INTRODUCTION

What is Soft Advertising?

While watching a movie we come across a scene when one of the main
characters is holding a can of his favorite soft drink or working on a particular
brand of computer. This is called product placement and it’s as common in the
movie industry as a cold is to humans. This is a form of advertising that is less
intrusive than a traditional advertisement and is weaved into the movie to appear
seamless. Such type of product placement also takes place within television
programmes and other media. Hence, Soft Advertising can be defined as “The
various forms of product placement that deals with monitoring techniques for
product placement within films, television programmes, other media like video
games, books, songs, sports telecasts, etc and hence it is better known as
product placement.

Product placement is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services

are placed in a context usually free from ads, such as movies, the story line of
television shows or news program. The product placement is often not disclosed
at the time when the goods or service is featured.

Product Placement is the process of integrating an advertiser’s product name or

service into non-obtrusive media settings, product placement in movies and
television have been a popular alternative marketing strategy to date. The benefit
to the marketer is the exposure to a large audience in an environment that is
perceived to be objective.

Product placement occurs with the inclusion of a brand's logo in shot, or a

favorable mention or appearance of a product in shot. This is done without
disclosure, and under the premise that it is a natural part of the work. Most major
movie releases today contain product placements. The most common form is

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movie and television placements and more recently books, video games and
other media.

During a time when consumers are getting saturated with traditional media
advertising, product placement in movies, in television and other media are
methods of advertising that reaches consumers in a seemingly indirect fashion.
This can be an inexpensive way to build national recognition for a company,
product or service; this can be an asset in enhancing the corporate image as well
as provide several different promotional opportunities in some of the most
successful movies and television programs today.

The company wants their products to be visible within a scene, but not the focus.
The product needs to fit, almost seamlessly into the shot and context of the
scene. When done correctly, product placement can add a sense of realism to a
movie or television or other forms of media.

Since 1974 till date the value of overall soft advertising market has seen an
increase owing to its huge success and hope it continues to remain the same.

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 BACKGROUND OF SOFT ADVERTISING

Before the advent of movies and television, soap opera, radio broadcasts
comprised a large part of popular entertainment. Shown below is a traditional
broadcast television advertising model based on the 30-second ad that regularly
interrupts TV shows. Most viewers find these ads boring and intrusive, but until
recently were forced to endure them in order to watch the show. With the advent
of digital video recording (DVR) and the growing popularity of TiVo, television
viewers are no longer a passive audience. DVR technology allows viewers to
fast-forward or skip ads. It has been observed that most of the viewers skipped
all or most of the commercials.

Ad (Media)
Ad Spot
Plan

Ad Agency
Show
Production Broadcaster Advertisers
Studio TV Network
TV show producer Cable
Satellite
Ad Spot

Product or
Show w/ Ads Service

Consumer

30-second ad advertising model

The advertising model based on the traditional 30-second ad (as shown above)
is centered on the broadcasters, which includes TV networks, cable and satellite
service providers. A broadcaster buys the airing rights for different TV shows
from production studios, and then airs the shows for consumers. To make a
profit, the broadcaster sells ad spots to advertisers or ad agencies. The cost for
the ad spot varies according to the number of viewers and the airing time (prime

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time costs the most). In this model, the broadcaster sells all the ad spots, and
gets all of the advertising revenue. The only revenue source for the content
creators, or the production studios, is the licensing fees broadcasters pay for the
rights to air their shows.

Faced with a diminished passive audience, advertisers have had to revise their
marketing strategies and find other ways of promoting their products. Advertisers
have turned to product placement. As we have seen, product placement is a
promotional tactic where a real commercial product is used in fictional or non-
fictional media in order to increase consumer interest in the product. Today,
product placements appear in TV shows, films, video games, and other media.

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 What is product placement?

When is an ad not an ad? When it is a product placement. Once mainly found on

the big screen, product placement has been making appearances on television
following video games and even books, etc.

Product or brand placement is a form of advertising in which brand name

products, packages, signs and corporate names are intentionally positioned in
motion pictures and television programs. Placement can be in the form of verbal
mentions in dialogue, actual use by a character, visual displays such as a
corporate logo on a vehicle or billboard, brands used as set decoration, or even
snatches of actual radio or television commercials.

The successful integration of product placement within the film's storyline has a
long history - the first example being the yellow Rajdhoot bike used in Raj
Kapoor's film ‘Bobby’

A worldwide trend in advertising, product placement is a vehicle for everything

from foodstuffs to electronics to automobiles. The various ways in which a brand
appears in a movie can be classified into:

• Passive placement
• Active placement
• Hyperactive placement

1) Passive placement – it is also known as Co-present mode. Sometimes

product placement just happens. It is a visual imagery in which the product
appears within the entertainment program. A producer, director, or even
an actor might come across something he thinks will enhance the project.

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 Usually this has to do with boosting the level of credibility or realism of the
story being told. Passive placement is if there is just background or
foreground presence of a brand within part of the overall frame. For e.g.
the actor actually walks into McDonalds and there is lot of McDonalds
branding right across that would typically be passive placement.

In the movie Baghban, love is the ulterior theme, which revolves around the
`social expression' feel of Archies. Paresh Rawal also informs Amitabh Bachchan
about the significance of Valentine's Day.

2) Active placement - Active placement is also known as Implicit mode. It

occurs when there is some storyline integration when the brand has a part
to play. It is actual product used by an actor/actress in the program or
television. For e.g. MOTOROLA as a cell phone is placed where the actor
is shown using the MOTOROLA cell phone.

For example, in the movie Chalte Chalte, Shah Rukh Khan is seen asking his
worker to fill Castrol in his truck.

