Phish Where the Fish Are - Orange | Clapboard Ad Archive
Orange’s 2024 campaign Phish Where the Fish Are, created by Publicis Conseil for the French electronics market, confronts the escalating sophistication of cybercrime targeting individuals with a sharp blend of realism and narrative innovation. Despite 78% of French internet users believing they possess the right reflexes to detect cyberattacks, 65% continue to fall prey to phishing scams, exposing a dangerous confidence gap that Orange exploits to powerful effect. The campaign shifts away from outdated clichés of phishing emails riddled with spelling errors and instead dramatizes the professionalization of cybercriminal ecosystems that have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, using popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to distribute increasingly advanced phishing kits. Central to this effort is a mockumentary produced by Urbania Productions that imagines a start-up specializing in the development and sale of phishing tools, drawing on real testimonies from cybercriminals to deliver a chilling, credible depiction of the threat landscape. This approach situates the campaign within Clapboard’s FORMAT#12—Parody or Borrowed Format, as it borrows from documentary and true crime genres to engage viewers with a narrative device that feels authentic yet satirical, lending both gravitas and accessibility to the subject matter. The campaign’s rollout strategically harnessed influencer networks who seeded excerpts of the mockumentary without initially disclosing Orange’s involvement, creating curiosity and organic conversation before the full reveal coincided with a high-profile press event featuring Orange’s executive leadership. This digital-first activation is complemented by a comprehensive media mix including TV commercials, online videos, press ads, and social capsules on TikTok and Instagram, all designed to promote Orange France’s expanded consumer cybersecurity offering derived from Orange Cyberdefense’s enterprise expertise. The campaign further integrates a participative platform launched on June 6, cybersecurite.orange.fr, which empowers users to verify and report phishing attempts in real time, building a community-driven database of active threats akin to the navigation model of Waze. This mechanism not only extends Orange’s protective reach but also encourages collective vigilance, making cybersecurity a shared responsibility rather than an individual burden. Clapboard rates this campaign 63/100. Phish Where the Fish Are matters because it demonstrates how cybersecurity communications must evolve beyond fear tactics into immersive storytelling that mobilizes communities through credible narratives and participative technology in an increasingly complex digital environment.
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