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.

What is Killing Movies?

What is killing the movie industry? OTT, high ticket rates, and movie makers' greed. OTT has become omnipresent, and for the cost of a single movie watched in a theatre one can buy the annual subscriptions of all the major OTT platforms. 

Then it is the greed of the movie makers. They are not allowing the movie to become popular. They exhibit movies only for a week or two before pulling the plug. People like me simply wait. So our release date is two weeks after the regular theatrical release. Check out Devara. It is coming to OTT within a month. Except for die-hard fans of Junior NTR, everyone will watch it on OTT at home in total comfort. 

And OTT has huge advantages. There is no dissonance, as we don't pay for the movie. We can

1) Watch it

2) Watch it in parts. 

3) Watch, stop, and continue. 

4) Watch partially. 

5) Watch only the punch scenes and fights. 

6) Watch comedy scenes. 

7) Skip songs 

8) Watch it many times. 

9) Pause 

10) Take calls and work on a laptop.

And right now, OTT streaming rights for movies are bought at a premium, so many producers are queuing up to show their movies at very short notice.  This results in many movies crashing onto OTT. It is like a tsunami of movies. For example, nearly 10–14 good movies have landed this week on OTT. 

For a working professional, it is difficult to watch more than a movie per day.  At best we can watch 7-8 movies a week. This results in watching fatigue, and many movies don't get good viewership even on OTT, an almost free-to-watch platform. 

Resultantly, only the best movies and the movies with a buzz get seen, and others disappear in the quick sands of time. Such a pity!!

Not so Sweet Jab: Paytm takes a playful dig at Zepto's free Soan Papdi Campaign!!!

Paytm's new campaign, ‘Iss Diwali gifting ka naya tareeka shuru karo (this Diwali starts a new trend in gifting),” comes as a surprise. Paytm is a fading brand in the payment apps. It is seen as a Nokia in that category. Just like Nokia, it grew the segment only to give way, market share, word of mouth, and top-of-the-mind awareness to Google Pay and Phone Pay. Phone Pay and Google Pay have become the default payment apps, and Paytm is slowly fading into the background.

The advertisement shows a family visiting their friend’s house on Diwali night. As they are ringing the bell, they hear voices from inside the house. The husband is commenting, “What did you get as a gift from your office?" His wife says, “Soan Papdi, what else? and adds, “If anyone else gifts me Soan Papdi, I will shove it down their damn throats.”.

Hearing this, the visiting couple hurriedly dumps the offending soap Papdi gift packet into the bushes. Pleasantries are exchanged, and the cheeky little boy asks, “Uncle, what gift have you brought us?”. The friend couple is nonplussed for a second but recovers dramatically and transfers Rs 1,100/- on Paytm, and the day is saved. But rubbing salt into the wound, he cheekily comments, “With that money, your dad can buy you gifts or can buy you—Soan Papdi!!!”.

In the present scenario, it is quite strange that Paytm launched this campaign. It was okay to talk about its own USP (it is no longer Paytm’s USP) and try to promote itself. Instead, it is trying to make fun of Zepto, who is trying to do a noble thing in trying to bring back glory for Soan Papdi.

While the Zepto campaign brings a lump to the heart and makes us smile, the Paytm campaign tries to be too smart for its own good. It is smart alerky and sounds like a campaign executed by a fresh behind-the-ears management school employee trying to be funny and falling flat on his/her face.

And while Zepto and Paytm have a symbiotic relationship. Each is dependent on the other for survival. Customers use Zepto and Paytm for convenience. So, is it worthy to make fun of your business partner? Not in my view. Both need each other to survive. All in all, a campaign that could have been avoided. 

Great one Zepto, "Make Soan Papdi Great Again" Campaign

In a world filled with overstimulation, overexposure, and Deja vu, I had to be triggered off my Sunday slumber to write this piece. This campaign shook me up!

In India, everything is a status symbol including sweets. Once Padma, my wife hesitatingly asked me, what is your favorite, "sweet?".  Without batting an eyelid, I answered "Ravaladdu". Padma watched me with a wide-open mouth. She was astonished "Ravaladdu?". 

She expected that my answer would be Ajmer Kalakand, Kaju Katli, Badam roll, dry fruit laddu, Matka rasagulla, or something costly and exotic. She sheepishly told me that her favorite was an equally humble sweet, "Jilebi". 

I could never understand how sweets could even become status symbols. I worked in a country where eating sweets was considered a sissy (girlish) habit. There are no sweet shops in entire Ethiopia!!

I am puzzled why Soan Papdi is the Butt of all jokes when it comes to sweets. It is not preferred and is among the least-liked sweets. It is rarely gifted during the festivals and even if gifted, is rarely consumed and the lovely Soan Papdi hardens into lumps and finally is thrown into the dustbin. 

What a pity. This mouthwatering sweet that is easy to eat, and ridicule is actually quite tough to prepare. It needs great muscle power to prepare Soan Papdi. It does not create a mess like the syrupy Gulab Jamoon or the Rasagulla. 

Thus it is heartening to see Zepto partner with a Soan Papdi maker to run the,  “Make Soan Papdi Great Again” campaign  

This festival season with every delivery,  Zepto customers would receive a free box of Soan Papdi and stand a chance to win prizes worth 5 crore rupees. 

Brilliant campaign Zepto!! You have hit the bull’s eye. This one resonates. Triple whammy I would Say. Firstly Zepto is giving a sweet box and receiving a sweet box is considered auspicious, secondly as the sweet is Soan Papdi, Zepto would get a great deal as it is a generic promotion for the product.

The cost of Soan Papdi is reasonable and Zepto would not have to burn a hole in its pocket to get huge quantities. The well-known Soan Papdi makers would give their Soan Papdi free to get favourable word-of-mouth publicity and to garner eyeballs. 

Thirdly as there is a chance to win Rs 5 crore worth of prizes many customers would switch to Zepto for their parcel deliveries. Great way to go Zepto,  a man biting a dog campaign.

update 23-10-2024

My Cousin Mrs. Vasundhara Nanjappa from Bangalore sent a WhatsApp message saying that 100 grams of Soan Papdi was given. Karachi Bakery a Hyderabad based company has tied up with Zepto for the supply of Soan Papdi. Thanks for the update. 

ICBM-SBE's PGDM is now MBA