Anyone watching ‘Indian Idol’
‘Indian Idol’ campaign reaches last leg
The clash of the titans has reached to its final lap. Adrenaline levels are high between the two finalists with Rahul Vaidya being voted out in the February 18 episode and also among viewers. Indian Idol on Sony is all set to reach its climax and with that the channel is leaving no stones unturned to make a splash across the media to capture viewer’s attention. The campaign with the tag line of ‘Sab Kuch Bhula De’ is now urging viewers to vote for the first Indian Idol. A 360 degree marketing campaign, which includes print, radio, cable, television, online, outdoors, direct marketing and consumers connect activities has been an integral part of the show. Inflatable sky balloons, walking inflatables, bus-backs, backlit balloons are some of the innovative tools being utilised to fuel the buzz.
The last phase of the Indian Idol advertising campaign has the three finalists’ on their mark on a piano keyboard. Now, with Vaidya out, his picture on the hoarding will have the sticker - ‘Voted Out’. The tag line on the hoarding ‘Kaun Hoga Aapka Indian Idol?’ will change to ‘Abhijeet ya Amit? Kaun Hoga Aapka Indian Idol?’ The final campaign will be rolled out in key cities of India like Mumbai, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Lucknow and Kanpur.
Commenting on the campaign, SET vice president marketing and communications Tushar Shah says, “The current campaign of Indian Idol signifies and embodies the spirit of competition. A competitive spirit that is so prevalent in sports worldwide. The idea of this campaign is to showcase this spirit in the run up to the finale of the Indian Idol competition.” To create a further buzz, the two finalists will be doing rounds of Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad in a typical election campaign trail from February 27 to March 01.
The activity was carried across Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata in a total of 70,000 outlets. The promotions for the same started from January 28, wherein, highly visible posters and danglers along with on-air contest promos were kicked off.
This time round too, the channel churned out unconventional ways to create an on-ground buzz for the show.
Apart from that, the Indian Idol website - www.indianidolonset.com - has been abuzz with activity providing people with streaming video footage, photographs, the on-stage drama, backstage gossip, previews, opinion polls, contestants’ profiles etc. It’s a matter of a couple of weeks now before the first ever Indian Idol is chosen and the excitement coupled with apprehension among the final two has reached the nail biting stage. The question on everyone’s lips will be - ‘Abhijeet ya Amit? Kaun Hoga Indian Idol?’
Rahul Vaidya who is out of the reckoning had a voice quivering with emotion. Rahul says he is clueless what went wrong with him in the recent episode. “I accept people’s verdict with humility. I think I should have made it, but that’s life. Now, may the best candidate win,” he says philosophically.
The two running neck and neck in the race are nervous. Almost biting his nails hard, Amit Sana asks, “What is it that you want to ask me when I am walking on the thinnest portion of the long rope I have traveled across so far?”
“I was confident that I would come this far. But there’s a big difference in feeling about it and having actually achieved it,” he adds.
Sana claims that he is clueless about the bets that are being placed all over the country about who is going to capture the Indian Idol crown. “We are locked up in our hotel. We hardly read anything. It hardly matters to me. I am getting good sleep,” he says with a shrug.
Sana, who, not so long ago, was tipped to win the coveted prize, was the third favourite (6/1) in recent episode. "It hardly matters, " he shrugs. “But if you say that, it has made me even more determined.” So far, the contestants have chosen the song according to their whims and fancies. But in the final round, the judges - Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam - will have the final say.
On the other hand, dark horse Abhijit Sawant, whose cool and affable persona seems to have won him a few extra points, was the first favourite for recent episode (5/2).
Sawant, however, does not claim surprise over the betting. “I heard something about people gambling on us. That explains that the programme has become a rage,” he chuckles. “I think we both have our strengths and weaknesses. After the entire filtration has been done, now we both will have to hold our nerve. The one who will perform the best when it counts the most will win,” he adds after a short pause. The buzz now is, superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be the celeb judge for the grand finale. Remember, you heard it here first!
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