3) Hyperactive placements - Hyper Active which is also known as the

Imperative mode is when the brand is present with surprise element.
There is some humor involved and there is very pure brand benefit which
is being told as part of the over all story line integration that the brand has
with the content. In other words it is a dialogue spoken by an actor that
contains product information or in this type the star would ask his friend
/co-worker to use the product.

For e.g. in the movie Yaadein, Hrithik Roshan is seen recommending `Pass-
Pass' to Kareena Kapoor.

In case of co-present mode, the movie carries the `feel' of the brand throughout
the film. Passive placement may help keep a brand salient through repeated
exposure but communication through placement is purely associative and

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implicit. The implicit mode has the central character using the brand, while the
imperative mode has the protagonist recommending the brand.

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 How Product Placement Works?

The latest trend in advertising is to make it, well, less advertorial. The tendency is
to move away from in-your-face ads, where the product is the star, to movies,
television and other media. This may seem a bit confusing; however, it's quite
simple. The majority of the consumers are getting tired of ads. Today's consumer
is inundated with advertising everywhere: television, radio, billboards,
magazines, buses, newspapers, the Internet, etc. And these are just the usual
suspects. More and more ad-space is popping up every day. From people
walking down the street wearing signs, to flyers on the cars and in the mailboxes,
to ads on the ATM screen as the people wait for it to dispense their cash --
people see ads all day, every day.

The product placement advertising model shown below will help us to know how
it works exactly.

Ad (Media)
Placement Spot
Plan

Ad Agency
Production Show Advertisers
Studio Broadcaster
TV show producer TV Network
Cable
Satellite Placement Spot

Show w/ Product or
placements Service
Consumer

Product placement advertising model

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In the product placement advertising model (as shown), before a show is even
completed, the production studio can sell placement spots either through an ad
agency/ product placement agency or by reaching advertisers directly. In
exchange, the studio may get a placement fee, bartered goods (i.e. for e.g. the
producer might get a free car), or the right to use the product in the show, saving
some production costs. Production studios shoot the shows and include
placement spots. Broadcasters license the shows, sell the placement spots to
advertisers, and then use post-production techniques to populate the placement
spots with content. In this model, broadcasters do not receive any revenue from
product placement. Advertising revenue goes only to production studios.

There is no fixed formula but the factors that are taken into consideration during
the negotiation stage include: cast and credits; size of the projects and the
producers; timing of the release; brand impact; number of screens during release
and post-release phase; and possibilities of brand associations through contests
and promotions. Depending on the content of the film and its story line, the
agency can sketch a profile of viewers who would flock to see the movie. Then
the agency approaches all those brands who could appeal to the targeted
viewers.

• Product placement occurs in three different types namely;

o Paid – Paid placements are defined as those in which the integration is

arranged and there is financial compensation.

o Gratis - Gratis arrangements are those in which the placement simply

happens, often to strengthen a character's profile or to add richness to the
plot.

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o Barter - Barter agreements also are arranged, but the product serves as
compensation. One example would be of Nike. It does not pay to be in
movies but often supplies shoes, jackets, bags, etc.

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 In - film advertising

• Bollywood

Whilst most casual observers view the Indian film industry as being represented
by Bollywood, India has developed many cinemas each with its own film style
under the umbrella of the Indian film. We have separate language cinemas from
South India: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. It is Hindi commercial
cinema (Bollywood), which is widely considered to be the national cinema of
India.

Indian cinema has strongly mirrored the economic and political changes India
has undergone over the last fifty years since achieving Independence and has
thus achieved a culturally prominent status in the country. Significantly,
Bollywood movies, as a significant strand of Indian cinema, have also mirrored
these changes, but have been more successful in exploiting the associated
marketing opportunities. Bollywood films come with their own narrative, which
informs a range of products and practices and is in fact a ‘culture industry’ of
which Indian cinema is only a part.

In – film advertising is a marketing practice designed to intentionally insert

products into the content of Bollywood movies. In most cases the placement is
subtle so as not to divert significant attention from the main content of the movie.
This form of providing exposure to brands by placing them in films is a new trend
in India.

The Bollywood film industry as a segment of Indian cinema is worth £2.1 billion
and produces over 900 movies per year which are watched by millions of people
across the globe. The industry represents a significant opportunity for
strategically planned product placements. Churning out nearly 1,000 films a year,
the Indian film industry is the largest in the world. At the moment 25-30 percent of
the Bollywood movies employ branded entertainment. Film is quite possibly the

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most powerful medium for communication in the world today. One reason for this
is its importance as a cultural force.

This looks at the relatively new practice of in-film advertising in popular Hindi
films. Acknowledging the impact of popular films and iconic stars since the 1940s
and 50s on styles, trends and ideology, this project report explores how this
powerful medium is now being used for product placement in India. Appealing to
the rising affluence of Indian audiences, branded goods are most likely to appear
in films such as high-end luxury consumer goods like mobile phones, cars and
motorcycles. Realizing the potential of celebrity endorsements and the
advantages of in-film placements, the advertising industry views movies as the
optimum medium for building brands. Equally, the film industry is happy to
accommodate in-film advertising as it serves to defray production costs, as well
as the costs of marketing and promoting films.

While watching a movie, one should try to keep an eye out for products or brand-
names he/she can recognize. It's likely that a person may see one of the major
soft drink companies represented. It can be Coke, Pepsi or any other brand
name. When spotted once something like this, one should keep a track of how
many other scenes include that product. A person may start to see a trend.
"How," he/she'll wonder, "can the actor hold the Coke can just the right way
every time so that the logo is perfectly visible?” Well, this is in - film advertising.

The phenomenon of in-film advertising is helping to build brands and proving to

be a revenue-spinner for several ad agencies. Film placements are currently
raking in anything between Rs 5, 00,000 to Rs 50 million for the producers.

