Center Fruit, the fruit-filled bubble gum from Perfetti Van Melle, has turned to the microblogging platform Twitter to promote a branded content segment in the Mirchi Music Awards. Media agency Maxus got celebrities such as Sophie Choudhry, Eesha Koppikar, VJ Bani and Poonam Pandey, among others, to tweet about a teaser video to make it go viral ahead of the awards show being aired on Colors over the weekend.
The video had the host of the award show Shaan being interviewed just before he was about to take the stage. In the middle of the interview, the journalist holds up the jar of Center Fruit, and off goes Shaan with his tongue wagging act. This was similar to what happens in the brand commercial where a singer competing with a tabla player wins the battle when Center Fruit makes the singer go non-stop laplap with his tongue.
Commenting on the initiative, Sudarshan Saha, client leader, Maxus, said, "The idea came to his team when they saw top trending topics in the evenings in India recently tended to pick up what was being shown on television."
Shailja Vohra, national director, Maxus ESP, added, "The impact of the integration lied in executing a seemingly complicated tongue wagging act in a manner which holds up the values the brand Center Fruit. The choice of the platform was dictated by the fact that even the brand commercial showcases musicians, and Mirchi Music awards is the most trusted and established show in the genre."
Additionally on the main show, during a playful banter between the two hosts, Shaan held up a Center Fruit, to distract UshaUthup, and make her do the 'JeebhLaplap' act.
