Star One has rolled out an interesting marketing plan for the third season of ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ by branding BMC garbage bins and vans
Do not be surprised if you are in Mumbai and find the neighbourhood dustbin or garbage vans preaching an ‘un-filthy’ message. The vans have been branded with messages such as ‘Don’t spread filth and old jokes’ and ‘Keep the environment clean, do not spread old jokes’ in Hindi. The fact is that Star One has tied up with BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) to brand its garbage vans and dust bins in order to promote its comedy show.
‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ in its third avatar is all about “fresh new jokes”. This is the third season of the laughter challenge and Star One is making attempts to attract attention ‘phir se’. Its marketing initiatives are screaming out loud across various platforms in Mumbai.
The first television commercial that went on air on as a part of this campaign pushed the message ‘Naye jokes, naye talent (New jokes, new talent)’. The TVC was launched weeks before the show’s launch on May 18. The tie-up with BMC is intended to further gather eyeballs for the comedy show, which has by now been imitated on various channels.
Also, a few bandaged men are moving around Mumbai, looking injured, with a message on them saying, ‘Purane jokes sunanewale ki yehi sazaa (This is the punishment for cracking old jokes)’.
In cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai, laughter vans are plying at strategic locations to conduct ‘laughter check-ups’ and make ‘laughter dosage recommendations’. People dressed as doctors identify the funny bone in the audience and identify their laughter quotient, with the help of x-ray scanners, laugh-o-meters and joke-o-meters.
Let’s hope Star One’s effort at lessening the challenge of entertaining its audience translates into good viewership numbers.