Desperate measures

Jan 21, 2011 - Gayatri Reddy |

Age Correspondent

Bare skin seems to be the most successful marketing strategy of the moment. Naked or almost nude images and pictures of famous people are a sure shot way of raking in the moolah and eyeballs. Mandira Bedi is suddenly back in the news after she posed topless for a magazine and Bipasha Basu decided to remind everyone that she is still around by posing topless too for another publication. Can’t blame them for stripping as Harish Bijoor, brand expert and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, explains, “Skin is in. But most of this exposing is done by the ageing Madonnas of The Indian Bollywood circuit as it is a great way of re-inventing their appeal.” Skin and the show of it seems to be the latest re-launch vehicle. After all Mandira Bedi’s cricket commentary career isn’t exactly rocking now, and neither is Bipasha Basu happening on the movies front. Bijoor says the fight today is all for eye-balls, and what better way to grab them than with bare skin.
Yes, a lot of skin has been displayed, but Navroze Dhondy argues that there is no reason to get moralistic about this because if you look at the pictures, they don’t show anyone in the buff. “There’s nothing scandalous or in-your-face about them. The pictures are just a clever way of using skin without getting vulgar. The only thing on display is the photographer’s artistic skill.” He is right, unlike in the West where celebrities really take their kit off, there are no breasts on display here in India!
Cricketers like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Harbhajan and Virender Sehwag are sporting only body paint on their torsos as part of the World Cup 2011 campaign by Pepsi. While technically their shirts are off, there is no skin on display, but the campaign is being marketed heavily with the fact that the cricketers are going topless. Guess famous skin on display always gets the eyeballs.
Don’t get carried away and think that by really taking everything off you will get great mileage as Pooja Bedi, who was part of many a controversial ad campaigns says, “All our big brands are marketed by film stars and they don’t show skin in the ads.” She’s right because Yana Gupta’s pantyless stunt did nothing but confirm her Z-list status, and after many risque photoshoots Sherlyn Chopra still remains a non-entity.

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