“We had to pivot and project Ranbir Kapoor as a ferocious animal” – Varun Gupta

Animal marketing director Varun Gupta of Marketing Max talks on how it went from marketing Ranbir Kapoor as quintessential lover boy in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani to a menacing beast in Sandeep Vanga Reddy’s Animal.

Known as a marketing director of blockbuster films such as RRR, BhoolBhulaiya 2, Drishyam2, Padman, Vikram Vedha, Uunchai, DreamGirl2, Satya Prem Ki Katha, Kabir Singh and Animal to name a few, Varun Gupta shares what marketing strategy has helped Animal, evolution of marketing over a decade from YJHD to Animal and his most anticipated upcoming Merry Christmas.

On speaking about establishing Ranbir Kapoor as a beast in Animal, he stated, “From quintessential lover boy in YJHD to a menacing beast in Animal, establishing him like that mainly comes from marketing film’s visuals. There was no challenge as such but marketing this film was interesting because coming off the heels of “Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” where Ranbir played another chocolatey charmer, we had to pivot and project him as a ferocious animal. For this, full credit goes to director Sandeep Reddy Vanga for crafting Ranbir’s captivating and attention-grabbing look. I believe our pre-teaser concept was brilliantly executed. It showcased Ranbir in a rugged element, wielding an axe against the backdrop of Arjan Valley, effectively piquing audience interest.”

He further mentions, “We just wanted to establish the attitude of Animal like something as never seen before audiences will get to witness. We wanted to show the outcome of turning into an Animal first and then the journey of why so in the teaser and trailer respectively. If we came up with father son conflict first it would have become a quintessential father son story so we rather went ahead first with the beast image.”

Talking about how the marketing approach was different this time in comparison to YJHD, he shares, “Yes, both his films have been career defining for him. YJHD was very high on songs and we did a lot of city tours whereas for Animal we really didn’t step out a lot because we also wanted to give Ranbir Kapoor the status of Superstar that he truly deserves. While 10 years back it was important for him to go out in people and create awareness as the social media was not so strong but now with the advent of social media, it’s easy to put across things we want to convey. Also, a big advantage was our director Sandeep Vanga Reddy is from Telugu and is a bigger pull in south. So the combination worked brilliantly. And now Ranbir is the first successful pan India star from Bollywood.”

Sharing about the evolution of marketing over a decade, he tells, “Social media has indeed revolutionized marketing. Take Ranbir Kapoor, despite his absence on those platforms, the essence of his films – trailers, teasers, and other videos – thrives there. A stark contrast to a decade ago, when pre-release promotion meant city tours, news channel interviews, and publication interactions. Things have shifted dramatically. Whereas TV, on-ground events, and print once dominated, with digital claiming a mere 15% share, the landscape has transformed. Television’s influence has significantly dwindled, replaced by the digital juggernaut. Yet, amidst this evolution, one element remains constant – the unwavering power of outdoor visibility.”

Lastly, giving insights about his marketing approach towards upcoming film Merry Christmas, he mentioned, “Again, I’m doing marketing for Merry Christmas where we have director Sriram Raghavan who has cult fan following in Tamil. Plus south superstar Vijay Sethupathy who is now known in north belt as well because of Jawan. So again establishing Katrina in south becomes easy because she as a brand is also big in herself. The pairing is also very unusual and today people want to see something which they can’t imagine or they find very interesting.”