Conceiving intent

When actor Vishal’s production company Vishal Film Factory (VFF) decided to promote Laththi in 2022, they chose to partner with Trend Loud Digital to ensure that this seminal film could find its way to a wide audience.

Laththi, a film about a righteous cop and his quest to protect his son, needed platforms which could communicate its intent without compromising on the idea of having a good time in cinemas. Trend Loud, which is among South India’s top digital agencies, decided to go the ‘vivacious’ route.

Although the film dealt with the idea of law enforcement, violence and family values, we created campaigns that showcased a light-hearted side to actor Vishal, ensuring that audiences could remain invested in the idea of watching this film.

With promotions planned in advance, the team took the steps to execute sharp-witted interviews and hilarious sketches with the actor to ensure that a viewer that is scrolling through social media stops, takes notice. This would ensure that viewers stay with the curated content, eventually delivering the best results to VFF.

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Into the thick of it

Before the promotions could materialize, the organization decided to approach promoting Laththi on social media with particular emphasis on video based content so as to make optimum use of the asset in hand- actor Vishal. The challenge however, was to ensure that all content produced remains fresh and generates a strong buzz.

Actor Vishal has played several frank and funny characters in the past and has been largely honest about his life, work and relationships in the past. This worked to Trend Loud’s advantage as the professionals working on the campaign, focused on this very nature of the actor being candid. They made use of his comedic timing by having him collaborate with creators who are currently popular on apps like Instagram and YouTube.

With plans being approved, it was agreed that the campaigns would be executed at the VFF office on December 18, 2022. An interview about the film and the actor’s roles in the past, a 59- second sit down with the actor and two comedy sketches were part of the plan.

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Getting it together

Laththi’s campaign was designed to ensure that viewers get access to celebrities in a way that doesn’t overwhelm them with plugs. It also maintains the fine balance of ensuring that the product that is being marketed is shown clearly without any deviations in intent. Here is how the organization proved its mettle:

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Laththi ft. Vikkals

The first campaign for Laththi was two rib-tickling sketches by Vikkals Vikram (Standup comedian, Content Creator and YouTuber) and his team. Actor Vishal who excitedly heard the script ended up contributing suggestions and improvisations to the script.

Both the videos attempted to poke fun at Vishal and his many stereotypes including his intense action-hero personality and his classic often-quoted dialogues. However, it was the repartee between the comics and the actor that made it interesting. Vishal also managed to tell the audience to watch the films in the theatre instead of pirating it- an important message to viewers.

Result- The two hilarious sketches that ended up featuring physical laththis ended up garnering over 2.5 million views combined on Instagram. It continues to be a popularly watched video till today.

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VJ Tara’s interview

Unlike Vishal’s serious interviews in the past, VJ Tara’s interaction was full of fun. The 30 minute interview focused on the actor’s several past projects. He even recounted a hilarious incident about his friends mistaking him for a boisterous woman. This portion of the video which was cut and posted as a reel received over 200K+ views on Instagram.

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59-second rapid fire

Rapid fire rounds become interesting when the subject under question chooses to answer questions in a frank and hysterical manner. Vishal’s 59-second sit down involved questions regarding his past relationships, his current love interests and his go-to words. Although the Instagram reel lasted less than a minute, it managed to create a lasting impression with 176K views. Besides answering quickly, the actor was also sportive and ensured that the audience laughed along with him.

Onto the next

To guarantee that Vishal’s action-thriller comeback received proper limelight, an attempt was made to spot astute talent that could create engaging social media content. At Trend Loud, that promise was delivered.