However, there is evidence of shortened attention spans and a greater effort to

break through the clutter of brands and media vehicles. The best way to deliver
the message is to catch the customer off-guard when the rational lines are down.
The best way to do so is to use the emotional gate rather than the rational gate.

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The rational gate examines the advantages, benefits, features and seeks value
for money; the emotional gate is all about trust, love, identification and belief. It
has been noticed that films operate at the emotional level. These aspects have
been leveraged by brands such as Coke, Pepsi, Lux, Airtel, Hyundai, wherein
movies and brands flash identical messages at their target audiences.

There is a need to examine synergies between the brands and films. The first
example of product placement is the yellow Rajdhoot bike used in Raj Kapoor's
movie ‘Bobby’ in the year 1973. The Rajdoot motorbike the two lovers cavort
around on in the film became a rage with a nation's young generation.

Artistic integrity is crucial for successful brand placements and the operation has
to be woven into the script. Sometimes, unreasonable clients demand more
footage although research has shown that a 2-minute clip can effectively deliver
a message in a credible manner. The placement should be a natural fit and
shouldn't be contrived and unnatural. Each effective tie-up between a brand and
a film involves hectic negotiations of around 3-6 months.

Product placement is interesting, not as much as a critical aspect of the film itself,
but as a reflection in how advertising has saturated society and how the movies
have reflected that saturation.

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The variety of films and their content can impact brand placement possibilities.
For example, films depicting earlier historical periods will offer less placement
potential than films depicting contemporary times. One area of product
placement research has focused on the frequency with which branded products
are featured in films. Frequently observed product categories include
automobiles, fast foods and other snack items, alcoholic beverages and soft
drinks. Tobacco brands are also found to appear regularly in feature films.

• Examples of in film advertising

One of the clear cases of effective placement in recent times was BR Films'
family drama Baghban, which addressed issues of Indian middle class families
— the demographic segment most brand custodians revere.

The movie creatively integrated five brands in the entire movie. The brands
included were ICICI Bank, Tata Tea, Archies, Ford and Tide. The movie showed
actor Amitabh Bachhan as a retired bank employee of ICICI Bank and Salman
Khan owning a Ford showroom.

Employing Archies Cards' proposition of social expression and Valentine's Day

revelry, Baghban effectively depicted the craft of product placement. The script
also had enough space to accommodate household brands like Tide and Tata
Tea.

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 A still from the movie BAGHBAN

(Archies in the background forming a part of Passive product placement)

Some more examples of in – film advertising would be:

o Castrol in the movie Chalte Chalte, Kyon Ho Gaya Na, the latest movie
being Tara Rum Pum.
o Bournvita, Tide in Krrish
o Motorola, Tag Heuer, Louis Philippe in the movie Don.
o Cola cola in movies like Taal, Kuch Na Kaho and Dhoom 2.
o Swift in Bunti aur Babli
o Tata Safari in the movie Road
o Eros jewellery, Taj mahal tea, Nerolac paints in Baabul
o Tata Starbus in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd. –

While cars, scooters and beverages make regular appearances in films as seen
in the above examples, with this movie Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd; Tata
Starbus, the city bus from Tata motors made an unlikely sight. The film is about
six newly married couples on a package honeymoon tour from Mumbai to Goa
on a bus. And much of the action in the movie happens in the Tata Starbus.
From several points of view, in - film advertising proved to be a better advertising
medium for this movie. The Starbus range launched in March 2005 and it is sold
to tour operators, while there was a need to communicate with the Starbus

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primary consumer, the company wanted to influence the end traveler as well.
Along with this, Starbus also wanted to convey that the company offers a
complete product giving the travelers a more comfortable mode of transport.

Acknowledging the impact of popular films and iconic stars since the 1940s and
50s on styles, trends and ideology, the paper explores how this powerful medium
is now being used for product placement in India. Appealing to the rising
affluence of Indian audiences, branded goods are most likely to appear in films
such as high-end luxury consumer goods like mobile phones, cars and
motorcycles, etc. Realizing the potential of in-film placements, the advertising
industry views movies as the optimum medium for building brands. Equally, the
film industry is happy to accommodate in-film advertising as it serves to defray
production costs, as well as the costs of marketing and promoting films.

Leo Entertainment bagged films such as Pooja Bhatt's Jism, BR Chopra's

Baghban. Leo Entertainment is already an independent profit-centre due to the
revenues obtained from films such as Kaante, Raju Chacha and Yeh Kya Ho
Raha Hai where it leveraged brands such as Coke, Thums Up, Maaza,
Provogue, Castrol, Tata Tea, etc. For their movie Jism, Leo Entertainment had
developed an innovative association with Zingaro, a liquor brand. In fact, Leo
brokered a Thumps Up - Taste the Thunder deal for the film Kaante and won an
award for being one of the Top 10 product placements of 2002.

Product placement awards take place every year which include Hollywood as
well. For the year 2006, Brandcameo 2006 Award for Overall Product Placement
went to Ford. It has been a Ford decade, with the brand appearing in 19 Number
One films in 2001 and 14 Number Ones films in 2002. Through 2003 and 2004,
Ford appearances decreased slightly, though the brand came back strong in
2005 and 2006. Ford has appeared in over 35 percent of all Number One films in
the last six years. The next closest brand is Coca-Cola, having appeared in 20
percent fewer Number One films over that same period.

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 Product integration

Product placement on TV- more commonly referred to as product integration.

Product placement is not quite as widespread in TV land as it is in the movies,
but it is a rapidly growing industry. This process has to share its advertising
space with traditional advertising, also known as the 30-second spot. Since the
beginning of televised programming, advertisers have shelled out the big bucks
to promote their products and brands. The 30-second spot has been the reigning
champion for a very long time. That does not mean there can only be one winner
in the television advertising arena.

