Tata Sky, the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, has bagged the Limca Book of Records post for airing the longest TV commercial in Indian advertising history. Titled 'Prison Break', the ad had a run time of 3 minutes 30 seconds.

When airtime is being used sparsely by brands and creative agencies crib about the tight time frames to deliver the desired message, Tata Sky decided to air the the longest ever television commercial (TVC), to retain the creative impact and messaging of the story.

The unique and long advertisement has made Tata Sky the first ever DTH brand to enter the Limca Book of Records.

The TVC was conceived by Ogilvy and Mather, who worked with Vivek Kakkad, Director, Curious Films to shoot the commercial with an international cast and crew in an actual prison in Hungary.

The TVC was based on the insight that people these days do not find any time to watch television. With the recording feature of the DTH, busy people can record their favourite programmes and watch them at leisure.

The story revolved around a bunch of foreign convicts imprisoned in an Indian jail. These convicts conspire to escape when they realise that a cricket match is being played between India and Pakistan, assuming that the match would keep the Indian guards and the jailer occupied. When the jailer and his men intercept their escape, the convicts wonder what Indian does not watch such an epic match. The response: "a hard working Indian", who can record the match and watch it at his leisure.

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