Karan Johar for IITIIMShaadi.com: What kind of heaven is this match made in?

There are brand ambassadors. And then there are brand ambassadors. Why does this association feel like an April Fool's joke?

Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra, Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan, Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khattar - what do these former rumoured celebrity couples have in common? Well, if rumours are to be believed, these matches were made by none other than filmmaker Karan Johar (KJo). After all, he is known to be Bollywood’s ‘Sima Taparia’. (Taparia is a matchmaker who helps people to find their ‘perfect match’ on the Netflix show ‘Indian Matchmaking’.)

What caught our attention recently was Gurugram-based matrimonial platform IITIIMShaadi.com’s digital campaign, featuring Johar. “Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai. Aur shaadi bhi ek hi baar karte hai. Isiliye, bahot zaruri hai ki life partner ka decision correct ho. Aur yeh aasan nahi hai, especially for the highly-educated…,” says Johar, as he spoofs the dialogue of one of his films for the campaign.

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A post shared by IITIIMShaadi (@iitiimshaadi__)

IITIIMShaadi.com went viral on social media, as this brand-celeb association didn’t sit quite well with netizens. We know that Johar is neither an IIT/IIM graduate, nor is he married. So, what made the brand get Johar as its ambassador?

Most people commenting on IITIIMShaadi.com’s post, think it is an April Fool’s Day joke. Some people say that such a concept of segregation, while choosing a life partner, puts us 50 years back.

Is this some kind of joke ?@IITIIMShaadi ? Is it satire or really real? #matrimony #india #Indianmatrimony.. If you guys say its real, then .. either you are hallucinating or you are deluded folks. #iitiimshaadi #iit #iim #iitiim #almamater #matrimony #prank #matrimonial

— Rocky (@dabbangism) August 20, 2021

The founder of IITIIMShaadi is from S P Jain School of Management 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/UxHKyeKr63

— Sanskar (@verysanskarii) March 30, 2022

What are we trying new today?
You: building in web3.
Meanwhile…
Karan johar: Making tags marry.
.
.#IIT #IIM #iitiimshadi #KaranJohar pic.twitter.com/9uZs0SiwJA

— Pepcorns (@pepcorns) March 31, 2022

It’s worth noting that IITIIMShaadi.com isn’t a new platform and was founded in 2014 by Taksh Gupta. The platform claims it has more than 1.5 lakh members, hailing from India and 50 other countries. One of its biggest differentiators, other than its niche segment, is that it authenticates each profile on the basis of education. It screens the educational degree, institute, ID card/mark sheet, etc.

afaqs! reached out to a few industry experts to understand this unique brand-celeb association. What repercussions, if any, will it have on the brand? Will the campaign resonate with the academically elite target audience that the platform aims to cater to?

Edited expert opinions:

Manesh Swamy, senior vice president - creative and social, Logicserve Digital, says that the association is a mismatch. “I think the brand must have thought that KJo may bring in the required eyeballs for the launch. But I am assuming the connection with the TG may be a far-fetched one. At least, they got the general audience talking, even if it’s negative.”

Swamy points out that gone are the days when you chose a celeb and just did a random product plug. Audiences now will definitely call out the gap.

“When you choose a brand ambassador, simply consider these questions. Does the audience look up to the celeb as an important influencer? Can the audience relate and connect with him/her? Does he/she have similar ethos as the brand? Can he/she take the brand to the next level?,” he says.

Marketing expert Jessie Paul believes that a brand uses influencers for two reasons - either to create awareness or generate credibility.

“I feel that even a bad celeb choice can provide the brands with awareness, as is evident in this case. People who may have never heard of the platform, know about it now. However, Johar is neither married, nor he is an IITian/IIMian. So, he may not be the correct fit.”

Talking about an earlier brand-celeb association, Paul adds, “When (actress) Priyanka Chopra appeared in an ad for dating app Bumble (though she didn’t find her spouse, Nick Jonas, through Bumble), she didn’t get trolled for it. If it was not for Chopra, Bumble wouldn’t have come across as a legitimate dating app.” Note that Chopra has invested in Bumble, and is instrumental in bringing the America-born app to India.

Paul also mentions the fact that this latest brand-celeb association has made people visit the site to check it out and, thus, drive traffic to it.

Puneet Bajaj, VP strategy, Kinnect says that given how evolved today's users are, it becomes more important to speak to them in a manner they resonate with.

“That includes what you say and whom you associate with to say it. On the former, this commercial to me seems to do a superficial job of bringing to light the core purpose of the brand and as consequence, ends up being seen propagating an exclusive elitist mindset which might not sit well with the audience,” Bajaj states.

From an association standpoint, Bajaj mentions that people today appreciate real stories and perspectives much more than before. “So if a brand shows somebody with a real context, like a hair dye brand had done with Karan Johar in the past, or how an OTT brand has been leveraging Shahrukh Khan of late, people are much more receptive to it.”

Sony Kunwar, co-founder and senior vice president, Windsor Digital, is of the opinion that Johar is a name that is synonymous with elitism, fame and glamour. The brand will surely leverage all these qualities.

“The audience must be able to relate to the brand ambassadors, influenced by their thoughts or lifestyle, or aspire to be like them. This is imperative, and if the audience can’t relate, then all the fame in the world will only fetch you eyeballs, not customers,” Kunwar signs off.