You’ve probably heard about the cool rebuttal ad that Hollywood Star Gwyneth Paltrow did for Astronomer, the company benefiting from unexpected awareness after its CEO got caught on a Coldplay kisscam. The ad was made by Ryan Reynold’s ad agency, maximum effort, and featured Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin’s ex-wife, Ms Paltrow. If you go to the Maximum Effort homepage you will notice two things:
1. They spell About as Aboot
2. They say they make ads for “the personal amusement of Hollywood Star Ryan Reynolds”
The Astronomer website is a boring template. The ad is an anomaly. Ryan probably did it for fun.
Celebs have all the fun
Whether it is Eve Jobs getting married in the Cotswolds, or Jeff Bezos in Venice, or Chris Martin catching out errant lovers, or Isha Ambani co-hosting parties with Cate Blanchett they are totally living their lives. Authentically.
They don’t worry about what is trending, or what the starving will think – they just do what they want to do.
As AI drives entertainment content into algorithm driven “meh” celebs allow us plebs to break out of the rut and find new clickbait!
Eyeballs + Financial Independence = Success
Not everyone can take a risk. The more resources I have access to, the more chances I can take. Elon Musk must be feeling bad about Tesla. But he can feel happy about making telepathy a reality with Neuralink! I know a lot about Elon Musk because his huge captive audience tends to propagate everything.
Back to Ryan Reynolds – he – and what he does – is assured of interest. Whether it converts to a purchase is his only concern. And Gwyneth Paltrow was born pre-destined for fame. She dropped out of University when she found that she had to study about people she knew as family friends – like Steven Spielberg.
Why India needs homegrown global celebs
So today’s hot news is that Donald Trump is going to impose tariffs on India because of the trade imbalance. You might assume the trade imbalance is only because of agriculture – because that gets a lot of prominence – but nope we have it even in areas like machinery. Think B2B companies like JCB, L&T, Tata Hitachi, TAFE, Cummins etc. We also seem to sell a lot of electrical components.
But – despite this – these brands are not famous. Consumers aren’t going to cry over them like they would about, say, Labubus! (Yeah, Pop Mart the maker of Labubu’s exports around $100 million worth of collectibles to the US.)
Cult consumer products are harder to ban and deliver higher value add for the makers. While there was a time when you could buy ads to be famous, in the Insta and TikTok world of today, you need influencers to endorse your products.
Where is I-Pop? Is it Hanumankind?
K-pop and K-dramas have been super helpful in promoting Korean makeup, tourism, and food. (I was surprised that Blinkit delivers Gochujang). We don’t have that level of cultural capital, yet. I like Hanumankind, and I’m happy he’s touring the US. But we need more and bigger!
Why does it matter? Because we need homegrown global influencers to make India attractive to the world. In a “each country for itself” world order, soft power along with hard power is important.
Eleven year old food influencer, @Renadfromgaza, has one million followers and is highlighting the plight of kids in a way that is compelling. Will it change the military strategies of countries? It could.
India needs brands. In a hurry.
Why brands? They attract customers. They make people pay thousands for what costs a hundred to make. If you have sufficient stuff that people really want, you have leverage. The rule makers will make exceptions for you.
(We also need products. Particularly in sensitive areas like communication and commerce. But that’s the topic for another day, another newsletter.)
I’m holidaying in rural France. A visit to the local “Pharmacie” with the teen is wealth-depleting. They have a solution for every part of you – from hair to the tips of your toes. Starting at Rs 1000 for a tiny tube. Not one Indian skincare brand is available.
Anything can benefit from a story
I got a pitch from my college, NIT Trichy, seeking sponsorship of a team for participation in the American Spaceport Cup, for rocketry. I was impressed enough by the storytelling to want to contribute!
(Ok, it was partly their storytelling and partly because I did my college internship at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.)
Storytelling like Ryan
Brands are stories. They elevate your consumption to an experience. Here’s my ask for today’s newsletter – if you own a product, think how you’re making it a desirable experience.
Oh and if you know agencies like Maximum Effort, write to me!
I have been writing for a while. Do tell me how you’ve been!
