Brand cameos in movies are commonplace now, and in most cases, one effortlessly spots a handful of brands in a movie. But Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom:2 has incorporated as many as eight brands. Irony lies in the fact that, generally a three hour long film incorporates five to six brands, but in the case of Dhoom:2, eight brands have been engaged in its short duration of two hours 31 minutes.
The most noticeable brand in the film is Coca Cola. “The target audience of Coke and cinema are identical. Hence, we willingly incorporated Coke in our script. YRF worked with Coke for a period of one year on Dhoom:2. We are building a strategic long term relationship with Coke”, says Yash Raj Films marketing head Tarun Tripathi. But does that justify Coke’s blatant visibility in the movie? From the start to the finish, the brand keeps appearing and re-appearing, however, the climax is where one gets an overdose of its visibility.
Incidentally, hero Hrithik Roshan is the new brand ambassador for Coke and prior to the release of the film, many Coke- Dhoom:2 hoardings were spotted in the metros.
Sony’s handycam and Vaio laptop do their cameos and are seen being used by the ‘honest thief’ Hrithik Roshan. While in one scene, he is capturing Mumbai city on his handycam, in the other, he is seen mapping a theft plan on his laptop. “With Sony too, we are building a long term strategic relation. Sony will be spotted in our forthcoming Kabul Express too. We believe YRF gives a good show and Sony gets a premium feel by associating with us,” adds Tripathi.
Along with Sony, Disney too has had an association with Dhoom:2 in more than one way. Hrithik is shown drawing inspiration from Disney’s television series Jetix. Also, their animated film Cars is watched by Hrithik, Aishwarya and Abhishek at a Cinemax multiplexe, effecting an amalgamation of two brands in one scene. “In return, a Dhoom:2 contest will be aired on the Disney channels and the winner will be given Dhoom:2 freebies,” informs Tripathi.
The marathon sequence in the film when Hrithik flees from the cops into a crowd of thousands shows him and the crowd wearing T-shirts with the Sugar Free branding, while bike maestro Ali’s bike is branded by Pennzoil.
Dhoom:2 also worked alongside Pepe Jeans for their strategy of merchandising the clothes worn by all the actors in the film. As the look of the film and styling of the actors has become so talked about, one can only expect this association to generate as much revenue. One has to wait and watch to know if people would actually want to be spotted in attires, which have already been worn by stars and have become so noticeable.
While Hrithik’s other endorsement John Players hasn’t been incorporated in Dhoom:2, the brand has recently rolled out its fresh TVC with Hrithik’s cool or rather hot Dhoom:2 avatar.
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