Total commitment shines through in Force TVC
¡@THE Hong Kong Police Force has launched a television commercial as part of its new recruitment campaign which aims to attract people with the right stuff to join the Force as a constable or an inspector. ¡@Chief Superintendent of the Police Public Relations Branch, Harry Blud said the thematic slogan of this year's campaign, "An Identity to be Proud of", was simple but had a lot of impact. ¡@"The campaign in particular features the caring aspect of police work. People have come to terms with the professional and intelligent role of police officers which was shown in our previous campaigns. It's about time for us to tell people of the inherent caring aspect of our work," CSP Blud said. ¡@The new television commercial shows a quick-witted police constable who, like a spiderman, climbs out to an upper-floor balcony and splashes water on two children trapped between a fire engulfing their apartment and the bars on their balcony. Despite the danger of falling and exposure to the heat and smoke, the police constable remains clinging to the balcony of the burning flat		Art imitating life: PC Ma Ka-kuen recreates his part in preventing a fire from claiming the lives of two trapped children for the new Force recruitment TVC
comforting the trapped victims and lowering their body temperatures by spraying them with a water hose until firemen arrive. ¡@"The plot was developed from a real incident in 1995 and showed our quick-thinking policeman's response to a potentially disastrous situation. We hope that after watching the commercial, brave and caring people like him will join us to pursue a very worthwhile career with the Force," CSP Blud said. ¡@"The slogan 'An Identity to be Proud of' sends the message that a career with the police is a life-long commitment to the community. We are proud of this mission which is simply to help and care for others." ¡@The $9.6 million recruitment campaign also includes two other television commercials along a similar line, to be launched shortly. Other forms of advertising, such as radio, MTR poster displays and newspaper advertisements are also in the pipeline. ¡@"Apart from recruitment, our campaign also seeks to promote the police image. This is because we need people's trust in us and their co-operation whether it's fighting crime, protecting people or saving lives," CSP Blud explained. ¡@This year's Police Recruitment Campaign has been implemented with the assistance of EURO RSCG, which was awarded the contract after a vigorous tendering exercise involving many members of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents. ¡@Adding an extra dimension to the dramatic television spot is the fact that the role of the police officer who helped save the children from the burning apartment is played by the actual police constable himself - PC Ma Ka-kuen. ¡@"When the Police Public Relations Branch asked me to participate in the production work of the advertisement and to re-enact the events of that day back in 1995, I was excited and honoured." recalls PC Ma, who has served with the Hong Kong Police for eight years and received the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his bravery during the incident. ¡@Luckily PC Ma was transferred to the "X" Company of PTU where he's been going through extensive physical training which proved to be useful for shooting the recruitment ad. "Making the commercial required a lot of physical work," recalls PC Ma, who says it took ten film takes to get the most dangerous shot (where he climbs up and over to the third-floor balcony of the burning flat and sprays water on to the child actors) right. "The crew was very professional and wanted it perfect. That meant climbing up the building time after time to get an acceptable take. I kept thinking to myself that fortunately it was just a commercial and that all the safety measures were in place." ¡@In fact, during the three-day filming of the commercial many of the takes were shot as many as 30 times. "The opening and closing shots were quite difficult for me as they required real acting," he recollects. "The director insisted that I get the mood he required. As I am not a professional actor, I had to try many times." ¡@On the other hand, PC Ma's experience of the actual incident helped considerably with the realism of the scenes: "I described the intensity of the fire and heavy smoke to the production crew who in turn created flames and fumes that were very convincing. In fact, my colleagues who were at the actual scene of the incident say that the TV commercial is very close to reality." ¡@As successful as PC Ma's acting debut is, he doesn't expect to be giving up his day job any time soon: "It is an honour to be a member of Asia's Finest. The Hong Kong Police have made a great contribution to the territory's safety and stability. I am happy to remain a part of that."