Tauba Tauba, what happened to movie marketing in the age of Reels?

The landscape of movie marketing has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. Gone are the days when actors primarily relied on appearances on reality shows and news channels to promote their latest films. The rise of digital media has ushered in a new era of movie marketing, characterised by a pronounced shift towards collaborating with influencers.

A recent example of this trend is the movie Bad Newz, starring Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri, Ammy Virk, and Neha Dhupia, releasing today (July 19, 2024). 

The film's marketing campaign has heavily leveraged digital channels, particularly focussing on the song Tauba Tauba, composed, written, and sung by Punjabi singer Karan Aujla.

The music video for Tauba Tauba has become the backbone of Bad Newz's marketing strategy. On YouTube, the video has amassed over 7.2 crore views, with Vicky Kaushal's dance performance turning into a viral sensation and sparking widespread conversation about the movie.

On Instagram, the impact of the song has been even more pronounced. Approximately 17 lakh reels have been created using the audio track Tauba Tauba, with creators replicating Kaushal's dance steps. 

Vicky Kaushal himself has actively engaged with the content, showing gratitude and humility by commenting on and appreciating the efforts of influencers who participate in the trend.

Influencers such as Kusha Kapila, Srishti Dixit, Yuvraj Dua, and Ayesha Khan, among many others, recreated and grooved to the song. Additionally, Tanmay Bhat did an episode with Kaushal on his YouTube channel where they reacted to his memes.

International workout instructor Maddie with 21 lakh followers has also created a reel featuring the song.

For the promotion, the star cast is making a parody version of a popular TikTok trend. The video has been captioned Mutliverse of Kalesh. In the video, we see Vicky Kaushal and Ammy Virk teaming up to get rid of Tripti Dimri with the song I am Rider in the background. On TikTok, such videos used to get viral as they were cringe.

The video is conceptualised by One Hand Clap, a creative agency. Apart from that, they have also created three other videos to boost visibility for the film.

Aakash Shah, founder of One Hand Clap, a creative agency, says that for the success of any movie nowadays, the primary goal is to ensure that the audience knows when the movie is releasing, which has become a challenging task. Many movies come and go without catching the audience's attention.

“In this case, Tauba Tauba created a buzz with accompanying reels generating eagerness to watch the movie”, he adds. 

He highlights that despite competition from Deadpool vs Wolverine in the next week and Akshay Kumar’s Sarfira which is currently at the theatres, the song and Kaushal’s dance have created a buzz, making it a big Bollywood release.

Arvind Krishnan, founder and CEO, of Manja, a creative agency that has worked with Amazon Prime in the past for its content promotion ads states that viral moments are crucial for any part of advertising as they amplify the impact of the spending, making every rupee seem like a hundred.

For Tauba Tauba, the video went viral on Instagram reels thanks to its catchy song hook and dance moves.

He adds that short video apps have revolutionised how music or movies are discovered. Artists now put considerable effort into creating content that is short-video friendly.

Jithin Sethumadhavan, vice president - strategy and new initiatives and founding Member, at Qoruz, an influencer marketing agency, says that usually, commercial movies have a dance number in the post-credit scene which has nothing to do with the movie. 

"Songs like this are only for promotional purposes. Nowadays brands are also looking to create some kind of hook step that can create engagement for them," he adds.

For the 2007 movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa, the song Hare Ram Hare Ram was originally played during the post-credits. However, due to its immense popularity, after the week of release, the director decided to feature the song in the middle of the film instead.

Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and co-founder, TheSmallBigIdea, a social media marketing company that handles Dharma Productions, says, “In the case of Bad Newz, it can be clearly observed that the uptake of Tauba Tauba had all the elements to have created such buzz.”

According to Krishnan, people engage with dance and trends. Traditional forms of promotions like interviews are relevant, but these new forms of engagement act as a multiplier. 

Do these trends deliver box office returns? 

These kinds of viral trends and content spark a lot of conversation among audiences. However, the bigger question is whether they translate into actual business returns or if their impact remains uncertain.

Shah notes that post-COVID, there is a decline in movie theatre attendance. He emphasises that merely implementing new initiatives won't be sufficient to draw audiences back.

He cites examples like Barbie, which succeeded as there was a community experience as audiences were dressed in pink to attend screenings, and Pathaan, which thrived on the excitement of Shah Rukh Khan's return. 

Shah underscores that some kind of collective excitement is essential for achieving strong box office returns.

Krishnan mentions that effective content marketing is crucial for generating initial momentum, whether it is for a film or an OTT show. The initial push is vital as the initial momentum is needed to ensure a high sample size of viewers engaging with the content.

Sethumadhavan suggests that initiatives like this provide the initial push. “The production can also do something post-release including reaction videos that can drive the success of the movie.” 

Pillai adds that these initiatives increase awareness, keeping the movie at top of the mind. “With these formats, the audience wants to associate with them as a viewer of the film,” he further adds.