Shankar Mahadevan, Jackie Shroff & Prabhu Deva make way for MMT’s stardom

New celeb faces after Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh repped the brand for over a decade.

It is easier to plug a pen drive into a computer’s USB port on your first try than to get a celebrity to give a shout-out to another celebrity.

The good folks at MakeMyTrip (MMT) have done the near impossible for the online travel aggregator’s summer ad campaign. Starring not one but three celebrities, and each in separate ads, give a shout-out to the star called MakeMyTrip.

Singer and part of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy music composer trio, Shankar Mahadevan sings his single Breathless for the brand, but the lyrics are tweaked. They’re now words praising the discounts MMT has to offer.

Choreographer and director Prabhu Deva is up next, and he too agrees that there is no muqabala when it comes to what the online travel aggregator can offer. “Anybody can dance ma, focus on a real star – MakeMyTrip,” he says.

The campaign’s third ad stars actor and bhidu for the ages Jackie Shroff urging folks to book a hotel or homestay from MMT by showing what they are missing if they do not.

All three celebrities do their best to hide their faces in the ads because the focus has to only be on the major star i.e. MakeMyTrip.

Also Read: Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh’s ‘Rocky aur Rani’ skimp on their experience budget in new MMT spot

A refreshing and noteworthy aspect of these three ads is the choice of celebrity because MakeMyTrip, since 2016, has cast actors Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in their commercials. The duo’s last spots for the brand were around discounts on bookings for hotels and homestays.

Also Read: MakeMyTrip’s print ad for the India-Pakistan match books a flurry of pats and jabs

These ads are fun, but the online travel aggregator ran into criticism last year in October during the cricket World Cup match between India and Pakistan; its print ad, whilst encouraging bookings for hotels and homestays, used statements former Pakistani cricketers had made as a device to spoof them and our neighbour.