A full page ad in the Times of India guarantees that an ad reaches millions of homes. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the ad will get noticed. It takes creativity and a relevant message to do that. Sure, being on the cover and having actors like Shahrukh Khan and Deepika helps. But it still doesn’t take away credit from the creative team behind the Chennai Express print ads & posters. They were different from the run of the mill stuff and were visually striking. The tag line, ‘Ready, Steady, Po!’ was memorable and spot on.
The movie posters are also promoted as mobile wallpaper through an augmented reality browser, IntARact. One can scan the print ad using this app to receive the film posters as mobile wallpapers. One wishes that in the future such interactivity will ‘reward’ the consumer more than just giving a mobile screen optimised image. There is a lot of scope for interactivity with such technology.
Of ourse all this doesn’t guarantee a quality movie. And knowing the Hindi film industry, the portrayal of South Indians will be stereotypical. Aiyyo.
