Have you seen your favorite movie character from your early years trying to sell you a travel package, a phone, or insurance? It appears that’s the latest thing in the advertising business.
Celebrities playing characters from their past films in advertisements to support different products have become more common in India. Some extremely well-known characters—some could even argue iconic—are being brought back for marketing purposes.
Has anyone not seen Jab We Met? Who doesn’t adore “Geet,” either? The strong and lovely “Sikhni of Bhatinda” persona, played by Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, is the focus of the latest advertisement from online vacation booking company Goibibo.
Reenacting her well-known sequence from the movie, in which Kapoor surfs around her university grounds and rates the males she passes by, is visible. She is, of course, rating hotel rooms here. This artistic endeavor is not exclusive to the trip booking brand.
Consider ‘Munna Bhai’ and his crony ‘Circuit’. Both of the popular movie Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. characters were spotted last year promoting insurance for the insurance provider ACKO. To make ACKO’s Platinum Health Plan easier to understand and market, both performers donned their vintage movie shoes.
Or how about the viral Wake Up Sid rendezvous being utilised for OPPO commercials? The smartphone brand gathered the cast of the 2009 film, including the stars Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma, in its Sid Wakes Up in Goa campaign in January 2024, for the launch of the OPPO Reno 11 series.
Speaking of Ranbir Kapoor, his entire filmography is incomplete without the mention of his iconic character from the film Rockstar, ‘Janardan Jakhar’, “JJ for short”. Such is the appeal of this film and this character, that Rungta Steel, a B2B brand, decided to onboard it for its promotional purposes in February 2024.
The ad film also features actors Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan, who are playing their on-screen avatars from Gangubai Kathiawadi and Raees.
Another notable entry in this list of fiction-led advertising is UPI Chalega’s recent ad featuring the infamous ‘Vasooli Bhai’ from the comedy blockbuster Golmaal: Fun Unlimited.
