Vega helmet, Eva deodorant, SanDisk, P&G’s Whisper, Daawat basmati rice, Manforce condom, Veeba ketchup, Parle Frooti, Milton tiffin box, Tide washing powder, 24 Mantra, and Amul milk. Even though these brands may not have much in common, Darlings, a dark comedy thriller on Netflix, gave each of them a frame or two worth of screen time.
Every other frame in the Alia Bhatt-starring movie has a brand hiding in the background, if you had the chance to watch it closely. Some brands seem to match the movie’s plot naturally, while others appear to be a major force-fit. For instance, Bhatt, who portrays a young homemaker residing in a South Mumbai chawl, may be seen using Kama Ayurveda hair oil in one of the scenes. Costing Rs 895 per 100 ml, it is a high-end product. As a result, it doesn’t go well in the character’s ensemble. Other items shown in Bhatt’s little home that appeared out of place were Tide washing powder, Daawat basmati rice, Milton tiffin boxes, and Veeba ketchup.
According to Tusharr Kumar, executive vice president of OML Entertainment the main determining criteria should be whether the brand placement is natural to the situation and whether it intentionally fosters audience relatability. The viewer can easily ignore a brand placement in an entertainment plot, continues Kumar.
According to Pranay Anthwal, the founder of Happy Lion, most companies and their creative teams use a clear brand positioning lens to determine when to partner with a film. He does, however, add that the real issue at hand is that brands also require knowledge of the film. The producers only rarely furnish brands with information; it can be as simple as a little scene. The entire script is never disclosed.
Filmmakers might choose a company they believe in as a solution to this problem. Key brands can receive a few crucial details from that agency, often under a non-disclosure agreement. However, this is not taking place as of now.
While the majority of brands in Darlings struggled to find an appropriate posture, a handful managed to blend in successfully. One such instance of seamless product placement has Bhatt and her on-screen husband, Vijay Varma, each having a Frooti at separate points in the scene. Both Manforce Condom and Eva deodorant appeared natural and fit quite well with the setting and characters in the film.
Anthwal cites Sui Dhaaga, starring Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma, as another instance of a strategic integration where Amazon Sellers’ partnership made sense. The platform inspires entrepreneurs to reach new heights, and it was an entrepreneur’s narrative. According to Ishan Naman Sinha, vice president of strategy at Supari Studios, the number of Indian visitors travelling to Spain increased by 65% in the year after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’s release. That’s the impact the brands look to have when initial discussion of their collaboration begins.
As per Abhimanyu Mishra from Brandfizz, brand integration isn’t a phenomenon that has just struck. In the 80s, the plot of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial required that Elliot, the protagonist, use candy to entice his alien friend. The producers asked Hershey’s to use Reece’s Pieces, and the chocolate company agreed, pledging $1 million to support the film’s promotion. Hershey’s also received exclusive entitlement to use E.T in its own advertisements. Furthermore, just as with any other branding initiative, it is critical that marketers and brand managers have a practical means of gauging the success of their efforts to change consumer opinion of their brand, he adds.
