When Godzilla, Spiderman and Wolverine participated in the Bangalore Marathon

To promote STAR Movies HD, STAR India decided to use the marathon platform innovatively.

People were seen running as fast as their feet could take them -- but, this was not because of the huge Godzilla right behind! The World 10K Bangalore Marathon that took place on Sunday, June 5, saw participation from more than just the 22,000 runners. The event also saw the presence of Spiderman, Wolverine and characters from the movie Avatar.

To promote STAR Movies HD (High Definition) that was launched on April 15, STAR India, the channel partner for the event, decided to use the marathon platform innovatively.

Mudra Max's ambient OOH (out of home) solutions unit StreetSmart was given the mandate to create clutter-breaking and unique visibility for STAR Movies HD, using a mix of giant cut-outs, standees and hoarding signages to convey the message -- 'Hollywood Heroes in Asli HD. Cheer the Marathon Heroes.'

StreetSmart identified a few major movies to be aired on STAR Movies in June, and created an innovation theme by deploying a series of displays along the marathon route. Multiple larger-than-life displays were created to highlight the movies. The idea was to build brand connect, and drive perceptions.

For the movie Godzilla, a huge 25 ft tall dinosaur display was created at the main Queen's Statue junction. The Godzilla image was particularly selected to portray the illusion of the creature stepping on the road. The idea was to utilise the huge crowd of running participants, to create a visual illusion of people scurrying away from the huge creature.

For the movie Spiderman 3, an 8 ft double-sided 3D Spiderman display, facing the marathon participants, was suspended from a tree in the middle of the road.

A third display was created for X-Men, where the character Wolverine was seen on a hoarding alongside the famous Wolverine slash mark on the flex, creating an impression that the character had scratched through the hoarding sign.

About 50 innovative displays featuring Neytiri, the female Na'vi' from the movie Avatar, were also placed along the marathon route. These were 6 ft tall units placed in succession at eye level, just next to the marathon route. All the innovations prominently carried the STAR Movies HD branding and message.

Saurabh Yagnik, general manager and senior vice-president, STAR India, says, "The Bangalore Marathon was a great platform for us to showcase our strength of Asli HD and cheer the real life heroes of the city through the message -- 'Hollywood heroes in Asli HD. Cheer the Marathon Heroes'."

Anirudha Pawar, group account director, StreetSmart, comments, "We conceptualised a theme for the marathon, wherein multiple innovation units were used in sync across the marathon route to achieve the desired connect and break the brand clutter. I am sure we succeeded in creating buzz, as this was evident from the large number of participants posing for photo-ops in front of the innovations."

StreetSmart had also worked on promoting STAR One during the Mumbai Marathon held in January 2011, crafting jumbo-sized alphabets forming the sentence 'Run as One', followed by a large STAR One logo.