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Nithya Subramanian

This year, Amitabh Bachchan seems to have clinched the maximum number of endorsement deals... from public service campaigns to commercial ads.

Ask people about the wackiest or most memorable television ad punchline they have heard during any year, and they would recall it in a jiffy. But this year, there was none... No Dhoondte Rah Jaoge or Badhia Hai! There were no heart-tugging themes like the Hutch boy-pug ads or AirTel's `Express Yourself' either. Funny ads like the ones for Fevicol or Centre Shock eluded us. In fact, during the year, there were no requests from ad agencies or the big spending clients for preview or review of commercials too.

The only big success story this year was the political ad campaign unleashed by the Congress party — `Aam Aadmi Ko Kya Mila?'. It worked for the party and got them the votes. The BJP's `India Shining' campaign, however, flopped miserably.

The cola companies, known for their out-of-the-box creatives, also did not excite us. And they have cut down on advertising budgets too. The most evident trend this year was that of celebrities overshadowing creativity.

Not just big stars but even smaller names have managed to be part of advertisements. So you have film stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherji, Saif Ali Khan, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffery, Zayed Khan and Juhi Chawla, besides cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virendra Sehwag and Irfan Pathan dominating TV ads. But the `Model of the Year' award would easily go to Amitabh Bachchan who seems to have clinched the maximum number of endorsement deals. From public service campaigns like the one on Pulse Polio with wife Jaya, or the ads for Chyawanprash, Asian Paints or Reid & Taylor suiting... you found him everywhere.

Advertising industry officials agree that creativity has been low this year. "Celebrity endorsement has been phenomenal this year. The industry goes through phases and this too will pass," said one.

Magic works... not always!

Cinema is no longer placed on a high pedestal. Bollywood has finally realised the importance of television. This year saw a confluence of sorts.

Successful Hindi films used television serials to create public interest. Thus there was Saif Ali Khan appearing on Sony Entertainment Television's Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin to promote Hum Tum, Abhishek Bachchan was seen in Zee's Kareena-Kareena after his successful film Dhoom. And now, it is rumoured that Shah Rukh Khan too is going to follow suit.

Twenty-four hour news channels also figured prominently in some of the popular films released this year. Aaj Tak and Star News featured in Khakee and Ek Hasina Thi. So it is not just cars, cell phones and other consumer products that are getting into in-film placements, but news channels are also hopping on to gain brand visibility.

However, popular film actors who tried to rework their celluloid magic on the small screen could not draw in the audiences. Karisma Kapoor's Karishma - A Miracle of Destiny, which also had a whole gamut of small-time film stars, has been wound up. Raveena Tandon's Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam and Sridevi's Malini Iyer could not make it big either.

New Year special

Television channels have lined up extravagant shows featuring popular stars, dance, music and even comedy to ring in the New Year.

Happy Channel Surfing!

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