Prajjal Saha
Media

Dysfunctional horror: The theme for MTV Immies 2004

The event has been scheduled for December 10 and will be simultaneously aired on MTV and Sony Entertainment Television on December 19

"MTV has been known to do things with a difference," says Vikram Raizada, marketing head, MTV India. Even for this year's Immies awards, MTV has chosen a unique theme and that is dysfunctional horror blended with humour. This means that the stars and artistes performing at the event will be dressed either like vampires or like ghosts. And with Indian horror movies turning out to be comedies more often than not, the theme seems just right for the channel.

Last year's Immies was based on the concept of 'Lights, Camera and Music' and every performer was dressed in the Yarana style ? that is, they turned out in variations of the famous bulbed costume that Amitabh Bachchan wore in the movie.

This year's event has been scheduled for December 10 and will be simultaneously aired on MTV and Sony Entertainment Television on December 19. The event will see the coming together of well-known singers of Bollywood and from Pakistani music groups. For instance, Hariharan will perform with the Pakistani music band Strings and Shaan will accompany Pakistani band Fuzon, which is known for its synthesis of eastern classical melodies and western rock. Similarly, Punjabi pop singers will perform with Montreal maestros, Josh. Among Bollywood stars expected to perform at the event are Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan and Priyanka Chopra.

Raizada says, "The entire promotional campaign has been divided into three phases. The first phase of the campaign will promote the event, the second phase the voting and the third phase is to invite viewers to the channel."

The theme of dysfunctional horror is also reflected in the promos and on-ground activities conceived around the show. For instance, an ad campaign to promote voting has Sushmita Sen and Daler Mehndi dressed up like ghosts admonishing, 'Vote Karna Varna...'. As part of the below-the-line activities the channel has organised roadshows where professional dancers showcase their interpretation of the dysfunctional horror theme.

Raizada adds, "Our target group is 15-34 and we have chalked out strategic points were we can reach them." Voting forms were distributed at more than 90 Barista outlets in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Chennai and also through music stores. In a clever move the channel printed its message on the back of Citibank credit card statements. The bank statement reached 1.2 lakh MTV Citibank Card members.

© 2004 agencyfaqs!

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