Thums Up placement in Kaante among Top 10: Campaign magazine

According to Campaign magazine's The Book of Lists: The 10 Top Product Placements in Features, dated December 17, 2002, cola brand Thums Up's placement in Reservoir Dogs-inspired Kaante is among the Top 10 in-film product placements. The placement finds itself at No 8 in a list that includes recent Hollywood blockbusters Minority Report, Spiderman and Die Another Day.

The list is headed by Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, which starred some 15 big brands - including Gap, Guinness, Lexus, Nokia, Pepsi and Amex. And Tom Cruise, of course. The 20th Bond flick, Die Another Day, is at No. 2 - courtesy strategic placements of Omega watches, Aston Martin, Philips cell phones, British Airways, Samsonite, Sony, Finlandia vodka, Bollinger, 7Up and Revlon, among others. With placements for the Jaguar XK8, BMW's new Mini Cooper, Pepsi, Heineken, Starbucks, Nokia, Taco Bell, Doritos, Subway, Applemac and AOL, Austin Powers in Goldmember is third-placed.

The latest celluloid version of Robert Ludlum's page-turner, The Bourne Identity, comes at No 4, while the second installment of The Men in Black (MIB-2) is next. Spiderman is at No 6, followed by canine caper, Scooby Doo. Then comes Kaante, with Blue Crush and Eight Crazy Nights rounding off the Top 10. Describing Thums Up's placement, the magazine makes a special mention of Leo Entertainment's (Burnett's entertainment subsidiary) role in the placement.

Expectedly, Sanjay Bhutiani, general manager, Leo Entertainment, is thrilled. "It feels great that the placement has worked and got noticed," he smiles. "I couldn't have asked for a better launch-pad for Leo Entertainment, considering this was our first project." Bhutiani reveals that when the project first came Leo Entertainment's way, there was a conscious desire to try something different. "When we heard the story, we realized that everything about Kaante was male, macho, independent and individualistic. And we immediately saw there was a perfect marriage with Thums Up and its brand values. Of course, we've done the placement in a very subtle way. But it has worked for the brand and the film. Thums Up-Kaante has been a great experience."

With Bhutiani scheduled to address Saturday's Ad Club seminar on marketing and entertainment, one just gets a feeling that one will hear more about the Thums Up-Kaante case study soon enough. © 2003 agencyfaqs!