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A slew of brands is set to run the box office race with Farhan Akhtar starrer Bhaag Milkha Bhaag , which releases on Friday.
Amul, Monte Carlo, adidas, Royal Enfield, Garnier, Emami, Air India and Getit, among others, are piggybacking on the movie either through in-film brand placements or co-branded promotions.
The movie is a biopic on the life of Milkha Singh, the first Indian athlete to win an individual Gold at the Commonwealth Games, in 1958. He was also among the four athletes who broke the world record in the 400 metres in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is slated for a wide release and could hit about 2,000 screens on the opening day.
Milk, shoes and a bike
Several companies are taking a leaf out of the Flying Sikh’s life to promote their brands.
For instance, Amul is leveraging the fact that Singh ran his first cross-country race after he joined the Army, and got a glass of milk as reward. Singh was known to have worn adidas shoes for the races, which got the brand to associate with the movie.
Shaji Koshy, Senior Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Royal Enfield, said the film-makers were keen to use the company’s bikes as Singh rode a Royal Enfield motorcycle during his army days. “The movie and the brand are connected at several levels and we see merit in leveraging this partnership,” he said.
Others such as Birla Life Insurance and Revital are riding on the inspirational message from the athlete’s life through co-promotions.
Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group-Financial services, said Singh’s life story was about the challenges he faced and how he fought back, something with huge synergy for the company.
Sundaram Stationery has come out with nearly 10 lakh notebooks havingMilkha covers.
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, the co-producers, began promoting the movie as early as November last year. Rudrarup Dutta, Head of Marketing and Operations, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said that the reason behind the early start was to educate youngsters and the audience about Singh’s achievements. “A lot of brands saw the opportunity to associate with the inspiring story,” he said.
Dutta believes that even overseas, the movie will establish a connect beyond the Indian diaspora and second-generation Indians.
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