The world of films and ads

Advertising is one such means of promotion that brands never let go off. It contributes to almost 80% of a brand’s promotion. Advertising is the most commonly used tool by brands, but every time it has something new to offer. It has spread its wings in almost every section of media. From television to social media, ads prevail everywhere. 

In the recent past, a new technique of advertising is highly being used by brands. This is the technique of promoting a product or service through movies. Yes! In a non-traditional form of advertising, brands place their products in films without disturbing the flow of the story. This subtle form of advertising is known as product placement. It literally means placing a product in a film that can be seen by the audience and the product is indirectly promoted. 

Movies usually garner a massive audience so; the brands use this as a means to promote their products or services. Products once promoted in a film will reach hundreds of people at the same time. We often see banners in movies with the brand name written on them. This is known as product placement. These promotions are not very “in your face” or direct. They are more subtle in nature and are shown in a very indirect manner. 

Apart from banners, actors in a film are shown using the product or talking about it. This technique is used to inform people about the product or give them a sort of demo. It creates a better understanding in the minds of the people. 

When an actor or the hero of the film uses a certain product, it creates a positive impact on the minds of the people. For instance, when Hrithik Roshan used Bournvita in his film Koi Mil Gaya, it made the drink very popular among kids and all of them thought they’d be as powerful as him! This is the kind of impact movies have. 

But sometimes, brands go all out and blatantly place the products in the face of the people. A similar thing happened with the film Veere Di Wedding, where the lead cast was shown eating Bikaji snacks even in Thailand. They faced a lot of trolling online for promotions of such kind. 

Often brands invest money in the film and in return, their products get featured. But sometimes, after the product placement is done, the actor features in an advertisement for that particular product. Sometimes the products also become popular because a certain celebrity has used them. Like, in the film Aisha, the Bollywood fashionista was shown using L’Oréal makeup. The brand became very popular among young girls after the film was released. 

Another common thing in film advertising is that if an actor is an ambassador of a certain brand, then their products are placed in the film of that actor. This kind of promotion was seen in the film Don-2 where Shah Rukh Khan, the ambassador for TAG Heuer was shown wearing a watch from the said brand. 

Advertising of products and services through movies creates awareness in the minds of the people and gets the marketing done for the brand. If movies are concerned, these promotions cut some of their costs. So, this technique is beneficial to them as well. 

Today, placing products in films has become a very common phenomenon for brands and this is highly beneficial as well. Also, different brands use different techniques to place product according to their convenience and preferences. All in all, this form of advertising has worked wonders for brands and they will continue to use this technique for years to come.