Players: Marketing Review

The Game Plan
An advantage of having the first Friday of the year is that all eyes are on your release. A disadvantage of having the first Friday of the year is that ALL eyes are your release. While the box-office dictates whether this day ends up jackpot or lemons, the marketing of Players didn't veer too far from this traditional hook. Abbas-Mustan's repute for crafting nail-biting thrillers was the tent-pole of the strategy. The action elements were amped up and occasional glimpses of the sex appeal were par for the course. 


Posters
The main creatives are classic Abbas-Mustan. Which translates into classic multi-starrer action film posters. 
The entire cast is walking towards the camera with a clear mission to 'Go For Gold'. Go for obvious, anybody!  The obviousness is further given a boost in the gold themed poster. Gold flecks fly around the ensemble cast as they look suitably cool & ready for the heist. Oh, and did I forget to mention - the characters are also daubed in gold. While direct is good sometimes, this poster does not cut it with the cliched posturing and preening. The element of double-crossing that is key to the film that this one is a licensed remake of , is not even hinted at. One can go with the premise that maybe they did not want to give too much away, but hey, The Italian Job was more of a double-cross plot than the execution of a heist. 

There is a teaser creative that does its bit well. Tease. A golden figure of a woman, literally & figuratively, lying tantalizingly is quite fantastic. It pulls you right in. There are a few variations of these as well, that served as teasers to some of the promos of the film. 

Promos
The theatrical trailer opens with Abhishek Bachchan's voiceover (on black) giving instructions on what it takes to be a big-time player. He ends it with the signature 'Go For Gold' credo. The theme song plays and you are thrown into the scene(s) of action. Between trains, under cars, over cars and rushing through snow-laden locales. No apologies. The various 'players' are introduced but vaguely. At this point, all you need to know is that they're cool & sexy. Nothing more, nothing less. A few shots of trains, blasts, car crashes and chases later, get your kicks from Sonam Kapoor giving the middle finger. This out there moment works for the promo. A few seconds of Bipasha Basu in a red-hot two piece comes a close second. The rest of the promos are somewhat generic. Sorry, Mini Coopers. 


There was also a hyped Sizzle video (refer to my post) released just 2 days prior to the release. That unfortunately was more of a fizzle. 


Music
There were four songs that were played on television, including the Players title track and one that was unintentionally funny aptly titled Buddhi Do Bhagwaan. Exactly my sentiments when I watched this one ! Except for the title track that achieved decent playout, the Players music didn't make a mark. Dismal for directors whose previous movies soundtracks have been blockbusters. Even turkeys like Naqaab & 36 China Town were music countdown favourites. 


Online
The movies official website is pretty easy to navigate. There are clickable links for "Profiles" which gives you a detailed description of the main characters. The description is accompanied by character stills and there's a box for trailers that is a constant link to the main promos and three songs. Surprisingly, the title track is not featured here. The "Profiles" section opens to Charlie's character after which you can select whose character sketch you want to view by clicking on their pictures which are at the bottom of the page. These pictures are an offshoot of the poster and not separate mughsots, which is kind of nice. 


The "Movie" page is pretty much a press note for the film and doesn't tell you anything that you wouldn't have already read in the media. The "Photos" page is a compilation of the character stills that are already present on the character-specific pages. The "Music" page gives you an option to listen to the songs of the film. 


The "Directors Speak" is a message from the directors about why they chose to remake The Italian Job, reason behind casting choices and shooting at the North Pole. There's also a disclaimer (ahem!) that the movie is not a scene by scene copy but has been 'masala'- fied for the Indian audiences. We all know what that's an excuse for !!


The "Be A Player" page has a game that has the 7 characters introducing 7 challenges which are mini-games in themselves. It makes for good timepass and you need to finish a challenge to get to the next level. There's also the 'Go For Gold' challenge and the link to the MTV Booty Call Players Only contest. 


Cross-Promotion
The tie-up with MTV resulted in the interesting sounding 'Booty Call' contest which meant a good amount of commercial time on the channel with the stars promoting the film. The contest in itself is quite a fun chase requiring the players to decipher clues to get to the gold. And what do you win for your efforts ? You guessed right. Gold! 


The film tied up with a couple of brands notably Morellato & MTS Energy. 


Overall
While the film and its cast were seen all over the place promoting the film, the marketing was lackluster and didn't really ramp up the standard in terms of action movie promotions.  The failure of the music to catch on & absence of any innovation in this campaign makes one go 'Eh' for most of it. On this one I am going for Oft-Told.


