Robert Downey Jr. Battles Cybercrime for Aura

Robert Downey Jr. encounters a killer clown in a campaign designed to boost awareness of cybercrime. They don’t fight to the death, but you can’t have everything.

Arnold Worldwide developed the effort for cybersecurity firm Aura, and odds figure heavily in Downey’s narration.

“Your chances of going down in a plane crash—1 in 11 million,” he begins. “Your chances of never waking up from anesthesia—1 in 185,000.”

“But,” he continues, “your odds of falling victim to online crime—1 in 4.”

Timed to Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the :60 delivers its serious message with an agreeably light touch. And the clown gets zapped by a bolt of lightning. That’s a plus.

“No one is immune to what cybercriminals can do,” Downey says in press materials. “I’m incredibly passionate about this issue and I want everyone to understand the risks and take action to protect their families.” (Indeed, he sits on Aura’s board.)

The approach shares similarities with Tinder’s anti-scam ad starring Jonathan Bennett. Both feature appealing celebs, employ a humorous tone and seek to deflate the misconception that online crime is only a worry for older folks who aren’t as digitally savvy as the younger generation.

“The odds are so high, it’s clear people need help now,” says Hari Ravichandran, founder and CEO of Aura. “Last year, Americans lost $10.3 billion to online crime, and the crisis is only getting worse, so we determined we needed to make free support easily accessible to families, as soon as possible.”

With that in mind, Aura is launching a free safety resource center and an AI-driven chat tool providing personalized service.

CREDITS

Client: Aura
Chief Executive Officer: Hari Ravichandran
Chief Communication & Brand Officer: Howard Clabo
Director, Brand Marketing: Jordan Colleran
Sr. Director, Communications: Clare Carluccio
Brand & Integrated Marketing Manager: Justin Snider
Digital Brand Marketing Manager: Steven Yuen

Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
SVP, Group Creative Directors: Nate Donabed, Josh Kahn
Associate Creative Director: Dylan Meagher
Sr. Art Director: Sarah Shellaberger
VP, Executive Producer: Whitney Bogosian
Sr. Business Affairs Manager: Elyssa Ahern
VP, Marketing Director: Caroline Kozub
SVP, Client Operations: Priscilla Patterson
Director, Project Management: Kerrie Jacoby
Brand Strategy Director: Mitch Blum

Production Company: Arts & Sciences
Director: Matt Asleton 
DP: Robert Elswit
EP: Zoe Odlum
Editorial Company: Union Editorial
Editor: Merritt Duff
Assistant Editor: Ryan Stacom
EP: Melissa Lubin
VFX: Zero
VFX Supervisor: Robby Geis
Producer: Jack Swanson
EP: Meg Bailey
Sound Design: Soundtrack
Sound Engineer: Mike Secher