A seven-city roadshow, several high-decibel brand collaborations, scintillating trailers... Pushpa 2: The Ruleaced it not just at the box office but also on the marketing front. From Tata Tea to Uber to Beardo, brands rode on the Pushpa wave. itel mobile released a co-branded video with Pushpa 2 for its flagship A80 smartphone release, which went viral. Kalyan Jewellers launched a ‘Pushpa collection’, unveiled by Rashmika Mandanna. “Pushpa — naam chhota hai par sound bada hai,” goes a dialogue in the film. Indeed, the Allu Arjun starrer made a lot of noise with its brand partnerships.
Bhidu vs bae
Spotify’s year-end wrap ads tickled our funny bone. Conceptualised by Kulfi Collective, the teaser ads were witty, while the actual wrap ads had perfect comic timing. The entertaining film featuring Jackie Shroff and Ananya Pandey pitched them in two opposite camps — Team Bhidu and Team Bandhruh. The two actors mimicked each other to perfection with Ananya mouthing Jackie’s Bhidu dialogues, while he countered with Ananya’s viral soundbite — ‘I can touch my tongue to my nose’. The film closes with Jackie revealing his most streamed track of the year, which surprises Ananya totally.
Nostalgic spoof
YouTube India’s year-end ad film unleashes nostalgia — with a twist. The film brings together two iconic characters, Komolika and Prerna from the hit television series Kasautii zindagii ki. Urvashi Dholakia, who played Komolika, and Shweta Tiwari, who played Prerna, reprise their roles but minus their famous rivalry. Just when you expect a huge confrontation, Komolika turns to Prerna for styling advice, much to her surprise. The spoofy ad has slayed the Internet not just for its witty dialogues but also its sly commentary on television tropes.
Run, Khali, run
To mark the launch of CookieRun India, a specially crafted version of the game for Indians, Krafton India has launched a hilarious campaign created by agency tgthr. The ad film features wrestling legend The Great Khali, who announces that he is about to start running. The entire town goes into a frenzy hearing this news and people line up to watch him take off. But he just sits down and stares at his mobile phone. “Why are you not running,” he is asked. “But I am,” says Khali, pointing to Cookie Run.