Product Placement in movies didn’t really start picking up steam until the mid
1980’s and it hasn’t slowed down yet. But the movie industry doesn’t have a
strangle hold on this form of advertising; it has become popular on television as
well. With the introduction of TiVo, advertisers have scouted around for other
ways to send their message to their target audience and they found it. Product
integration in television shows has become common, the advertisers product is
also weaved into the script and shown not as an intrusion but as a part of the
scene. Product integration can be found in several popular shows, and with
viewers having more control of what they watch with TiVo it forces advertisers to
be more innovative to capture the attention of their target market.

There's a big difference between product integration and a standard 30-second

advertising spot. Both are a means to a similar end, but that doesn't mean
there's only room for one of these vehicles on the advertising block. In fact, the
current trend is a combination of the two. This trend can in large part be
attributed to many of today's reality-based television shows, which seem to be a
perfect match for product integration. The very best example of this is the popular
talent show "Indian Idol 3." Not only are segments of each episode telecasting

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ads of Sony Ericsson cell phones and other brands, but some of these
companies' brands and products are really evident in each episode. Here is one
example:

Sony Ericsson: Each of the three judges is sitting on the judge’s panel and Sony
Ericsson cell phone is placed before them.

The concept of in-program placement on television is slowly gaining flavor with

the Indian media.The emergence of reality television programs over the last five
years has been like a godsend to the product placement market. As a result, the
value of placements on popular shows has exploded into the millions of dollars
per placement.

• In terms of money :

It is always about the money and big money is all about the big idea. A big idea
can command up to 100 per cent premium over regular ad rates applicable to
commercial breaks. Given that in-program placement is largely a creative
process, there are no rate cards. Compensation is mutually agreed between the
parties to reflect the levels of creativity involved. Principally, there are two factors
in play that decide how remunerative the placement is - the involvement of the
brand in the TV show and the ratings that the program commands. A brand that
is actively talked about or visually positioned by the actor’s commands better
rates than a wall paper positioning.

The brand integration is done discreetly so that the show doesn’t look like a
brand promo. No channel can afford to upset viewers by meaninglessly
integrating brands with its content. In-programme placements have to be done
carefully.

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• Various examples of in - programme advertising are:

o Big ideas seen on television in the recent have been the positioning
of ICICI Bank in Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) both in KBC –
Season 1 and season 2 hosted by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and
Shah Rukh Khan respectively. There were cheques to be signed by
one bank or the other and ICICI, perhaps, found the right
opportunity at the right time. That was an opportunity that ICICI
made use of.

SRK on KBC-2 ( ICICI BANK cheque featuring on the TV screen)

o A perfect example of how in-programme advertising worked on television

is perhaps Sony’s Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. Satya Paul unveiled a special
‘Jassi designer collection’ in 2004. When Jassi’s makeover took place,
brands like VLCC, Kaya Skin Clinic, Bausch & Lomb and Mauritius
Tourism Board found their way in the show. Jassi’s wedding jewellery was
designed by Neelam Jewels, owned by actor Neelam Kothari, in the
wedding episode, screen husband Armaan wore outfits designed by Nisha

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 Bedi Rai and Ritu Deora. And the ceremony took place in Singapore,
courtesy, Singapore Tourism Board.

o One more e.g. is of Cadbury Dairy Milk's (CDM) in-series plug across few
serials on Star Plus on New Year's Eve. The CDM pack was projected as
a new year's gift idea with Mrinal Kulkarni of Sonpari and Smriti Irani
(Tulsi) of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi being shown gifting CDM packs
on the occasion. The brand notched a 10-25 second exposure per serial
across all the Star Plus series.

o Kodak moment on Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai hosted by Farouque Shaikh is

another one on television that got noticed.

o Khulja Sim Sim, was an excellent platform for brand placement but bigger
clients like auto manufacturers were reluctant to place their products as
prizes. They preferred to stick to the commercial breaks. The not-so-
regular advertising clients like Hi Design were the ones that came up with
gift hampers.

o A fashion show sponsored by Lux woven into the storyline of the popular
Star Plus soap Kahin To Hoga is one more example of product integration.

o Another e.g. is of an actor who is watching a Fair & Lovely commercial,

which forms again as part of the storyline of yet another Star Plus soap,
Kumkum.

o Ekta Kapoor’s Kavyanjali (Star Plus) and Zee’s Sindoor had a 10-episode
chunk shot in Hong Kong, courtesy the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Zee’s
Kasamh Se promoted Dubai in the show when a 6-episode chunk was
shot there. The Australian Tourism Board played host to the Kyunki Saas
Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki team, which had an

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 Australia stint shot free of cost. “Australia was promoted as a tourist
destination in both the Ekta Kapoor soaps and it worked well as part of the
story and not a commercial.

o MTV used Hero Honda's branding for its reality adventure show, MTV
Roadies. For Style Awards branding was done with Lycra and Zee’s talent
hunt Lil’ Champs used Munch and ICICI Bank credit cards (for minors) as
in-branding in the show.

o In Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC - II) every time the participants opts for
phone-a-friend, Airtel’s signature tune is played till time the friend come on
line. The computers used in the programme carry the logo of the “Lenovo”
prominently both in KBC -1 and 2.

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 In - game advertising

Video Games have become popular for advertisers as well; they are beginning to

use the popularity of video games to send their messages out . In-game
advertising has been going on for years as marketers try to reach people who've
largely stopped watching television. In-game advertising refers to the use of
computer and video games as a medium in which to deliver advertising. In-game
advertising is seen by some in the games industry as offering a new revenue
stream, allowing developers to offset growing development costs and to take
more risks in game play. Some advertisers see in-game advertising as a prime
way to target the male 18-34 demographic, who are increasingly neglecting
television in favor of computer and video games. Still others see in-game
advertising as a way to reach into casual games, for example through games like
Diner Dash, and target a predominately female demographic, which are
frequently harder to reach and impact.

