Missing stars back in limelight to add freshness to television ads

NEW DELHI: To those who have relished watching Amol Palekar in movies like "Golmaal" back in the 1970s, it is like taking a trip down memory lane. Palekar, who has been missing from the silver screen for quite sometime, can be seen asking a junior colleague to buy a Banarasi sari for his "better half" in an advertisement for Flipkart, frequently being shown during the ICC World T20 telecasts.
He is not the only actor from 'GenThen' who is peddling products on TVthese days. M K Raina, who made his debut as the hero with existentialist angst in Awtar Krishna Kaul's classic, "27 Down", and now occasionally plays the genial father as in "Aisha" (2010), can be seen in the latest, Chevrolet Cruze ad. In recent years, among other products, he has acted in a Tanishq jewellery ad too. Then there is Ramesh Deo, the character actor of Hindi cinema ("Anand", "Kasauti") and Marathi film hero, who has endorsed products such as Surf Excel (with Vidya Sinha, another popular actor of the 1970s) and Vijay Sales. "I have recently done an ad for Lufthansa, which is yet to be released," says Deo. It certainly helps that he owns Ramesh Deo Productions, which produces advertising an feature films. Last year, another actor Zarina Wahab (of "Chitchor" fame), was spotted in a promotional ad for Disney Channel.
Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network (South Asia), says that every celebrity is perceived to have certain values associated with his celluloid personality. "When a brand's value is similar to that of the celebrity endorsing it, then we have a perfect sync," says Bhasin.
In the Flipkart ad, Palekar plays a good-natured boss who's rather reluctant to get into e-commerce. "Right from his heydays, Amol Palekar has been known for his sincere, honest, young at heart, witty nature. We have cast him in our latest ad campaign as it truly embodies the personality that goes well with our brands. This is his first-ever advertising film and it definitely adds a lot of freshness to our campaign," says Shoumyan Biswas, vice-president, marketing, Flipkart.
Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands, says that these days agencies are opting for more character-driven, realistic faces rather than models. "A well-known face from the past also brings in a dash of nostalgic value and accounts for easier brand recognition. It increases the ad's conversation value too," he says. Biswas endorses that view.
He says, “At Flipkart, every campaign that we build, has a very real and relatable human story. With regards to the cast, we try to go for choices that do justice to the script.”
The actors are reticent about talking about their involvement with these projects. “You should talk to those who chose me for the ad,” says Palekar. Raina says, “The selection of a model has more to do with the marketing of a product. Strategically it would be something that appeals to the viewer.”