Product placement in Bollywood movies
Advertising through product placement in movies ae focused on one particular product or service. Therefore, an advertising plan for a certain product could be different from that of another. Advertising can be done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailing or e-mail message, personal contact and others. Promotion which is the fourth P of marketing is the key to success of certain marketing strategy as it centers around communication with prospective customers. The current activities of advertising, sales and public relations are different aspects of promotions. In Bollywood we have witnessed several cases of product promotion. In the 1967 movie, An Evening in Paris, actress Sharmila Tagore drank delicately from 200ml bottle of coke and tried to make the logo visible Raj Kapoor's movie Bobby in 1973 featuring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia featured the Rajdoot motorbike from Enfield Motors in the movie. In the movie "Awwal Number", the Dev Anand flick released in 1990 featuring Aamir Khan one could see that eerytime the hero hit a four, the ball bounced off a poster saying Garware. Many people were found carrying Benzer bags. In Prem Diwane of 1992, an entire sequence with Madhuri Dixit was shot in the Benzer stores of Bombay. In recent times, McDonald’s India was active in product placement. In ‘Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, the hero holds a ball with Mac M on it. Another direct reference is found when the heroine announces that she eats only Domino’s Pizza and Diet Coke. Another instance is found when Hritik Roshan flexes biceps and asks in irritable manner "McDonald’s ka burger laaon kya?" in the movie "Kaho Na Pyar Hai"
The first time product placement was recognized in Hindi movie is "Coke" in the movie Taal of Subhash Ghai. For promoting Stroh's Beer, actor Shahrukh Khan mentioned the name of the brand in the movie Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge for a 15 second slot. Automobiles are a popular product placement items for movies. For instance Maruti Suzuki’s Swift model was launched in the movie Bunty Aur Babli. Bagban features the brands ICICI bank, Ford Ikon and Tata Tea. Amitabh Bachchan starrer Viruddh promoted Asian Paints and Calcium Sandoz tablets. The movie Chalte-Chalte starred Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee's also featured multiple brands like Castrol engine oil, Santro an Verasche. The movie Fiza starring Hrithik Roshan shows the performers before a Close UP bill board. Such product promotion creates attention grabbing ways for a niche audience and when viewers find their favorites stars using it and that too in a blockbuster movie they automatically would be inclined to trust those products. Product placement in movies are now terms as in-film advertising as well. A movie is always a lucrative medium to advertise a brand. Bollywood and Hollywood both have a wide range of examples where products are placed in movies and advertised. Product placement along with cinema advertising can help brands promote themselves better than what they would with TV ads. However the designing of the ads in product placement in movies should be done carefully to address psychological needs of potential buyers and viewers.