Static in- game advertising

Early examples of in-game advertising were static. Some of these consisted of

virtual billboards, whereas others could be considered in-game product
placement. These adverts were placed directly into the game by artists or
programmers and could not be changed later. The first example was seen in the
1978 computer game Adventureland by Scott Adams, who inserted an
advertisement for his then forthcoming game Pirate Adventure. Examples of in-
game advertising of third party products include the sponsorship of the Zool
series by Chupa Chups, leading to various displays of the Chupa Chups product
and brand in the game. Another early example of in-game advertising can be
seen in the FIFA International Soccer series, with commercial billboard adverts
featured in-game. Static adverts allow the advertiser and developers to have

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more influence on how the adverts are displayed in-game and can be worked to
beyond the levels of a pure billboard.

Chupa Chups products can be seen in the background of the computer

game Zool

A number of games utilize billboard-like advertisements for the single purpose of

creating a more realistic gaming environment. While permission to use logos,
brand names, and other advertising material is usually given by the company
owning the rights to these symbols, their use within the game does not serve to
raise awareness of the product which is usually already very familiar to the
player. Examples of this include the FIFA International Soccer series where
many sports series also incorporate this style of advertisement due to the fact
that professional sports is typically subject to heavy advertising and were the
game to lack similar levels of in-game advertisement, in-game realism would
suffer. Similarly, games like the Grand Theft Auto series or any number of First-
person shooters feature recognizable brand name products like the Mercedes-
Benz SLR McLaren which is used as in-game status symbols. In a reversal of
traditional roles, such uses of logos and brands are often desired or even
requested by the players themselves. Another example is the Pikmin series
where real-life products serve as treasures to be collected.

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 An Adidas billboard is displayed in the foreground of the computer game
FIFA International Soccer

Reaction to in-game advertising from the advertising industry has generally been
positive. Advertisers are keen to reach the 18-34 male demographic, and in-
game advertising is seen to be a new medium in which to do so, especially given
that TV viewing figures for this audience is falling. The games industry sees in-
game advertising as a promising new revenue stream. Some developers believe
that the extra revenue wil reduce the risk involved in a game development
project, allowing them to innovate on gameplay and experiment with new ideas.

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 Soft advertising through other media

Product placement isn't just for movies and television anymore. Next comes soft
advertising through other media which includes product placement through
books, sports telecast, news channel, radio, internet, etc. After the much success
of in- film and in - serial advertising product placement through all these media
also came into picture and has become popular.

• Product Placement through books

Both Marvel and DC, the two largest comic book publishers, have signed deals
that will integrate product placement in the issues of some of their titles. DC will
have a new hero called The Rush drives a Pontiac that the publisher says is just
important to that character. Marvel is jumping in whole hog by putting the Nike
swoosh logo in a variety of places such as car doors and character t-shirts.
Pontiac has also partnered with Marvel in a deal that will have their cars appear
in some titles. The product placement deals also include print ad buys. The
whole thing is largely because the comics industry has been selling itself as a
kid’s thing. That's roughly the same demographic as the one constantly being
sought out by advertisers so the partnership is a natural fit for both parties.

• Product Placement through other media

Advertisers now prefer soft advertising during cricket matches. These are the ads
seen in the stadium, on ground advertising in terms of billboards/ pavilions, on
screen elements like pop ups/ replay bugs, and stickers on shirt, pant, or logos
on bats and stumps. Advertisers prefer advertising through the non TVC methods
because of many reasons like:

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 • High ad tariffs during commercial breaks
• Increasing advertising clutter.

Sports channels were the early innovators with brands shown on the cheques
presented to winner/man of the match and also on the backdrop of post match
press conference. 50:50, a leading biscuit brand, interestingly popped on to the
screen whenever a decision was refereed to the third umpire. Game show
formats presented an excellent opportunity for the marketers/advertisers to
display their products.

Now even news channels have started seeking in-programme advertisements.

Telecom brands are the most frequently advertised in the news
bulletins/programmes. It has been seen that the ticker which scrolls on the lower
part of the TV screen is the most popular location. Information about
product/services along with the logos of the brands was provided on the ticker
during news bulletins.

For many of today’s gamers, their gaming system includes not only the game
player attached to a television but also includes connections to an advanced
audio system. Game developers take advantage of this enhanced gaming
environment by populating their software with numerous songs from genres
aimed at younger players. Most songs are up-tempo tunes that help create an
atmosphere of excitement while players battle on the screen. After playing a
game for many weeks, the gamer may be exposed to a song well over 100 times.
In fact, avid gamers will hear the song much more when playing video games
then they will through local radio outlets. The result is that many new artists
benefit from this intense exposure. Placement of their songs within an electronic
game can be a key factor in helping launch a successful musical career.

In addition to musical placements, electronic games also provide visual product

placements within scenes presented in the game. Outside of gaming new
opportunities for visual placements include photography for magazines and in

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stories of top selling books where a character mentions a product by its brand
name when a generic name would do just as well.

Taking a look at the individual platform, the various different on screen elements
of non TVC are Pop ups/ scrollers is one very important and used non TVC
element. Xtra Premium Indian Oil's 'More Mileage. More Savings' were seen on
screen for 3080 seconds; 'Push Clean Facts' by Gillette Vector Plus was on
screen for 1582 seconds whereas Alpenliebe's 'Lagey Raho', Chlor-mint's
'Dobara Mat Poochna', Centre Shock's 'Hila Ke Rakh De' and Castrol Winning
Moments were on screen for 1174, 302, 193 and 15 seconds respectively.