Release Date: January 6th, 2012
Studio: Viacom 18 

Players - Sizzle Video

Following a 3-day promotional campaign in newspapers, the Sizzle video from Players was simulcast on a number of television channels last night.

Since most of the Players trailers are just shots of gold biscuits and the grimacingly 'cool' burglars, an attempt has been made to structure this one a little differently. A quick montage of pencil sketch animation is quick to draw the 'oohs' but the rest of the promo sticks to "safe" territory. Umpteen glimpses of the safe of treasure, that is.

This video outlines the heist, giving you an idea of the why, what and who that the previous promos only hinted at. A sense of urgency is conveyed with characters counting down the time left for the main man - in this case, Abhishek Bachchan to successfully pull off the theft. Edited to the Players theme, the video is a one-minute gist of the premise of the film. Sonam Kapoor is the missing ingredient in this 'sizzler'.

The complete promo doesn't match up to the interesting opening and is fueled by some random action shots. Certainly doesn't justify the kind of promotion it had. The video doesn't seem likely to garner any new eyeballs - given the film was 2 days from release. (the day the promo hit).

Does Players make you wanna 'Go For Gold' ? Or does it make you wanna 'Go Away' ?
Drop me a line...

Players, produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and directed by Abbas-Mustan, releases on 6th, January 2012.

Rowdy Rathore: New Year New Look

Vintage is to Hindi cinema, as LBD is to a fashionista. That seems to be the current fad. Hand-painted and super -bright, the second poster of Rowdy Rathore sticks to the theme and is all the better for it. It is eye-catching and don't miss the timely 'Naya Saal Naya Maal' tagline.

The brains behind poster art in the industry seem to have gone for the overall impact rather than focus on specifics. The lead pair poses in a stance that graces umpteen Hindi film posters. Even, thriller Don 2 had one of these. 

This minor cliche aside, the funky colours make sure that the reader gives it a second dekko. The shades used to highlight the macho in Akshay's character and the blush in Sonakshi's character give it the depth that the rest of the creative doesn't allow. 

The vintage theme that began with the first creative looks likely to continue. It will be interesting to see the variations and of course, the taglines. 

What would you like to see next ? And what do you think of the vintage look ? Do drop me a line. 

Rowdy Rathore directed by Prabhudeva and co-produced by UTV Motion Pictures & SLB Films, is slated to hit the theatres on June 15, 2012

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu - First Look and Theatrical Trailor

Hindi cinema's long-term relationship with star studded Diwali dhamakas and glitzlily packaged Christmas goodies is well-documented. Of late there's been a Khan, or well, another Khan  luring you into spending your money at the multiplexes. The logic: Holiday cheer gets even the stingiest of families to loosen their purse strings. That probably explains why tripe like Blue, Main Aur Mrs. Khanna and Ra.One hitting theatres during festive season. The producers obviously hoped that the sub standard quality of the movies would go unnoticed, courtesy the happy occasion. 

Slowly but surely, Valentine's Day brouhaha is marking it's date in the Bollywood release calendar. It's a celebration for a lot of guileless youth who use this day not only to express their amorous feelings to each other but also  to commemorate them. Watching a date movie is a thing to do, just like buying cards, soft toys or flowers is. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, arriving around the 'season of hearts' is catering exactly to this audience. The ones who know every trick in the 'contemporary-lovers' category of date movies and STILL wouldn't mind watching it a thousand times again on screen ! The entire premise of opposites attract, (Jab We Met, Anjaana Anjaani, Break Ke Baad, to name a few), a drunken mistake of a marriage (What Happens In Vegas, Ross and Rachel in F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Hangover) and then falling head over heels for a person you simply can't stand - this film has got all of it. The theatrical trailor makes no bones about it. 

It opens with a brief montage edited vintage style of how couples did it (got married, I mean) in the black and white era and quickly goes into a shot of Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan in what is obviously a divorce lawyer's room. A voice, presumably the lawyer's asks them whether their marriage is a mistake. Both reply in the affirmative. While Kareena's character is cheerfully answering, Imran Khan's character maintains a solemn, unsmiling face. The rest of the promo is glimpses into how diametrically opposite  their characters are, the circumstances that led to the drunken marriage and a few shots  showing their eventually increasing affinity towards each other. Most of it focuses on the couple's chemistry, which is also one of the key pegs of this film's promotional campaign. The trailor is a mish mash of the banter between these two starkly different individuals. 

