It may be time to relive our memories - through the best brand campaigns

Brands can win big with campaign reruns, but there's a lesson in getting it right

Sanam Teri Kasam was originally released in 2016. Starring Harshvardhan Rane and Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane, it was at best a tepid success, and went almost unnoticed. In February this year, its producers Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru re-released the film in cinemas. On Friday itself it collected ₹5.14 crore at the box-office. On Saturday, at ₹6.22 crore, the collections were even better. In the first two days of its theatrical re-run, the movie crossed its total box-office pickings of its initial run. It finally amassed ₹41 crore in the rerun— 400 per cent of its first theatrical exposure.

 

Tumbbad, a Hindi language period folk horror film, was released theatrically in 2018. It grossed only about ₹15.4 crore. But it received eight nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards, winning three for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Sound Design. Over time, it has gained a massive cult following and is today considered to be one of the best among Hindi horror films. The film was re-released in 2024, collecting ₹1.65 crore on its opening day and ₹2.65 crore on the second. For the next 11 days, its box-office collections exceeded ₹1 crore every day. The dream run eventually culminated in gross collections of ₹40.6 crore, with a reported footfall of over a million.

 

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, the Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone superhit grossed upwards of ₹190 crore when it first released in 2013. Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was re-released on January 3. The film earned ₹1.15 crore on its opening day and reported first week net earnings of around ₹13.05 crore. It collected approximately ₹26.25 -₹26.75 crore in its re-release run, emerging as a major success.

 

Ghilli, a Tamil film, amassed around ₹30 crore in its theatrical re-run. Murari, Gabbar Singh, Kushi, Salaar, Businessman, and Arya 2 — all Telugu movies — have grossed ₹5–9 crore each in their reruns. In Bollywood, Sholay, Rockstar, Laila Majnu, Kal Ho Naa Ho, and Veer Zaara have also had good encores. The same is true of Malayalam films like Devadoothan, Manichitrathazhu, and Spadikam, which have also done well in their second innings.

 

If movie reruns can bank on nostalgia, fill up theatres  and gross crores in their second lives, why can’t brands revive old campaigns and rerun them too? Nostalgia marketing has been tried by a number of companies in the recent past — the Ambassador car, Garden Vareli sarees, Yezdi bikes, Nirula’s QSR, Bajaj Chetak scooter, Rola Cola candy, BPL TVs, Kelvinator refrigerators and more — but few, if any, have really succeeded. The only visible exception has been Campa, which under the Reliance umbrella has shaken up the fizzy drinks market, and how.

 

But what we are discussing here is the possibility of reviving old campaigns for existing brands and rerunning them in the media, not reintroducing near-forgotten brands of yesteryears. Take the “Give Me Red” campaign of Eveready. The original was created in 1990 or so. The Mahesh Matthai-produced commercials from 35 years ago are even today vastly superior in content and creative execution compared to the ads the battery brand is running today. Eveready needs to get inspired by the successful rerun of movies discussed above and seriously attempt a rerun of the original “Give Me Red” campaign. My bet is that it will, despite its vintage, do wonders for the sagging fortunes of the brand.

 

Airtel’s A R Rehman commercial first aired in 2001 — the music composed by Rehman went on to create a Guinness record for the most downloaded tune in the world. It is still the ringtone or caller tune for millions of Airtel subscribers. As the ad nears its silver anniversary, it may be a good idea for Airtel to re-air the commercial. My guess is that it will do rather well.

 

Cadbury India did recreate its iconic “dancing girl” advertisement from the 1990s with a modern twist, swapping gender roles. The original ad featured a woman dancing onto a cricket field to celebrate her boyfriend’s winning run. The revamped version showcased a woman cricketer hitting the winning shot, with her boyfriend then running onto the field to celebrate. #GoodLuckGirls, maintained the original music and choreography, blending nostalgia with gender inclusivity. The buzz and hype, however, was short-lived. The ad overall fell short of expectations by a mile. Moral: Don’t tinker with the original.

 

“The zing thing” of Gold Spot, Parle’s “Melody itni chocolaty kyon hai?”, Tata Sky’s “Lagaa dala to life jhingalala” — all deserve to come back. Each rerun would surely be fun. It just requires a bit of guts and some faith in the past.  Any takers?

 

           

The author is chairman of Rediffusion