On comparing the exposure, brands/ advertisers got in terms of duration during

the commercials versus non TVC elements, the difference is quite clear. Brands/
advertisers get a much larger share of the duration pie while advertising through
the non TVC platform. Also the number of advertisers advertising through the
non TVC platform is also not that high.

Aaj Tak featured regularly movies Satya and Company whenever a news scene
was depicted in the movie. Radio Mirchee too had tied up with Hutch on the eve
of changing its brand colour. Radio Mirchee jockeys would repeatedly announce
during the programmes “It’s Pink” as part of a teaser campaign. These are some
of the examples of soft advertising through various other medias.

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 The Q – Ratio

A new placement valuation service company PQ Media, has launched in

partnership with the US-based placement valuation company, iTVX. The product,
Q-Ratio or Quality Ratio, which is a proprietary system of iTVX, reportedly
measures the quality of the placement and hence the value deserved.

Product placements have become an inevitable part of television and film

presence in India. It is likely to see extreme innovations on this front. Unlike in
other countries, India does not have stringent regulations in the context of
product placements. In markets such as the UK, product placements are
completely banned, while in Canada, one can do placements only in the general
entertainment genre and not in the kids' sphere.

Today, we have 48 times more commercials than we had 10 years ago.

Therefore, it is necessary to invade the content. Though brand placements are
growing rapidly, metrics to quantify them are missing. Most media planners and
buyers are confused as to how they should justify the price. If Lux appears in a
programme 10 times, should its value be calculated per exposure or should it be
according to time?

Q-Ratio or the Quality Ratio delves into the quality of the placement, the visuals,
how well it has been integrated into the story, based on which one can arrive on
the value it deserves frame by frame the quality of exposure is studied of the
brand and how such exposure helps the brand, and take into account around 50
characteristics of the placement to arrive at the right value like where it is placed
in the background or foreground, the kind of audio that is used in relation to the
product, how long the product is seen or heard, and other factors.

Q-Ratio gives clients "quality" of a product placement, integration, or a branded

entertainment deal, where it values a product placement in relation to a 30-

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second spot. For instance, a simple static product placed in the background on a
set might give a ratio that is a tenth of a 30-second spot. But a bigger branded
integration deal, in which the product is part of a storyline like in movies like
‘Krrish’, ‘Tara Rum Pum’, etc could have value that is 9 times that of a 30-second
spot.

Product placements have been seen on reality shows and family dramas on
television, and also placements in films. Pepsi, for instance, launched its new
product, Pepsi Cafechino, on Sony's Indian Idol. Its brand ambassadors Kareena
Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra appeared on the show wearing the same clothes
that they had worn in the ad.

This is known as a hyperactive placement, as the brand is not just present in the
show, but the brand ambassadors use and refer to it deliberately. Similarly, in
Bollywood films such as Viruddh feature brands such as Nerolac, which have
been woven into the story.

Q - Ratio tries to understand how these placements score in terms of quality and
what valuations one can do in monetary terms for these placements.

The response has been quite positive for it as there is a lot of confusion among
media planners about how to justify the pricing set by the production houses.
While a Rakesh Roshan may charge Rs 50 lakh for a placement, a smaller
producer could charge less. PQ Media is the first company in India to offer a
service of this kind. There is a definite gap in this space and are quite confident
that this technique will take off.

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 • Advantages of Q – Ratio

A valuation service would help a great deal in cutting transaction time and
increase the number of product placements. Example of the US market is where
brand placements have become commoditized. In these markets, brands such as
Coke, Pepsi and Nike do as many as 2,000 brand placements each season on
various shows. In a situation like this, it is crucial to have a quick evaluation
system in place.

The Indian market is going to witness similar trends soon. Placements are going
to become an inevitable part of television and film presence, and if to pump up
the frequency of placements, there has to be a proper valuation technique in
place to cut the transaction time.

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 Hidden Product placement

In the movie Don, Shah Rukh Khan is seen using a black MotoRazr, driving
Mercedes Benz and showing off the designer labels of his various attires. This is
an example of Product Placement. And, he is also seen smoking in the movie.
Now is this an example of hidden promotion or is it just a directorial strategy to
portray the character effectively is a big question.

Indian government has banned depiction of smoking in films and television

programs as part of its war against tobacco use. Obviously, the filmmakers are
up in arms against this decision. They consider this as "infringement of artistic
freedom". Are they really worried about the artistic values or the monetory values
derived from the smoking majors? Three major questions need to be answered in
this regard are:

o Does on-screen smoking relate to Product Placement?

o If popular stars smoke on screen, will it induce smoking habbit among the
audience?
o Is the ban justified?

Whether on-screen smoking can be traced back to product placement is difficult

to judge. The financing structure of a Bollywood movie is messy to say the least.
Even if one could, most tobacco majors are diversified. So they can always claim
the product to be 'placed' was a snack and not the cigarette. However,
considering the situation, advertising of tobacco products is severly restricted (if
not banned) in India. There is no way a tobacco company can put across its
product in the print, television or electronic media. So this is the way to work
around the restrictions.

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Another piece of logic given by the film fraternity is that people will not smoke
because a hero is shown smoking. If the audience were not to be impressed by
the lifestyle of and the products used by popular stars, there would not be any
celebrity brand ambassadors. If the sales of Cadbury can go up when Amitabh
Bachchan is hired as brand ambassador, if Hyundai reports positive sales growth
because of association with Shah Rukh, one needs to think that when these
people smoke on screen the impressionable audience (in particular the youth)
will conveniently neglect this particular habbit or not of their favourite stars.

