Another on-screen character appears in an ad; Gunda’s Bulla unboxes boAt’s Deadpool-themed airdopes

Bulla, the antagonist from the 1998 flick Gunda, is a menacing memory; not many could digest his love for violence and misogyny. At the same time, his and the other characters' humorously cringe and long-winded self-introductions have become part of India’s social media pop culture.

Consumer wearables brand boAt focused on the latter when it made him unbox a new limited-edition airbuds made for the upcoming movie Deadpool & Wolverine which hits screens on July 26, 2024.  

“Mera naam hai Bulla. Unboxing karunga khullam kulla,” he growled while looking straight at you the viewer. He is as much a force today as he was in the movie 26 years ago.

Actor Mukesh Rishi essayed the role of Bulla in Gunda. In the unboxing collab, he, using dialogues from the movie praises the long battery life, clear calling, and other features of the Airdopes Alpha Deadpool Collection.

“Aaj unboxing nahi karunga, tehelka unboxing karunga,” commented boAt on its Instagram post.

The wireless earbuds cost Rs 3,490. However, it is available for Rs 999 on boAt’s website and Rs 1,099 on e-commerce platform Flipkart (checked on July 23, 2024).

The trend of seeing an on-screen character in an ad took off last year and has found its place in many brands’ strategy; they want to use celebrities but considering viewers’ exhaustion of seeing the same stars, their on-screen characters became the alternative go-to choice.

Last year in October, the lead cast from CID and Crime Patrol – two legacy shows of Sony Entertainment Network – appeared in a boAt ad to catch a killer, well, it was a killer sale where products were up to 70% off on the brand’s website.

CID may have shuttered its doors a while ago but its main cast of ACP Pradyuman, Daya, and Abhijeet have appeared in ads for Nykaa, Colgate, and Go Mechanic.

Acko, a health insurance brand, went big by casting Munna and Circuit from the Munnabhai movies for a series of ad films and in June 2023, Pratik Gandhi donned his Harshad Mehta avatar to sell CenturyPly Club.

Rungta Steel made a coup when it made Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, and Ranbir Kapoor enact their famous characters in its ad.

And then there was Ranbir Kapoor and Konkana Sen Sharma bringing Wake Up Sid back to life for an Oppo ad campaign.

"When a celebrity channels a character from a beloved movie, it accelerates brand familiarity,” said Shivaji Dasgupta, founder and managing director at INEXGRO Brand Advisory, to afaqs! earlier this year.  

He, however, warned, "If the nostalgia feels out of touch, it won't work. But if it strikes a chord with today's audience, the celebrity's endorsement becomes even more powerful, maximising the brand's return on investment."