In-film advertisements are multi-crore bets for producers

Sumedha Srivastav - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai
Madhur Bhandarkar, director of Fashion movie has reasons to smile. One, the box office response to his film, the other is that the film has earned around Rs 8 crore from in-film advertisements alone. There are seven product placements in the movie - clothing brands Kimaya and Reebok, Lenovo laptop, Sunsilk shampoo, Cellucom, Coffee Day and LG Electronics.

Fashion isn't the only film to have benefited from in-film advertising recently. Ashutosh Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar had a collaboration with Tanishq, while Mission Istaanbul had a tie up with Mountain Dew, with Viveik Oberoi and Zayed Khan saying, 'Dar ke aage jeet hai,' in a scene.

Speaking to Televisionpoint.com, Ram Mirchandani, executive vice-president, creative, UTV Rampage Motion Pictures, which released Fashion, says, "The in-film ads in the film were subtle and weren't unnecessary. Now that production costs have increased, these ads will become bigger as they help make a better product. Besides, when the ad company showcases its products, it also helps in film publicity."

Dharma Productions has also lined up quite a fare with at three in-movie brand placements for its forthcoming Abhishek-John-Priyanka starrer Dostana. The movie, which is set to release on November 14, has partnered with brands like Verve, Canon and DHL.

In the movie, actress Priyanka Chopra plays the role of the editor of fashion and lifestyle magazine Verve. Parmesh Shahani, editorial director, Verve, explains, "Bollywood is a huge ambassador for any brand and we do expect this partnership to further help us expand all over the world and in India. We are confident that our advertisers and readers would feel happy and proud of this film and this partnership will transform into revenues. We do believe that this would help us boost our circulation."

Idea Cellular's tagline 'What an idea, Sirji' and its signature ringtone have been woven into the plot of the Sanjay Dutt-starrer, EMI. In-film ads have become more in-your-face. Some classic examples are when Hrithik Roshan says in Krrish, 'Mere jaisa banna hai to Bournvita pi,' or when a sales executive tries to sell a Ford car to Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini in Baghban, listing out all its features.

Perizaad Zorabian, who's also the Asmi brand ambassador, plays Jenny, an Asmi model, in Jogger's Park. She also performs a song for an Asmi show in the film, which showcases new designs, titled Habba Habba. Film placements can fetch anything between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 5 crore for producers.

Is this trend here to stay? Producer Munnish Puri thinks so. "A film is a brand and its director is aiming to please the target market," he says.

Munnish adds that the initiative shouldn't look blatant. "Fashion, besides being a film with a good script, has huge potential to influence customers. When you're talking about the fashion industry, it's natural to have brands in it," he says.

Alpana Parida, marketing and merchandising head, Tanishq, tells Televisionpoint.com that the company collaborated with Jodhaa Akbar because the jewellery line's ideology was in sync with the story.

"Jodhaa Akbar was about a golden era. The mughals, queens and princesses wore heavy jewellery. So, our product was a part of it. Tanishq is selective about tie-ups with films. Many companies have their products in the background of a scene. It's a blink and miss situation. We invest if our product is integral to the story." Alpana says.

And do product advertisements in films help more than the usual ads? "The Jodhaa Akbar collection became very popular and is in great demand, especially for weddings," says Alpana, adding that around Rs 12 crore worth jewellery was showcased in the film.