Will Lal Singh Chaddha’s dull box office score affect brand associates?

Aamir Khan’s ‘Lal Singh Chaddha’, the official Indian remake of the iconic American comedy-drama film ‘Forrest Gump’, was released last week amidst much anticipation and boycott calls. Made with a budget of Rs 180 crore, the film managed to rake in a humble Rs 49 crore (at the time of filing of this copy). The film, which covers a number of significant events from India’s history, featured some leading brands like innerwear brand Rupa and footwear brand Walkaroo. These names backed the film’s potential and the star power of Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

But as the film tanks at the box office amidst boycott calls, will these brands take a hit? We ask industry observers.

Brand visibility impacted, not equity

Infectious Advertising Senior Copy Partner Parth Walse feels brands won’t be impacted directly as people are miffed with the cast and the film. “As the audience response is poor, brands won't garner the eyeballs they were hoping for.”

Kumar Siddharath, Deputy General Manager of MATES, the entertainment specialist unit of Madison, however, thinks the fate of these brands would depend on how they will handle any backlash if directed at them. “We have seen many times that negative reviews fuel the audiences’ desire to see the film even more. LSC and the various brands featured in it might have a similar twist of fate.”

Longer shelf life on OTT can benefit brands

While one section of the industry insiders feel that the brands will lose out on the precious visibility that they were backing on, others feel that the OTT releases and the star power will eventually benefit the brands associated. As Dentsu Creative India CEO Amit Wadhwa explains, “A boycott call could result in fewer people going to see the movie, which could mean fewer eyeballs on the screen. That, according to me, will be its impact on the brands. Apart from this, I don’t see any negative rubbing on the brands because of this call. Also, once the movie releases on OTT, it will certainly increase the volume of people interacting with these brands.”

Grapes Co-founder & CEO Shradha Agarwal quips, “Boycotts have become the latest trend in the industry. In today's tech-savvy world, it takes only a few minutes to call for a boycott. When we talk about Lal Singh Chadha, the movie has not been able to entertain the audience and it's quite clear from the box office numbers that brands won’t be affected to a greater extent. The brand integration has done quite seamlessly in the movie, where Rupa, Walkaroo and India Today get a fair notice. The brand incorporation interwoven within the script leaves a long-lasting impression in the mind of viewers. Also, a film like LSC will have a very long shelf life when it comes to OTT and different channels. So eventually brands will get their due recognition.”

The Rabbit Hole (Zoo Media) Studio & Business Head Rishabh Khatter shares similar thoughts, “Brands in the film, LSC, will gain from it in the manner of recall value. Given that the movie is associated with Aamir Khan and is an adaptation of an International classic, it will be distributed in International markets which will bring awareness to Indian homegrown brand names. The strategy used in picking the brands is done in a manner, to establish that these brands are well established in Indian households, so even if the brand placement went sideways and wasn't received well, it wouldn't impact the brands massively.”

Is Bollywood losing its sheen?

While boycott calls could be a reason for Lal Singh Chaddha faltering at the box office, it’s not the first film this year to meet this fate. Even the most bankable actors like Ranveer Singh (Jayesbhai Jordaar), Akshay Kumar (Samrat Prithviraj, Rakshabandhan), and Kangana Ranaut (Dhaakad) failed to impress the audience. Does it mean that Bollywood is slowly losing its sheen? Should brands be considering their associations with the movies?

The industry doesn’t think so. However, brands should be careful about how they place their products in the storyline, they opine.

Agarwal says, “I don't think that Bollywood films are losing popularity or this will be the case in future also. Films like Sooryavanshi, Bhool Bhulaiya and The Kashmir Files have done some serious business. When it comes to brand integration, I think it helps in increasing the overall brand equity if done smartly. Having the right placement in the movie breaks the clutter and creates a good recall value. However, the larger part depends on what way the brand integration is done, for example, too much brand integration in a single movie doesn’t give the best results.”

Khatter notes, “We are seeing a massive wave of people having platforms to convey opinions about films and general day-to-day happenings, and hence it's a lot more visible to us if a film is popular or unpopular. As for brands being associated/partnering up with Bollywood films, it should be done correctly and seamlessly, it cannot be forced, for instance, a premium brand can’t be placed in an A-lister movie about a character struggling to make ends meet financially.  This wasn't the case with LSC. The manner that brands were placed in LSC, in my opinion, was done tastefully and strategically and didn't seem jarring.”

Social Panga Co-founder Gaurav Arora points out, “Product placement can get the desired impact if done in an imaginative and creative way. It should get folded organically into the storyline, rather than a sack of it. Brands get another platform to connect with the audience and if it goes well with the script, it can get desired results. There have been multiple instances of the same: Mountain Dew in ZNMD, Tata Tea in Baghban, Royal Enfield in ZNMD, Make My Trip in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, etc.”

Kumar Siddharath strikes an optimistic note about the associations. “I think we are seeing this surge of a new, brave world where brands are going to have to truly think about what they stand for and the values that they wish to personify. We have now fully entered an age where it's almost impossible to make any meaningful content without offending some part of the internet. This means that brands are going to have to hedge their bets on whether or not they want to take the hit and stand by their decisions or backtrack and ask for forgiveness. I'm not saying one approach is better than the other and it needs to be seen from a case-to-case basis. But the decision to associate yourself with a personality or piece of media is going to have to be seen from a lot more angles than before.”