The trailor has all the trimmings of a Karan Johar work - colours, scale, an international landscape and a pair of good-looking leads. But the dialogues aren't as chuckle inducing as one would expect of this genre. It manages to hold your attention with the words 'sex' and 'bum' being uttered in casual conversation. These are clearly emphasized to enhance the positioning of the film as a take on  contemporary relationships. 

While the trailor hits theatres today with The Dirty Picture, there is a front-page article in Bombay Times and a full-page ad in HT Cafe. 

While the article primarily focuses on the fresh pairing of Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor, there is also a mention of how Imran is the youngest Khan to be paired with Kareena. Kareena has played leading lady opposite all the Khans, and this is another angle that the film makers are using to their benefit. 

The poster is  a breezy one, in keeping with the theme of the film. The look is fun, the colours are young and the enlarged pink frames add to the funky quotient. That the two of them see life differently is portrayed by the  their contrasting facial expressions. Kareena seems to be more open and almost flirting with life, while Imran seems petrified and a little confused.

It promises to be an extensive campaign, but with the content being an easy draw for the younger sections of the audience - this film may not need to pull out the stops for the initial set of movie goers. 

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, directed by Shakun Batra and co-produced by Dharma Productions and UTV Motion Pictures, is slated to release on February 10th, 2011.

Ra One Vs Don 2: Theatrical Promo

It’s been a lull, film marketing wise. Aarakshan stirred a hornet’s nest. Predictably, newsprint was wasted. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was about beautiful people doing beautiful things in beautiful places. Predictably, newsprint was wasted. Don’t get me wrong, there were loads of filmy happenings just nothing that I felt was worth documenting and that you wouldn’t already be aware of.

But to not be talking about Ra One and Don 2, would really defeat the purpose of this blog’s existence. SRK’s return to the big screen after a hiatus (during which the other two of the Khan triumvirate made their presence felt HUGELY) is no small deal. But while the denizens of the virtual world have been busy predicting which of these is going to spin better box-office figures, I am going to humbly stay away from placing bets and focus on what’s there right now – the first theatrical promos !!

Superhero flick, Ra One is going to be the first of the two films out in the theatres. Whether in 3D or not, that’s still up in the air. The official promo in 2D has been doing the rounds since April of this year. The trailor opens with producer credits to background music – a tune which screams signature seventies potboiler. More fitting for Don 2, one would suppose. Before you can register music or visual, a miniscule creature you can barely comprehend is leaping off buildings, flying through the sky and jumping between bogeys of a train. These scenes are interspersed with supers which read ‘This Diwali He is the only Protector’. The music has changed to something more in keeping with the genre, but is hardly noticeable. By the end of the trailor, we see Shahrukh Khan in a blue-black-silver bodysuit, establishing that he is not just a hero but a SUPER HERO. There are cars being flung into the air by the superhero, in the midst of which we see him crouching on the bonnet of a car whose windscreen has been smashed. Kareena Kapoor, shown along with a kid in the passenger seat, reaches out to caress our superhero’s face. Before anything else is revealed, there is an abrupt shot of Shahrukh Khan flexing his super hero-self. In the background, a car falls from above and a familiar voice says something that sounds a lot like ‘I’m all’. Tacky. 

Don 2 opens with some spectacular aerial shots of the landscapes, smoothly leading to the Don’s voiceover saying he is back. This co incides with some well put together extreme close-ups of the new look of Don. We now see silhouettes characteristic of him and his mannerisms, the voiceover continues. We know who he is, but the promo maintains a sense of mystery never showcasing his face – if not silhouettes or close-ups, we only see him from the back angle or long shots. The sense of familiarity is heightened with a pacier version of the signature music from part one. The promo is quick and gripping with a series of successive shots highlighting the chase for Don, the new and old characters in the film and a couple of action snippets. With a provocative snarl ‘Ab mujhe koi nahin rok sakta’, Don departs.


While both movies Ra One and Don 2 are going for the same effect, slick, uptempo, cool and edgy – clearly only one of them gets it right. 


Ra One is a promo that showcases very little, not in a way that would arouse curiosity but in a way that leaves you with a ‘What’s new?’ feeling. There is nothing that differentiates the SUPERHERO from our regular Hindi film action hero. Hell, Don looks like he could kick harder ass than this guy.


 Don 2, on the other hand, creates enough curiosity for the sequel even while establishing the setting. The background score and the stylized editing is in sync with the action thriller genre of the film. It sticks to the basics and delivers what is expected.


