The Smart Life Poles use radar technology to alert drivers on both sides of a blind curve with the sound of a horn

About three months ago, Gaurav Bhat was handed a brief by advertising agency, Leo Burnett, to make an ad film on a smart pole devised by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). This device would alert drivers of hairpin bends on mountainous roads, thereby reducing the chance of road accidents. The deadline given was five days. "It's a different matter that we ended up spending two months on it," he says. The effort seems to have paid off, because Bhat's film, #RoadsThatHonk is the only Indian ad campaign to have been nominated for The Cannes 2017 Innovation Lions Shortlist this year.