Capitalizing on the off screen chemistry between some of the industries well known faces has become a norm these days. Whirlpool and Tata Indicom signed the husband-wife duo, Ajay Devgan and Kajol, as their brand ambassadors to market their products. The golden couple of Saif- Kareena which is perceived as a natural favorite amongst the audience was raked in by Airtel to advertise their Digital TV recorder. Yet another famous sizzling celebrity couple that has been aired in commercials is that of John-Bipasha which featured in the ad campaign of Clinic All Clear.The high profile couple of Ash-Abhishek featured in the new Lux ad campaign.
Off Screen couples being pulled in by some of the top corporations to participate in these commercials is a high risk high reward proposition. As long as the couple is together and carries with itself good vibes its well accepted by the audience, and many of the families relate to them. And to a great extent, these firms have been successful in associating the couples to their brand positioning and value propositions. For instance, Kareena and Saif are portrayed as a busy couple, which due to certain social obligations aren’t able to watch their favorite TV programs at their designated time, and hence utilize the option of recording them at a mobile’s click, a situation many of the nuclear families face in their lives. Hence, as of now, all these ads are going well with audiences.
On the downside, relying too much on the chemistry of these on screen couples is a huge risk being invested into. Whirlpool, for instance is now almost inseparable, from Kajol-Ajay duo. God forbid, if anything goes wrong with the relationships of these two, an exit strategy and reestablishing the brand amongst the viewers would be an uphill task that would have to be undertaken. Airing of the ads featuring the couple would have to be taken off the air
with immediate effect to avoid any negative energy spreading from off-screen to on-screen, and then, without hurting the positioning of the brand a whole new series of the ads would have to be in place.
Over dependency on Tiger Woods did a lot of damage to Accenture’s strong ad campaign, I can only wonder what would be the impact of a much more susceptible issue here.
Pepsi, on the other hand has been able to successfully balance out its ads. After airing in Ranbir-Deepika Jodi for a certain period of time, they put on only Ranbir with other actors for their future ads. Since their wasn’t much dependency on the couple, the transition was a subtle one and well planned.
Kareena-Saif, Ash-Abhi, Kajol-Ajay, John-Bipasha other than your personal lives and emotions, there is a lot more at stake and interest in the relationships you share. Am not sure if you have god’s blessings or not, but am pretty sure you have the blessings of all the corporate houses you are advertising for!