Ra One would do better to ramp up the basics – too much is happening and nothing is being said. Don 2 has the easier job a) it’s the sequel of a smash hit b) it’s not sci-fi , in establishing itself. 




Hmmm, maybe Chhammak Chhallo will take care of our superhero's teething problems !




Ra One is slated to release on 26th October 2011. 

Don 2 is slated to release on 23rd December 2011

Singham First Look: Trailor & Poster

While we're on angry (not so) young men, the first look trailor for Singham was out on pretty much the same day as the Ghayal Returns trailor.

On first glance, the key elements from the Dabangg theatrical trailor are to be found tough rustic cop, cop vehicles lined up in army rank fashion, rising sun, most importantly the larger than life savior of the people beating up the goondas that sweet Tamil pulp fiction would applaud. And of course, uptempo background score that only signals doom for those who dare to defy Singham. My favourite part of the promo: the end of it. Not being sarcastic, it is pretty neat when Singham kicks a villain already on the ground. Kicks him all the way to a police barricade with such brute force, that the metal barricade does a 360 degree turn to reveal the release date of the film.

Honestly, this is just a modified version of the Dabangg theatrical. But originality be damned, for the trailor is  being lapped up on YouTube with 106, 215 views even as we speak.

For those of you who are still interested, the first look is out in Bombay Times and HT Café as well.

 A simple one-sheet caricature which shows Ajay Devgan as Bajirao ‘Singham’ the cop comparable to a lion. He is shown as ferocious (and glum) with a caricature of a lion above his head albeit in softer shading. The colour scheme is brick-red with subtle hints of orange and a blingy brown title. Arrgghhh, no more Dabangg-ifying please !! (especially if the shades do not sport lit-up heart shapes in them)

Ghayal Returns Teaser Trailor :1990 Angry Young Man Redux

Now that Dabangg has given every A-list hero a good reason to be angry (on-screen, of course), the original fire-breathing, common man who is out to avenge his brother’s death in Ghayal (1990), is back with Ghayal Returns (what else).

The trailor opens with 2 memorable dialogues juxtaposed from different scenes from the original which features Sunny in one of his angriest diatribes against the police. ‘Uthaakar phenk do yeh vardi, aur pehen lo Balwant Rai ka patta apne galey mein, you b****ards !!’  (Throw away your police uniform and wear Balwant Rai’s leash around your neck, you b***ards !!).The Filmfare and National Awards Jury were bowled over. Existing Ghayal fans will identify, and its catchy enough for those who were too young to have caught it.  This is followed by a menacing, grandiose background score warning of the power to be unleashed in the next few seconds where we see that the man behind bars spewing vwnom at the cops is now a cop himself.

The next few shots simply show how Sunny: the cop - deflects a bullet at gunpoint and punches the baddies. All in slo-mo, magnifying the impact of every drop of blood and sweat that oozes from the villains. The promo ends with him in the classic Ghayal pose – his fist up next to his face, ready to punch the next bad ‘un. (pic below).

The tagline in the promo reads ‘the wounded who will tear the world apart…..’  Strange, considering the tagline of the first one was the same but in past tense!

The Deols who were uptil recently known to be shy when it came to facing the media and promoting their upcoming releases, till Yamla Pagla Deewana happened, to be precise have not only been quick to realize the power of marketing but have utilized it in full-force to unveil the teaser trailer of the sequel to the award-winning action drama.

The trailor was uploaded on The Deols official YouTube channel on the midnight of June 2^nd and also shared on their official Facebook fan page, which is barely two weeks old. The teaser was preceded by a video of Sunny Deol  on the YouTube channel telling his fans that he was back and telling (erm… commanding them) to ‘Like It’ and comment on it (but only good ones !).  The video was rather stern and stoic Sunny paaji-ishtyle and just the beginning. 

A  Bombay Times front page interview (two days after the trailor went up) with Sunny speaking on Ghayal Returns and more specifically the teaser would have reached a much wider audience. (At the time of publishing this post, the teaser had 51, 645 views – huge!)

The marketing push is well-coordinated across mediums and has worked in getting the views for the teaser. On the downside, am not sure how far the nostalgia element will work in this genre considering there are too many ‘angry men against the system’ these days. Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap, Singham, Force – anyone? Plus, the fact that it’s called Ghayal Returns is really not helping.

Ghayal Returns directed by Ashwini Chaudhary and produced by Vijayta Films is slated to release in 2012.

We Want To Know: Is it just us or does the name Ghayal Returns make you want to look the other way too? Or can’t wait for what’s up ahead of the teaser?