Advertising and Entertainment

Advertising and Entertainment

FICCI2002

Walt Disney: "I'd rather entertain people and hope they learn rather than teach them and hope they get entertained."

David Ogilvy: "You can't bore people into buying your product."

Piyush Pandey, group president O&M, chose to kick of a well attended "Advertising & Entertainment" session on the concluding day of Frames 2002 with the above two quotes to stress that entertainment is an intrinsic facet of advertising.

Pandey detailed how advertising has progressed with storytelling being a core selling proposition just as in the movies. Content is overlapping in advertising and entertainment, Pandey said.

Pradeep Guha, president Times Group, spoke on advertising and entertainment from a marketing and clients' perspective. According to Guha, he saw a convergence of advertising and entertainment.

Arun Adhikari, executive director, Hindustan Lever spoke of how entertainment and business come together.
This was through:
1) Use of star in ads
2) Product placement in films
3) Sponsored shows

Referring to Lux soap (which always has had film stars promoting the product), Adhikari said some of the reasons why people use Lux is the same as why people see films - to escape into a fantasy world.

Product placement in films - a perfect example of this was the brand association BMW enjoyed in James Bond movies, Adhikari said. "There should be consistency over time. The real benefit comes when there is a sustained association," he added.