Then comes the question is the ban justified? Not completely if the government
was so serious about the health of the Indians, it would have banned the
production of cigarettes itself. But it is not very simple. There are many vested
interests, legal battles and employment problems for taking such a bold step.
However, this is just one of the series of initiatives taken up by the Indian
Government to curb the smoking habbit. There is a sound reason behind it. A
World Health Organization report said smoking in Bollywood films was being
increasingly associated with fun, fashion, glamor and success - About artistic
liberty, if the person is a good director he does not need artifacts like cigarette to
portray a bad character.

Another concern of placement critics is the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco

brands in films. Known for product placement around the world, Philip Morris is
now positioning its popular Marlboro brand in Hindi movies. These movies are
watched in rural and urban areas alike, and Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh
Khan, and their movie characters and actions, have significant influence over
youngsters nationwide. Meanwhile, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. associates its
tobacco brand with bravery, giving out awards for courage. Later, the company
dropped the logo and name of its cigarette from the awards, but then renamed
them the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards – a smooth move, since they are now
promoting their company name as the mother brand for their entire range of
tobacco products.

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Current broadcast regulations deny access to tobacco products; alcohol is
absent from broadcast TV due to self-regulation (beer and wine do appear in
commercial broadcast channels.) Films offer these marketers their only
opportunity to portray these brands in a full usage situation. Criticism focuses on
imagery portraying smoking and drinking activities as common, powerful or
seductive. Also, when films are broadcast on commercial television outlets, brand
placements allow tobacco marketers to avoid broadcasting regulations, thereby
exposing the brand and its use to millions of viewers.

From all these placements of alcohol and tobacco in movies, smoking is viewed
as a part of hidden product placement.

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 Advantages of Soft Advertising

Branded entertainment helps in gaining attention of consumers, who are getting

increasingly more adapt at avoiding ads. Hence product placement came in
picture as a unique and a smart way of advertising products through films,
television and other media.

Unlike a television commercial, which appears during the particular program,

product placement is imbedded within the film. The actual cost of the product
placement is relatively low compared to other forms of promotions or advertising.
Product placement does not interrupt the programming or the articles. Therefore
making it less obtrusive than other forms of advertising.

The advantage of soft advertising over the 30 sec ads is that brands get longer
duration on the screen as compared in commercial breaks. For e.g. Hutch gets
more than 35,000 seconds of exposure during the cricket matches, whereas
around 2400 seconds of exposure during commercial breaks. Same is true for
Samsung; the total duration of all Samsung brands is also much less than the
exposure 'Samsung' gets during matches.

TV is a great medium for white goods such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and

cars. When a car is shown or any such white good on TV, it creates a great
impact on the viewer. TV is also very good for impulse products like
confectionery. The brand recall is very high. It also adds a lot of color and
emotions to it.

In-serial advertising is done only on some select channels. Expectedly only on

prime time TV. There are chances of viewers to complain if it becomes an
overdose. Not just complain but the brand will have a negative impact. Example
of Sony promoting a hair colour brand on its Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi. It was done in a
seamless and non intrusive manner and the brand benefited a lot.

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 • Regulation for brand placement in Programming and films

The weaving of paid-for product advertisements into the storylines of television

and film raises serious ethical questions. The traditional standards & practices
governing commercial product placement are increasingly being swept aside in
favor of product integration and branded entertainment. The sharp increase of
product placement in film and television too often takes place without any
compensation to the very performers that are expected to push those products -
and more often is done without any consultation with those performers and their
representatives. It is time for producers to work with artists on this issue, and the
best way to do that is to establish a cooperative code-of-conduct that will protect
the artist, the viewing public and advertiser-supported, free television.

The Code of Conduct would include the following elements as per the Writers
Guild of America:

1. Full and clear disclosure for both the visual and aural disclosure of product
integration deals at the beginning of each program so the program's audience
knows ahead of time that it will be subject to hidden or soft advertising.

2. Strict limits on the usage of product integration in children's programming

3. A voice for storytellers, actors, and directors, arrived at through collective

bargaining, about how a product or brand is to be integrated into content.

4. Extension of all regulation of product integration to cable television.

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 Product placement – Good or Bad?

We are bombarded by over 5,000 ads a day and yet product placement in
movies and on TV is continuing to grow and is estimated to grow in future.
Product placements are not always successful. As every coin has two sides,
there have been some cases of bad product placement too. Films are a different
medium and one bad placement can do more damage than 10 good placements.
For example: in the movie Salaam-e-Ishq recently they canvassed IRA Diamond
jewellery thrice for the 3 couples in a very important part of the movie. Worst part
was, they focused the camera and zoomed in on the brand tag than the jewel.

Another example of a bad product placement is in the movie ‘Yaadein’. It is

difficult to tell whether this is a film or is a three-hour commercial for coke.
Product placement takes on new meaning in this film as the can of coke shows
up everywhere. After a while it takes on amusing dimensions as one tries to
figure out how the can of coke is going to make an appearance in a particular
scene.

There were two moments in particular that can be voted into a bad Product
Placement. Jackie Shroff is called upon to sing at his daughter’s wedding and so
he picks up a can of coke and sings a love song to it or to his dead wife. It was

36
difficult to say which had more affection in his heart. But that is even a minor
league effort when compared to the flashback of the death scene with the wife.
She has been run over by a car and the doctor tells Jackie Shroff she has three
minutes to live and as she lies dying in the hospital bed she somehow manages
to find the keys to the house and hands them over to him with a Coke key for the
keys.

To understand the actual effectives of soft advertising/ product placement on the

end consumer, a survey was conducted of 50 people to know how effective soft
advertising has been.

