Channel [V]: Reality Bytes!

A camera always guarantees an interesting reaction, bizarre or otherwise from the average person on the street. That is the wisdom being put into practice by Channel [V], which has whipped up their latest offering for the summer: ‘Pepsi [V] TV Champions’! The show will give participants the chance to have their 15 seconds (well, it’s one minute actually) of fame. The idea behind the programme is for participants to come up with the wildest, wackiest, most entertaining antics to sustain the camera’s spotlight for the duration of one minute.

As Amar Deb, Head, Channel [V], puts it, “The idea for the show came from our experience with other reality formats like ‘Get Gorgeous’, ‘Super Singer’ and ‘Popstars’, where people did the most ridiculous things to get the camera’s attention. During ‘Popstars’, there were so many people, who either, could not sing or had accompanied someone else for auditions but nevertheless were talented in the sense that they managed to get the camera’s attention through the most weird sometimes ‘staged’ antics.” Speaking about the latest show, he says, “The new show, ‘Pepsi [V] TV Champions’, is about taking the reality format to the next level, where there is no script and no subtle prodding. It’s about the participant and his ability to sustain the glare of the spotlight for the duration of one whole minute!”

While ‘Popstars’ and ‘Super Singer’ required the participants to be able to sing, this contest promises to be a no holds barred competition, given the fact that there is no parameter to perform under, so one is free to choose whatever idea works best for them. While the first level of the contest will have participants upload their profile from Web World outlets onto Channel [V]’s site, ‘netizens’ will decide who to shortlist for the final 300. Sponsors of the show include Reliance WebWorld and Pepsi. Associate sponsors include Sunsilk Fresh & Cool and Everyuth.

Vipul Prakash, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Pepsi, comments on the Pepsi connect, “The reason for Pepsi to be a part of this show is about establishing brand recall. The brand philosophy at Pepsi and Channel [V] addresses the same audience: youth! We shall be looking at extending the equity of Pepsi’s bubbly campaign, through this show. In fact, we are rolling out the new campaign by next week, which we expect, will take the bubbly concept to the next level. ‘Pepsi [V] TV Champions’ should help us establish better brand connect.”

To read the entire story, grab your copy of Impact Advertising and Weekly magazine issue dated May 16-22, 2005