Thums Up (Allu Arjun) vs. Campa Cola (Ram Charan) : A New Chapter in India's Cola Wars"

Ram Chran

It is summer, and the Cola Wars are on! It has become a custom among cola companies that the battle for dominance automatically heats up whenever summer arrives. The sniping has already started this year, and it’s getting quite interesting.

Allu Arjun

Thums Up has brought in Allu Arjun as its brand ambassador and released some very exciting and energetic videos. Not to be left behind, Campa Cola has now signed Southern superstar Ram Charan as its spokesperson. Interestingly, this marks a first in the advertising industry — the same spokesperson is now being used for the entire country. The advertisements heavily bank on his star status and mimic his famous movie scenes from Magadheera and RRR.

Mahesh Babu 

Salman Khan

Earlier, brands used to appoint different film stars for different regions — a North Indian celebrity for North India, and a South Indian celebrity for South India. For example, during 2012–2013, this practice was quite common: Mahesh Babu for South India, and Salman Khan, later Shah Rukh Khan, for North India. 

Shah Rukh Khan 

Vijaya Devarakonda

Vishal

Sudeep

Thums Up has used Shah Rukh Khan for Hindi, Vijay Deverakonda for Telugu, and Kichcha Sudeep for Kannada. The strategy was clear — use celebrities who connect emotionally with people in their mother tongue ("Muzabaan").

But now, the shift is evident: the same film star is being used both for North and South India. This move shows the growing power of South Indian movies, especially Telugu cinema, and how Telugu film stars are now being recognized as true pan-India celebrities.

An interesting side point: There are strong rumours that Ram Charan and Allu Arjun do not see eye to eye, and that they don't get along very well. This rivalry is now amusingly reflected in their being selected as ambassadors for competing cola brands — Campa Cola and Thums Up, respectively.

Interestingly, Ram Charan is endorsing Campa Cola across India, whereas Thums Up continues with different endorsers in different languages (Shah Rukh Khan in Hindi and Allu Arjun in Telugu). Is this advantageous for Campa Cola or Thums Up? Only time will tell.

Chiranjeevi 

During the pesticide controversy in cola drinks that erupted in 2008, superstar Chiranjeevi took the moral high ground and declared that he would never endorse any cola brands. He refrained from being a spokesperson for Thums Up. Chiranjeevi already had political ambitions at that time and quit cola endorsements in 2008. Credit must be given to Chiranjeevi for standing by his principles — he never again endorsed any cola throughout his career.

However, times have changed. Ironically, about 17 years later, his own son (Ram Charan) is now endorsing a cola brand! Meanwhile, Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu had no such moral constraints and continued endorsing Thums Up — and even Bollywood's Salman Khan did the same. In the end, perhaps it’s all about the money. That's just how it is!!!

Thunder Strikes again - A perfect Match between Thums Up and Allu Arjun's Pushpa's 2!!!

“Thunder striking soon,” the latest campaign of Thums Up, has a twist. One needs to see it twice to understand what it is conveying. Show it to a Caucasian American, and he would be nonplussed. He would understand it as a promo, but it would not make any sense to him.

But for Indians and Indians throughout the world, it makes perfect sense. Thums Up has partnered with Allu Arjun; the Thums Up teaser is for the much-awaited movie Pushpa 2.

Does it make sense? You bet it does. For Allu Arjun, who is endorsing Thums Up, it is free publicity for his movie. For Thums Up, the teaser gets tremendous eyeballs, and the image that Allu Arjun portrays in the movie matches the positioning tack that Thums Up has consistently used.

The positioning is that of a macho man who wants the strongest cola in the market. And even better if that strong man borders on the line between lawfulness and lawlessness. That is Sona Pe Suhaga (That is the icing on the cake). The present generation wants to be a rebel—with a cause or without. A perfect marriage between the brand, its positioning, the brand ambassador, his on-screen image, and movie promotion.

Article Titled "Pushpa the Power of good content" published in The Hans India today 30-01-2022

 

Pushpa the Power of good content

Lots of time most come to conclusions based on insufficient research or on assumptions that have no scientific evidence. One such assumption is "If the audience can watch a movie free on TV/OTT, they will not come to the theatre".

Totally wrong. If the content is good, the acting is sleek and the direction is tight, the audience will flock to the theatre irrespective of whether the movie is shown/released on the TV/OTT. The epitome of movie watching will always remain watching on a big screen with an audience. If the movie is good, it will whet the curiosity and audience would go to the theatre and watch it once again. That way tremendous word-of-mouth publicity gets generated.

This has been proved twice now. Attarintiki Daredi a Pavan Kalyan movie was freely available online and that too even before the release. But even though it was available free, fans of Pavan Kalyan and the other audience flocked to the theatres and made it one of the biggest blockbusters.

Pushpa again proves the same. It was released on Amazon Prime when it was still running in the theatres.  Proving all the Nay-Sayers wrong, Pushpa is doing well both in the theatres and on the Amazon Platform.  Maybe the Amazon release has increased its earning capacity. Pushpa has earned Rs 15 crores after its release on the OTT platform. Really commendable.

It is time, makers and directors get their act together. Make better movies and they will do well irrespective of the distribution platform. The colour rendering and re-release of Maya bazaar were warmly accepted and viewers flocked to watch their favourite movie on big screens despite the fact that they have seen it many times in theatres, TV, and on YouTube. Time to look at the OTT platform from a different lens and make it part of the marketing strategy to leverage the reach, popularity thus boosting the earning potential of movies.