Pop-culture references in ads can only do good when used as a device and not as idea

In a field as diverse and dynamic as the ad world where brands neither shy away from doing ‘great’ storytelling nor picking on any ‘moment marketing’ trend, what is gaining traction today is the brands’ bet on the usage of a pop-culture reference. While, in certain cases, this approach works wonders, it also runs the risk of failing to resonate with modern audiences."

Be it bringing back Munna Bhai MBBS’ iconic duo- Circuit and Munnai Bhai after two long decades or Lagaan’s Kachra on screen, recreating legendary dialogues like Sunny Deol’s ‘Taarikh pe Taarikh’ or even redeveloping scenes from recent bolly hits like Jawan and starring SRK alongside Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor for ad campaigns, brands are leaving no stones unturned to make a hit.

While this is not an entirely new concept to the ad world, it is not just another fleeting trend that brands have picked up on in the past few months. Hence, BestMediaInfo.com took it upon itself to understand what is whipping up brands’ interest in pop-culture-based ad campaign rollouts and what it really means for the industry.

Prateek Malpani

Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com, Prateek Malpani, Head of Brand and Media, Wakefit, who apparently penned down a LinkedIn post on the same lines, stated that the rationale behind brands picking on the bandwagon of pop culture references, increasingly, is having an already ‘ready’ audience who has connected to the characters, dialogues, situations, etc. before which is why there is a strong memory structure built around it and that is precisely what brands intend to associate with.

“With that memory node that pre-exists in people’s long-term memory, associating the brand with the same leads to the brand being remembered in the now. It’s the easiest way to break the clutter and get noticed with a ready-made creative device that people already recognise and remember,” he said.

He also mentioned that the insight behind using pop-culture references in ad campaigns is the same as the one that goes into the making of remakes, spoofs and remixes.

And therefore, in his view, just like them, the ad campaigns also have a fair chance to work in some cases where the situation and characters land seamlessly into brand propositions, but the path to memory decay might be faster as the novelty dies down sooner, given the familiarity with the device.

Ajay Gahlaut

Sharing his views on the same, Ajay Gahlaut, ex-Group CCO, Dentsu Creative India, on the other hand, emphasised that using pop culture references in advertising is as old as advertising itself. He regarded it as a conventional marketing approach, just like any other.

“Using mimicry artists for film stars’ voices in radio spots, inserting Bollywood songs as a soundtrack in commercials, spoofing iconic film scenes are all examples of that,” he said.

But having said that, he shared the viewpoint that these days the case is such that most brands depend almost entirely on celebrity-endorsed marketing campaigns and that celebrities seem to have become central to most marketing activity.

“In a sea of sameness, this trend is an attempt to add some differentiation. It’s like the brand is saying, ‘Look, we are not using celebrities. We are using characters played by celebrities,” he said.

And in doing so, he highlighted that brands do add a thin veneer of entertainment to the communication, but basically, it’s just old wine in a new(ish) bottle.

“Of course, the use of pop culture tries to leverage familiarity in order to increase engagement. However, if not done well, familiarity can often breed consumer contempt. Or worse, indifference,” he said.

Furthermore, he also added that all good marketing communication requires a compelling central idea and that the usage of celebrities or a ‘strategy’ of using pop culture is not a substitute for it. It is merely an executional element, which, in the absence of an idea will lead to wallpaper advertising and ultimately, a colossal waste of money.

Agnello Dias

Taking it up from here was brand consultant, Agnello Dias, aka Aggy, who propounded that pop culture piggy-backing is mostly a shortcut to build salience or familiarity.

“With the cost of prime time media and the insane clutter even in the digital space, not all brands have the budgets to actually build their own self-generated engagement properties. So it’s much easier for a quick in-and-out kind of brand interjection to use already-popular characters, scenarios or set-ups, to hitch their brand wagon on,” he said.

This in his views, is not really an ‘approach’ in the strictest sense of the word, but a smart creative gimmick that creators have resorted to from time to time over the decades.

