Cinema: The New Age Advertising Media

I recently watched the new pepy flick "Luv Ka The End" by Yash Raj Films and was amazed at how numerous brands were promoted in the movie within the storyline itself. The movie revolves around a girl (and her bunch of friends) who falls in love with a rich boy.. boy cheats girl.. girl seeks revenge instead of locking herself in d room and wasting tears.. Thats pretty much the crux of the movie. 

It starts off with the rich boy flaunting his dad owned Jaguar. Mentos, a popular youth brand of confectionary, where the lead actress of the movie gets an offer for a Mentos ad causing ripples in her social circle. When she realizes that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she decides to get even with him and comes up with innovative ideas (Dimaag ki batti jala de- Mentos tagline) to bring him down. Next comes Onida mobile phones. All the characters in the movie are shown carrying Onida mobile phones and it was ensured that the brand name is clearly in the visible range. The extensive use of video calls via 3G flaunts the fact that Onida is out with 3G mobiles. Its doesnt ends here. Cosmetic giant LAKME was also promoted in the movie where street smart girls turn into Diva's by applying Lakme make up. The movie also promotes "Love Bird" restaurant and bar in Juhu, Mumbai with a peppy item number by the lead actor (the rich brat). There was a repetetive mention of a posh Thai restaurant (name of which I cannot recall) where the rich boys goes out on a date. There were mentions of famous tattoo artist (Pali Hill), fashion brands like Diesel, Aldo etc. 

This practice of indirectly publicizing a product through movies and TV shows is popularly known as Covert advertising.  The actress in the film or the TV show may be shown to be using a particular brand of clothes or cosmetics; a particular restaurant or company may be shot so that the company name appears in the scene. The audiences watching the show or the movie are sure to notice the name advertised, thus contributing to the promotion of the product showcased. The brands used "Luv ka the end" a new youth movie as a mode of promoting products that the youth associates itself with the most - fashion, technology, hang out places. A perfect platform for covert advertising... hmm I did learn something from this brainless movie.

Gone with the wind (Some enjoyed the glory, some didn’t) PART II

Ambassador

Considered to be the definitive Indian car, was once the most popular car in India as it was perceived to be best suited to the harsh Indian terrain. Its iconic status was helped by the fact that it was the preferred means of conveyance of India's political leadership, including the Prime Minister of India, before they moved on to other luxury cars and SUVs. What went wrong?

It was unable to create barrier for potential new entrants & was unable to compete with their existing strategies. Even suppliers were not looked into deep; company was in a snail pace and couldn’t take up the challenge of new potential entrants in the market, including the suppliers of its different parts (remember Porter’s Model?). The brand was banking upon its niche markets (government and taxi). But even these two sectors were taken over by Maruti. Was it a case of a typical marketing myopia? The decline is sales can also be credited to the very simple fact that the Indian customer was awed by the new flashy foreign entrants. We just got bored..!

Gone with the wind (Some enjoyed the glory, some didn’t) PART I

Canada Dry… & GoldSpot & many more.. Sigh!

From the house of Cadbury Schweppes, if I could recall it correctly, then Canada Dry was quite a hyped drink in India. It was promoted as a champagne softdrink and it positioned itself as a premium product. The advertisements were flashed with a white tiger in an ice cold land and a tag line “Cool Cool Canada”. Its association with Cadbury further enhanced its brand image. But alas as CocaCola took over the beverage business of Cadbury Schweppes, like Canada Dry even drinks like GoldSpot (remember the Zing Thingggg) and my personal favourite Crush was brutally killed. I some how could find any particular reason for the death of these products except for the reason that Coke wanted to make space for its own products. Strangely however Limca still survived.

 

What We Miss From the Early Days

A couple weeks back, I stumbled upon a community and it just made me nostalgic for the early day’s shows. This inquisitiveness driven show had so much potential and plenty of charm back then, infusing high school drama with sci-fi twists. Obviously, things have changed since then, and not for the better.

“Bournvita Quiz Contest” – who can forget the common household name and a common high school phenomena. Growing up with BQC was a part of the Sunday routine. The nervous kids representing schools from pan India, neatly decked up in their school uniforms frantically battled with the very vocal Derek ‘O Brian. I vaguely remember the times when mothers would stuff their children with Bournvita so they could possess super sharp brains and schools would have special classes conducted to ensure that the students were well equipped with general knowledge and current affairs. And yes, who can forget the pride of participation in the BQC? Win or no win, the contestants would all come back home with loads of chocolates sponsored by Cadbury.

Who would not like to have BQC back in all its old-school glory, with questions aplenty and gimmicks only a few. Join the movement here http://www.facebook.com/bringbqcback