CELEB COUPLES WORK THE MOJO
It works so beautifully, say film and ad veterans, when advertisement campaigns are aligned with the stars’ lives
That Virushka is a couple is no secret — there have been public appearances and photos on social media. But it’s only with a brand new ad campaign that the world sees cricketer Virat Kohli and actor Anushka Sharma gaze into each other’s eyes. Their clothes, the usual Indian wedding finery, make it look intimate; the word ‘engaged’ sorts of floats in the air. Fans are thrilled — views of the commercial have touched 4 million — and the ad gurus must be patting themselves on the back.
Celeb couple mojo always works when selling products, especially when there’s sizzling chemistry between the couple. Actors Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover have endorsed a condom brand; actors Patralekhaa and Rajkummar Rao have done it for a furniture brand. It’s a clever idea, says film-maker-writer Pritish Nandy, because “ads are contextual”.
He says, “If there’s an inherent logic to the ad, people like to see known couples. In the case of Manyavar and Mohey, who have two separate brands for men and women, it’s perfectly valid for Virat and Anushka to do it. For Playgard, it made sense for Bipasha and Karan to do it, as it deals with condoms and they are married.” In other words, their lives are just like ours, or aligned with ours, only much more desirable — and that rubs off on the product.
Film-maker and former ad professional R Balki suggests that more than fame, it’s the concept that’s important. “It works beautifully for the brand if the couple is used the right way, with the right idea,” he says. “Otherwise just roping in celebrity couples alone is not enough. People may talk about an ad but may never look at the product.”
Vivek Das Chaudhary, who directed the Pepperfry ad, featuring Rajkummar and Patralekhaa, says, “I thought they’re young and into each other. You get a very homely vibe [from them].” He adds that “freshness in casting” is a big deal for ads, if they want to stand out amid the noise of media content.
The condom commercial, with Bipasha and Karan, got great chemistry out of them, because of their real life relationship, says Prasad Naik, ad director. “We live in an open society and it’s very liberal to do something like this. It feels natural and believable, and it makes our job easy,” says Naik, who has also directed the print version of the Manyavar ad with Virat and Anushka.
Advertising guru Prahlad Kakkar feels that getting such couples to endorse ads makes both creative and financial sense. “You get traction [from the relationship] and you’re not spending individually, if they come as a couple, depending on the deal,” says Kakkar. “I’m sure people would want to see Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh [in an ad], too. Let’s see”