Aaj Tak boards Chennai Express with Shah Rukh Khan

TV Today Network’s hindi news channel Aaj Tak has partnered upcoming Bollywood movie Chennai Express. It has shot promos featuring Shah Rukh Khan for its show ‘Halla Bol’. The co-branded promos under the brand ‘Aaj Tak Chennai Express’ featuring Khan announce the special daily segment on the channel to viewers.

The segment highlights issues affecting people in various cities. It intends to become a medium for the public to raise these issues and to highlight them to the respective authorities. The promos feature Khan in a train, urging people not to adjust to what they see around them, exhorting them to push for change.

On the partnership, Vivek Malhotra, VP – marketing and strategic planning and research, TV Today Network, said, “A good campaign has to attract instant attention. I believe this partnership and the treatment of the spot has given it just that. SRK plays a common man who’s urging people to take charge and be the change. What better platform to say it than India’s most credible TV brand.”

Samarjit Choudhry, executive agency director, Blackpencil, said, “Our campaign for Aaj Tak is about the journey to the upcoming elections and how it can change our future. Since Chennai Express is about a man’s journey in a train and how it changes his life, we saw an opportunity in using the film’s promotion for Aaj Tak as a precursor to our campaign. And all our issues about the common man could easily be woven in the story as trains are where we commonly find the common man.”

The campaign, which is on air currently, will be seen across the TV Today Network spanning print, TV and radio. The campaign will culminate in mid-August.

Aaj Tak had previously done a similar campaign with Barfi where Ranbir Kapoor shot promos marking 11 years of the channel.

Credits
Client: TV Today Network
Creative agency: Black Pencil
Brand head: Vivek Malhotra
Brand planner: Manu Sharma
Creative director: Abhijat Bhardwaj
Executive agency director:  Samarjit Choudhry
Client servicing: Nabheesh Kumar, Dhananjay Tewari
National films head: Jofree Shimray
Film supervisor: Ravi Shankar
Production house: IIPROD
Director: Ashwini Iyer