“It’s just got a cool nomenclature now so we tend to slot it easily. I don’t think it’s sustainable in the long run. It’s more or less like using a pun,” he added.

Citing one of the early examples of this phenomenon, he pegged that one of the brands that really drove pop-culture referencing for a sustained period of time to good effect was MTV, later Channel V.

“Though at that time it was called a ‘spoof’. They really spoofed everything and anything for a long time. Glucose D’s Gabbar ki asli pasand were one of the earliest examples of pop culture that one can remember,” he stated.

Kushal Sanghvi

Kushal Sanghvi, Head- India and Southeast Asia, CitrusAd, also accentuated that there has always been a very large connection between Bollywood and Brands and therefore the latter has been utilising the former for too many years now, but today, what’s happening is that when these stars have increased their prices by 3x-5x, there are only some brands who are able to leverage them owing to the kind of marketing spend and muscle they have.

“In the kind of digital space that we live in today, there's plenty of content that one needs to make including social media posts and short-form content, which is why roping in a star for every piece is almost obnoxious and only a Pepsi or a Unilever can afford that, honestly. Hence,  what’s happening is that brands are capitalising on certain moments or particular films for pop culture references since it still is a more cheaper and viable option from a short shelf life pov,” he said.

Additionally, he also emphasised that many times, the brands even though using pop culture references from any movie, say x for example, don’t end up paying the makers of the film or anybody else. However, in the case of a more conscious and thoughtful brand, people do seek permissions and pay royalties for the pop-culture reference being used.

He also mentioned that before picking up on any xyz pop-culture reference or character certain things that brands keep in mind is whether or not a very large percentage of people watched the film. It is owing to this that the references are mostly picked from Bollywood cinema rather than OTT content since it is very niche.

“Today a lot of digital-first or new-age companies have their own in-house content teams working on their content which is why not much emphasis is given on the production value, permissions, etc. because it is all about cutting corners. But, the way to make it even smarter is by trying to create the content in a way, keeps in mind the brand’s target audience, and not just approach it as a shortcut or getting a freekick or just some laughs economically, but by really thinking it through and building it as a CSR initiative or giving it its legs and wings,” he said.

Commenting on the cons of using such references all the more today, Wakefit’s Malpani pointed out that the biggest risk associated with such campaigns is that of people remembering the device more than the brand and intended communication which is why the ad makers don’t want to overdo it. Brands also need to be careful that the core purpose is not lost in the pursuit of making an ad that provides entertainment value.

To this, Gahlaut also added that while there is a tendency amongst marketers to follow what seems to be a winning formula (remember Cred?), it is only natural that everyone is giving it a shot.

But what they fail to realise, as per him, is that once the novelty of the approach wears off, every campaign seems to be the same, and that is something which is to be avoided at all costs.

“A smart marketer will do the opposite of whatever is the trend as standing out in the clutter is the first responsibility of the marketing team. In fact, the best advertising does not use pop culture as a crutch, it makes one of its own,” he said.

Hence, in his opinion, one cannot depend purely on pop culture to create an emotional connection with consumers because it is a brand with a strong central idea and a unique and authentic tone of voice which makes people vibe with them.

Citing some examples to back his viewpoint, he mentioned, “The wacky characters ‘Ramesh and Suresh’ in the 5-star commercials became stars on their own. ‘Murthy’ the character created for the Voltas air conditioners’ campaign became a big hit and took Voltas to the number one position in their category.”

Similarly, he also pointed out that ‘Ted Lasso’ the famous character in the web series of the same name was actually created for an ad campaign. But, the ads became so famous that the makers decided to create a TV show around the character.

Striking a similar tone, Sanghvi also mentioned that in his opinion, the brands don’t plan to roll out campaigns based on pop-culture references on mainline mediums since the start, mostly, and therefore post it as an experiment on social media and then convert it into a 360-degrees campaign seeing the success of it.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com