MasterChef India big on 'tasty dish'

MasterChef India, a cookery-based game show that will be hosted by Akshay Kumar, will debut on October 16. STAR Plus is going all out to promote the big-ticket show

The reality show, MasterChef India will debut on STAR Plus on October 16. The show, which is being hosted by actor Akshay Kumar, will see 12 contestants displaying their culinary skills and competing for the title of 'MasterChef India'.

Anupam Vasudev, executive vice-president, STAR Plus, says, "MasterChef India is not a cookery show. It is a competitive game show with cookery happening in the background. Not everybody understands singing or dancing; but cookery is something that majority of us are familiar with."

Expectedly, the channel has gone all-out to promote the big-ticket show, hosted by an equally big Bollywood star. The marketing campaign for the show is based on the thought: 'tasty Dish, Varna Game Finish'.

According to Vasudev, to promote the reality show, STAR Plus has used graphics innovatively for channel indents and transition bumpers, shot with Kumar and the leading actors of popular STAR Plus shows such as Pratigya and Bidaai. These are being run on the STAR network channels.

On October 16 - when the show debuts - STAR Plus has planned a roadblock, which consists of a two-minute capsule on the show concept. The capsule will end with viewers being directed to STAR Plus to watch the first episode.

The capsule will be aired on all STAR network channels from 8:58 pm to 9:00 pm. It will also be aired at the same time on several news channels, including CNN IBN, IBN7, NDTV 24x7, NDTV India, News 24, Live India, Times Now, Aaj Tak, IBN Lokmat and E24.

The channel has also created a music video featuring Kumar, in which the actor makes innovative use of kitchen sounds and visuals to recreate the show as a musical.

The channel has gone 'big' with outdoor innovations as well. Huge life-size models of microwaves have been put up; and mobile vans with life-size models of mixers, along with Kumar's cutouts, have also been positioned across cities.

As part of the outdoor campaign, the channel has displayed more than 400 units (microwave and other innovations) across Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow.

Adverts and editorials in print publications such as Grihashobha, Mukta, Sarita and India Today have also been used to create buzz around the show.

In addition, the channel has kick-started a one-week campaign with high-frequency radio spots across stations, including Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Big FM, Red FM, Fever, Radio One and My FM. The channel is running over 40 spots a day.

In the online space, STAR Plus will unveil the first look of the show on October 14 on www.masterchefindia.in, facebook.com, rediff.com and yahoo.com.