Burnol ad on Aaj Tak during Ram Temple Bhoomi Poojan turns out to be fake — a lesson?

A purported image doing rounds on social media showing an advertisement on Hindi news channel Aaj Tak for Dr. Morepen’s product Burnol, which was allegedly placed during the coverage of the Ram Temple’s Bhoomi Poojan, created a stir online. While some found it to be funny, others questioned the placement of the ad and the message that has gone out.

Ambi Parameswaran

Ambi Parameswaran, Founder, Brand-Building.com, found the ad placement to be a disaster. “As someone who worked on the brand Burnol for five years in the 1980s, I would have never imagined this brand placement opportunity,” he said in a tweet.

However, it turned out that the purported image doing rounds on social media was fake. Aaj Tak being a big leader brand, so big that it is generic to the category, it gets vulnerable to such pranks.

This viral image is morphed!
Aaj Tak did not run any ad of the mentioned brand during the #RamMandir 'bhoomi pujan'.#AFWAFactCheck #FactCheck pic.twitter.com/kFlMGv9Pgi

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 6, 2020

BestMediaInfo.com asked experts what should a brand do to stop such accidental yet embarrassing placements on television.

According to a senior marketer from a leading FMCG brand, even if it was a coincidence, the brand has achieved a high number of mentions and recalls on social media.

“There are two ways of looking at it, one obviously saying how brands are doing this and there is the whole brand safety issue. However, another PoV is that this is an interesting brand placement because it is contextual to what is happening. However, I feel it was mostly coincidental. I guess even the brand wouldn’t have thought there would be images of the havan with their ad. This was an event that caught a large number of eyeballs across the nation. The advertising band could actually have been placed anywhere in between the programme. The brand benefitted with conversations having topped the roof and top-of-mind recall has been achieved,” the marketer said.

The marketer said such incidents should be avoided because sentiments are involved. “Typically ROs are given by brands to channels with regard to what kind of programming is to be avoided. However, this seems completely unforeseen."

Jai Lala

According to Jai Lala, Chief Operating Officer, Zenith, “Every brand has its guidance and that guidance is shared with the channel. This must be a case where the guidance was not shared. But all brands have their own levels of guidance like some wouldn’t want to advertise when an accident or a blast is reported. Even if it’s an ongoing campaign, they wouldn’t want their spots to appear during that programme.”

“On TV, something like this is very rare because it's a much more controlled medium. According to me, it’s a one-off case and brands are usually very cautious. Normally, the ads are scheduled in 90% of the cases, so you know where your spots are coming,” he said.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com