song for its user-safety campaign ‘Scam Se Bacho’

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp launched a user-safety campaign - titled ‘Scam Se Bacho’.

‘Scam Se Bacho’ is the brand's take on a classic Hindi song - ‘Aye Bhai, Zara Dekh Ke Chalo’. The music video and new lyrics demonstrate real-life situations in which individuals could be scammed and reinforce the message of staying safe and exercising caution while making digital payments.

It is conceptualized by BBDO India and directed by Shimit Amin, an Indian film director and editor known for award-winning films like Chak De! India.

Manesh Mahatme, director - payments, WhatsApp India, said, “While UPI continues to remain one of the safest, convenient and interoperable modes of making payments, India’s growing acceptance of online payments has also seen an increase in digital payment frauds." He added: "user safety is at the core of everything we do at WhatsApp."

Talking about the campaign, Avinash Pant, Director - Marketing at Meta India, said, “Through this campaign, which is built on several real world scenarios that people face in their everyday life, our endeavour is to educate and empower users with all the information they need to safeguard themselves against any frauds while making digital payments."

Indian ad veteran Josy Paul, who is chair and chief creative officer, BBDO India, said that the primary goal with this music video was to spread awareness and engage the audience sensitively on this subject." He said about the creative treatment, "We decided to create entertainment that educates, rather than advertising. Our goal of reworking a fun nostalgic song like ‘Dekh ke Chalo’ was to use the power of music to convey a strong message that’ll help people relate to the moments that we collectively face in our lives. The song triggers memory structures that allow the audience to receive the message more easily. We hope it will echo with people to be more aware the next time."