MAM
TV personalities – good option for advertisers
MUMBAI: While speaking at the Advertising Club Bombay’s Value Creation seminar on marketing entertainment and their growing inter-dependence, creative consultant Rekha Nigam urged that advertising agencies must leverage TV personalities in a better way to sell products and services. She also added that the late 1990s marked a revolution in TV programming where Indian-ness came out of the closet. TV serials depicted the “Garv se kaho ham Bharatvasi hain” theme and India found its own voice on TV.
The following are the excerpts of Nigam’s presentation:
Where TV personalities score over film personalities:
TV personalities score because their characters are more identifiable, trustworthy and viewers share an intimate bond with them on a weekly basis. Viewers connect to TV personalities easily because they see them more frequently. TV personalities get a consistent exposure and their characters become household names. However, viewers don’t know the real person (Amarr Upadhyay or Aman Varma) behind the character (Mihir) and often don’t even wish to know. TV personalities can sustain the interest of women viewers who identify strongly with them. TV characters don’t reinvent themselves as much as film personalities do. TV characters are aspirational in terms of the values they project on screen.
TV personalities are readily available and accessible to advertising agencies at cheaper and cost-effective rates. Viewers don’t have to pay much in order to view TV personalities as compared to film personalities.
Some of the TV personalities who were not leveraged were Lala Lahori Nath (Alok Nath in Hum Log); Karamchand (Pankaj Kapoor) and Shri Krishna (Nitish Bharadwaj in Mahabharata).
Advertisers need to use TV personalities intelligently and match the synergies between a brand’s personalities and the TV characters. The advertisers need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the TV characters – for instance Parvathi Babhi or Tulsi. Unlike film stars, it would not make sense to use the real person who portrays the character as viewers identify more with the on-screen characters. Advertisers could create little soap commercials. Advertisers must leveraging a TV character the moment the character is no longer part of the serial’s storyline and regular track the progress of the twists and turns of the story. Advertisers must look at short-term bursts rather than long-term usage.
India finds its voice in TV programming:
The success of wedding video film called Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in August 1994 propelled a wave of Indian-ness in both TV, advertising and cinema. It was hip to say “We are like this only” tom-tommed by a music channel. Zee TV also gave a place of pride to the game of Antakshari, that was never publicly played.
The biggest revolution for TV programming came in 2000 when both KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) and KSBKBT (Kyuunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi) were launched. Although KBC created a major hype and hoopla, KSBKBT’s silent advent ushered in a era that could determine the future course of TV programming. The serial put family to the centre-stage and capitalised on the fact that family bonding is the core of Indian-ness. The world of Indians revolves around the family irrespective of the part of the world in which Indians live.
As soon as the trend of family sit-coms started, movies and events started losing their sheen on the TRP charts. Asha Bhosale’s debut show on TV got the same TRPs as the afternoon repeat show of a popular family sitcom. The recent episodes of KSBKBT that showed a ‘bahu’ getting married to another son was more revolutionary than Yash Chopra’s film Lamhe that showed a girl getting attracted to a en elderly man.
TV is not a step-child for filmstars who have become spent forces but an opportunity for them to reinvent themselves. TV took on Amitabh Bachchan and returned him back to the film industry in a different avatar.
Also read
Need a hit – all about marketing and communication
Entertainment brands are illusory, elusive and magical – Star India COO Sameer Nair
Bollywood producers need specialised marcom agencies
Radio provides unique options to advertisers
Leo Entertainment capitalises on in-film product placements
Brands
Hyundai launches updated Ioniq 5 with 84 kWh battery, 690 km range
Priced at Rs 55.7 lakh, adds design, tech and safety upgrades.
MUMBAI: Charge it up, stretch it out, Hyundai’s latest electric upgrade is going the distance, quite literally. Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) has introduced an updated version of its Ioniq 5, packing in a larger 84.0 kWh battery that delivers a claimed range of up to 690 km (ARAI-certified), marking a significant leap in everyday usability for its flagship electric SUV.
Built on Hyundai’s Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the refreshed IONIQ 5 aims to balance performance with practicality, reducing range anxiety while making long-distance electric travel more viable. The upgrade builds on a model that has already secured global recognition, including the World Car of the Year title.
The changes aren’t just under the skin. On the outside, the SUV gets a sharper, more futuristic look with redesigned front and rear bumpers, new skid plates, sporty alloy wheels, a revised rear spoiler and updated V-garnish lighting, all while retaining its signature Parametric Pixel design.
Inside, Hyundai has focused on making the experience more intuitive. The cabin now features a redesigned three-spoke steering wheel with illuminated pixel elements, dual 12.3-inch displays, and a reworked wireless charging pad integrated with physical controls for seat functions small tweaks that aim to improve day-to-day usability.
On the tech front, the IONIQ 5 gets Hyundai’s Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC), Controller Over-the-Air (C-OTA) updates, and now supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. New additions such as Active Sound Design and in-car payment integration for EV charging reflect a push towards a more seamless, connected ownership experience. Remote immobilisation via Bluelink has also been introduced as an added security layer.
Safety sees incremental upgrades too, with features like Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist (Rear) and side parking distance warnings enhancing manoeuvrability in tight urban spaces.
The updated IONIQ 5 is available in four colour options Gravity Gold Matte, Midnight Black Pearl, Titan Grey and Optic White with an Obsidian Black interior theme.
Priced at Rs 55.7 lakh (ex-showroom), the new IONIQ 5 positions itself as a more rounded offering, less about futuristic promise, and more about making electric mobility fit seamlessly into everyday life.
