Laughter Chefs defies the soft ad market: Alok Jain

New Delhi: Amid advertisers preferring digital medium for high-impact properties, Alok Jain, Head of Cluster, Entertainment (Colors, Digital Hindi, Niche, Movies, and Studio), JioStar, said Laughter Chefs continues to rule both television and digital mediums.

“The audience in India is not separate cohorts. We all consume content on different mediums, depending on what the mood is, what the requirement is, or what part of the day it is,” Jain said. 

According to Jain, India is more of a family-based society than an individualistic society. “I am very bullish that TV and digital will co-exist,” Jain said. 

As per the data provided by the broadcaster, combining both seasons, the show has hit 211 million viewers who have watched the show on Colors. On Jio Cinema and JioHotstar, 27 million viewers have watched the show, with 500 million views and 157 million watchtime hours.

Building upon creating a “mass product,” Jain explained the show's strategy to onboard macro-influencers such as Elvish Yadav and Abdu Rozik. This creates a synergy across the audience that is consuming content behind different screen sizes and/or platforms.

With looming economic uncertainties and fluctuating market sentiments, the broader advertising landscape is facing challenges. In such a soft environment, Laughter Chefs is comparatively buoyant in terms of viewership and advertisers' interest. 

When asked about advertisers’ interest, Jain admitted comedy being a difficult genre to crack. “There have been 9 to 10 shows in the last decade that did not work,” he pointed out. Certainly, the skepticism among the advertisers was natural.

Despite the lingering skepticism, the show has derived a “clear uptick in advertisers’ interest,” Jain claimed. 

One of the prominent reasons for the show doing well on TV and digital, according to Jain, is the limited supply of content like Laughter Chefs. 

While answering a query on challenges around onboarding advertisers, Jain stated, “Currently, our show is experiencing relatively fewer challenges due to the limited availability of comparable content in the market. The supply of family-friendly, genre-specific programming that maintains a hygienic and healthy standard is exceptionally scarce.” 

Laughter Chef Season 2 onboarded 14 sponsors, on both TV and digital. These are Rajdhani Besan, Catch Masala, Vikram Elaichi Tea, JK Lakshmi Cement, Coco Cola Company, KRBL Ltd. (India Gate), Dharampal Satyapal Foods Ltd. (Pulse), Finolex Cables, Envy Deodorant & Pour Home Air Freshener, Raider, Berger Paints, Kellogg's, Nirma, and Zydus.

Laughter Chefs is built on the same principles as Bigg Boss, stated Jain; roughly 40 cameras work to transform the show into its final product; the show invites people from “all walks of life; and it works on a little script rather than the entire show based on it.