Bollywood viral fever

In the parched village of Champnagar, in a year long before independence, England's Captain Russell challenges the dhoti-clad Babban to a cricket match. "If you lose, your villagers will have to pay three times the tax," barks the British officer. "Teen guna lagaan," he repeats, flaring his nostrils while an undeterred Sanjay Dutt aka Babban shoots back, "But if we win, you don't get a thing, Mamu." Among Babban's chosen 11 are a welding-helmet-toting Shah Rukh, a slanting Mithun Chakraborty, a shirtless Salman Khan and an invisible Anil Kapoor, who can only be seen through infra-red surfaces. Together, they have to chase a daunting total of 532.

Before the last ball, off which 'Champ'nagar needs six runs to win, Captain Russell's accented challenge flashes through batsman Babban's mind. It makes him narrow his eyes, furrow his brow and loft the ball resolutely into the air. It's caught just in time by the fielder, whose feet, however, are behind what could be the table-turning boundary line. Unfortunately, when the camera zooms out, it turns out to be the bowler's crease. Despite losing, 'Champ'nagar has reason to rejoice. Babban shoves insurance papers in Captain Russell's face instead of three times the tax money. "This is what I call triple benefits," he says. "These life, health and pension insurance schemes—all have tax-saving benefits."

Even companies, like the one that commissioned this remarkable animation rehash of Aamir Khan's legendary film, can boast of 'triple benefits'. After all, they don't have to pay high-profile actors, travel to exotic locales or hire expensive shooting equipment to create such viral videos—the latest online marketing rage. These videos (chiefly animation) rely on internet sharing, typically through social networking sites and email, for mileage. Increasingly, everyone from banks, insurance companies, job portals, movies and even television serials seem to be leveraging these interactive online commercials, which at approximately Rs 5 lakh apiece, cost much less than a television promo.

In many of these videos, humour is a vital ingredient that is supplied largely by the all-encompassing Indian entertainment staple called Bollywood. They thrive on erstwhile celluloid clichés—ailing mother, devoted son, sister in distress and other embodiments of pathos. Caricatured characters from Sholay, Deewar, and even Rajnikanth, whose dialogues are mouthed by radio jockeys and voiceover artists, feature generously. "These are safe bets—they have a reference to context and the trick is to have a twist in the tale," says Raj Menon, COO, Contests2Win.com, a portal that has created around 30 viral videos so far including Beta No 1 which traces the travails of a doting son who saves his deathbed-ridden mother with the promise of a health insurance.

"The internet promises an excellent quality of interaction where customers themselves are media planners. They will forward it if they like it," says Amish Tripathi, national head, marketing and product management, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance, who has even used a viral video to promote his personal venture—a book on Indian god Shiva's philosophy. The Tamil viral Boss Ka Boss got IDBI Fortis at least 15 per cent clickthroughs (clicks on the links to the website which appears at the end of the video). Here, Rajnikanth, who is saving up for his 'mother's eye operation' is challenged to a game of marbles by the local extortionist. After displaying an electrifying game of marbles, some gravity-defying gunshots and the ability to split a speeding bullet into two, the Tamil superstar concludes, "Bad luck don't affect me. I have kismat-proof wealth insurance. Mind it."

Among other notable Bollywood virals are Monster.com's 'Caught in the wrong job?' video which shows Sholay's Thakur as a hapless cricket umpire and Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund's Polishwala, where Amitabh is a shoeshine boy who refuses to pick up coins that clients chuck at him.

The making of such videos—a trend that began roughly two years ago—is simple. Typically, the brand gives the agency its brief and asks it to come back with a concept. Once approved, animators, illustrators and programmers are roped in. "The voiceover artists get so much into the act that they mimic not just the voice of the actor but also his mannerisms," chuckles Ajay Kakkar, chief marketing officer, Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group.

The key to a good viral is to keep it short and comprehensive. "If humour cannot be used to convey a message, then it's imperative to make the plot of the video interesting enough to compel the viewer to hit the share button," says Carlton D'Silva, creative director, Hungama Digital Media, which worked on a viral with Aamir Khan for Ghajini. When compared to static print ads, outdoor banners or even television commercials, these virals, with their innate ability to excite and interact with users, enable brands to create a high recall value. "The 'forward to friend' option is a subtle tactic to spread the buzz while converting users to seeding agents who become a part of the brand-building exercise," reveals Nishi Kant of Webchutney, a digital marketing agency, whose Chitthi Aayi Hai viral for Microsoft has been viewed over 7,50,000 times.

Although Bollywood is the number one motivational guru, India's other religions— mythology and cricket—supply a fair number of storylines too. Idea is running an underground cricket campaign by creating viral films like Gurugadbad. It shows lord Arjun's mentor Dronacharya's class in progress. When Eklavya, his clandestine student, emerges from nowhere, he is pitted against Arjun in an impromptu archery competition. When Eklavya displays more proficiency than Arjun, Dronacharya asks Eklavya to sacrifice his right thumb as gurudakshina. Just then, though, something makes Eklavya decide against gratifying his mentor. "If I give you my finger, how will I play oongli cricket?" he reasons.