On the analysis done, it is known that at least 60 percent of the people are movie
buffs and regularly watch television programmes too. Majority of them do notice
the product placements happening in movies. But amongst them hardly 20
percent of the people are influenced to buy the products which their favorite
celebrity is shown using in the movie or serials. In all 56 percent of people feel
that soft advertising is effective than other forms of advertising and the rest feel
vice-versa.

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 Bollywood – 2006

The year 2006 proved to be great success for Indian cinema with movies like
Don, Lage Raho MunnaBhai, Krrish, Dhoom 2 etc. Year 2006 saw some creative
promotions than the film themselves. It saw a new age of branding in the film
industry.

Events, brand promotion and merchandising – Don did it with Tag Heuer and
Louis Phillippe and Krrish went all out for Singapore Tourism. Krissh was
involved in merchandising – Hrithik Roshan’s mask, Tiffin boxes, stationery, etc.
and also product placements in the movie like Bournvita and Tide.

Year 2006 witnessed a new trend to introduce an extra song just for TV promos.
E.g. a Song less film like Kabul Express came out with a music album where
none of the songs were part of the film. According to the director of the movie the
film dint need songs but it made perfect sense to add them on music channels;
the only thing to be taken care of is that the songs gel with the mood of the film.

Thus, new trends came up in Bollywood, however not to mention that product
placement still continues to make its presence felt on the big screen.

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 Future of soft advertising

In the face of ever increasing media fragmentation, ad clutter and consumer

control, the use of brands in entertainment will continue to grow. Marketers
seeking to engage their consumers through placement, integration would do well
to remember the three F’s: Fit Focus and Fame.

Fit - brand fit is critical to successful placement and even more so for branded
entertainment. While engaging content can be used to highlight the role of even
the most everyday brands, there must be a good reason for the brand to take
part.

Focus - given the need for multiple partners to bring a successful integration to
completion, marketers must maintain a relentless focus on the project’s
communication objectives. This does not mean, however, that the strategy
should be apparent to the intended audience. Rather than needlessly highlighting
the brands benefits (which would detract from the appreciation of both brand and
content), the action should focus attention on the brand and allow implicit
communication of the brands positioning and benefits.

Fame - Major movie placements are only open to brands that have budgets to
match. For this reason, marketers need to seek ways to amplify and distribute
successful integrations via pass-along, word of mouth, advertising and publicity.

• Projected product placement spending in India

A major driver of growth for the use of product placement is the increasing use of
digital video recorders (DVR) such as TIVO which enable viewers to skip

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advertisements. This ad skipping behavior increases in frequency the longer a
household has owned a DVR.

According to PQ Media, a research consultancy firm that tracks the product

placement market, projects that the value of the product placement market will
grow at a compound annual rate of 14.9% from 2004 to 2009, reaching US$6.94
billion, as media producers provide more opportunities for marketers and
increase their rates to coincide with strengthening demand. Television will
increase its share of total product placement spending by almost seven
percentage points in the 2004-2009 period to 61.2%. Meanwhile, films will lose
six points in the period, hitting 30.2% in 2009, and other media will drop
approximately one point to 8.6%, although paid placements in videogames and
on the Internet will increase.

The share of paid placements will rise from 29.2 percent in 2004 to 37.5% in
2009, as television producers provide more opportunities for marketers and
increase their rates to coincide with strengthening demand.

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 Conclusion

Product placement activities in Bollywood movies are being more extensively

used because of their mass-market reach through a popular and influential
medium. The power of celebrities, many with iconic and idol status, give greater
credibility to brands and reinforce or establish positive associations. More
importantly, product placements last longer than traditional advertising and have
a greater opportunity for reinforcing their 'message' as consumers repeat their
viewing of films. Bollywood has grown in a multidimensional manner, through its
own brand of art, communication and stars. Films are seen in over 13, 000
cinema halls and by nearly 100 million filmgoers every week all over the world.
As the Indian economy develops a global perspective, the Bollywood film
industry needs to follow suit. More importantly, as Indian audiences become
fragmented into class specific segments, marketers are faced with the more

41
difficult task of communicating their brand messages; effective and well thought
out product placement strategies appear to offer some solutions.

Product placement is really a nice way to advertise brands in front of the people.
But the important aspect is how to place the product in movies, television or other
media, it has to be done in such a way that it looks absolutely natural on screen
then be it TV, video games, films or cricket matches. There should be not an
overdose of product placement otherwise the result will not be good. Also Indians
are not really influenced to use the product which their favorite actor is using. So
the brand companies and the film makers should come up with more creative
ways so that product placement leaves an effective impact on the audience.

Though the product placement market is growing, it still needs better ways to
communicate with the consumers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Books

Handbook of product placement in mass media

• Newspapers

1) DNA
2) Times of India
3) Hindustan times

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 • Websites

1) www.pqmedia.com
2) www.knowthis.com
3) www.wikipedia.com
4) www.productplacement.biz
5) www.indiantelevision.com

ANNEXURES

The information, statistics, and all the other data has been gathered from both
primary and secondary sources. Newspaper articles, websites and books have
been the source to gather the secondary data. Primary data had been gathered
through interviews of people from advertising sector and to understand people’s
opinion, a survey was conducted.

The Questions asked in survey were as follows:

1) Do you regularly watch movies and television?

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2) How frequently do you play video games?

3) Have you ever noticed any product placement in movies? ( for e.g.
Bournvita and tide in krrish, coca cola in kuch na kaho, ICICI bank in
Baghban)

4) If yes, then are you influenced to use the product or service because
your favorite actor in the movie is using it?

5) Have you noticed the product placements in reality shows like Indian
Idol ( Sony Ericsson) or KBC ( ICICI bank cheque)

6) According to you, promoting products through movies and serials is a

better way than other forms of advertising?

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