Treading the ad industry

Celebrities appeal to communities and make way for easier brand communication. Here’s how a renowned actor makes his way into the advertising world after splendid performances in the Bollywood industry

Celebrity advertising certainly sparks an interest in a local group and helps a brand easily penetrate its services or upsell its products; a big testimony to it is the Indian advertising industry. A lot of our advertisements, especially in the consumer goods category feature a known face from Bollywood, or Tollywood (in local markets). And among other actors in the industry who are gaining popularity in the advertising industry, Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one.

The actor, who is renowned for his stellar performances in films like ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Badlapur’, ‘Raman Raghav 2.0’, and the recent hit ‘Raees’, has been frequenting in TVCs for major brands, not only in India but also in the neighbouring country Pakistan. Yes, the actor recently featured in a Pakistani TVC for Kenwood Air Conditioners.

Shot in Dubai by agency Arey Wah, the ad features Nawazuddin alongside Pakistani actress Aisha Khan. In the ad, Nawazuddin features as Aisha’s husband, who has a slip of tongue and breaks into sweat, and the airconditioner is touted as the solution. The actor pulled off the character quite naturally and undoubtedly succeeded in making every married man think ‘been there, experienced that’.

However, the ad could have been more refined in terms of the drama element and the execution; perhaps better direction would have been a good choice. Although in their natural energies, the actors did not appear as characters in the ad but as individual actors; this is evident from the overdramatic way Nawazuddin slips his tongue and the instant put-off by Aisha. Though we cannot forget Nawazuddin humming “Afreen Afreen” as the duo reach home after the wedding; to us, that was the best part of the advert.

Also, Nawazuddin was seen enjoying Maggi Hot & Sweet ketchup with his wife – Javed Jaffrey – in the latest Maggi ketchup advert. We all remember Javed Jaffrey featuring in the Maggi Ketchup’s ‘It’s Different’ campaign, but in this advert, his character (more specifically his gender) is different. In the ad Javed, who is Nawazuddin’s wife, gets offended when he calls Maggi Hot & Sweet just sauce; and after a short pause, Javed comments, “It’s Different”.

And after a series of puns (Javed’s comic timing is indisputably good), Javed offers Nawazuddin a samosa dipped in Maggi Hot & Sour sauce. And as Nawazuddin’s taste buds get tantalised with the taste, his expression changes from being angry to being sweet; courtesy: Maggi sauce.

In both the adverts, celebrity placement has been a well-thought exercise. Having an actor like Nawazuddin, who carries the image of a common man; best suits a consumer durable product like an air conditioner, and also an FMCG product like Maggi sauce, both of which have the common man as their target audience.