So far so good. But it is worth exploring why more and companies are making a beeline to advertise in films and what makes films so attractive to companies.

Remember the Subhash Ghai-produced and -directed blockbuster Taal, which had this very romantic scene featuring Aishwarya Rai and Akshaye Khanna sharing a bottle of Coke? The scene became more romantic for Ghai because Coke India dished out Rs 1 crore for placing the product in the film.

Sources say Ghai approached the two cola giants operating in India. Pepsi India declined probably because it felt the asking rate of Rs 1 crore was too high. Hence Coke was the only right choice.

Advertising in films is becoming big business for film producers, advertisers and ad agencies, and the trend is being witnessed all over the world. American beer company Stroh's is said to have paid Rs 15 lakh to the producers of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for a 15-second scene in which Shah Rukh Khan mentions the brand name while downing a canned Stroh's.

The BSA SLR bike featured as a hero of sorts in the film Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and TI Cycles is said to have paid producer Nasir Hussain some lakhs of rupees. The first such in film placement was the black-and-yellow Rajdoot bike in Raj Kapoor's film Bobby, released in 1973 though it is not known if Raj Kapoor charged anything from Enfield for the scene.

Sooraj Bharjatya's film Hum Saath Saath Hain was associated with Coca-Cola. Throughout the film's promos the theme was 'Coke Presents Hum Saath Saath Hain.' Bharjatya is said to have received Rs 1.5 crore for associating his film with the brand.

This year the number of brands associated with films has hit an all-time high. For instance, the recently released Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee starrer Chalte Chalte, has the hero driving a Hyundai Santro and using Castrol engine oil in his vehicle.

Kaizad Gustad's Boom, released recently abroad, features 400 carats of real diamonds in its opening scene, courtesy Diamond Trading Company. The Rohan Sippy-directed Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan film Kuch Na Kaho is said to have Coca-Cola and Perfetti Van Melle's confectionery brand, Mentos, as in-film placements.

Coca-Cola has been associated itself with Hollywood for at least 25 years, and the company has offices near major Hollywood studios for the purpose. Coke is using much the technique in India. Apart from Hum Saath Saath Hain and Taal, Coke's sub-brand Thums Up was associated with the Sanjay Gupta-produced Kaante.

Sources at Coca-Cola India say the company will increasingly be associated with 'Indian passions' like cricket and Hindi films. The company's involvement ranges from in-movie advertising, theatre tie-ups and premieres to national launches, special shows and consumer promotions.

Says Coca-Cola India vice-president (marketing) Shripad Nadkarni: "In-film is a great way to connect with the consumer in their environment." For liquor companies faced with dwindling avenues to advertise their products such placements are being looked upon with a positive glee.

This year McDowell's second-largest brand McDowell No 1 was associated with Raveena Tandon's home production Stumped and thus it was 'McDowell Presents Stumped,' all the way. McDowell's brand Bagpiper was associated with the Vivek Oberoi starrer Dum while McDowell's strong beer Zingaro was associated with the Pooja Bhatt-produced film Jism.

Liquor companies are allocating big proportions of their advertising budgets towards films. Officials in UB say the proportion of their ad budget going towards films can go up by 25 per cent if there are some good projects. A host of liquor companies are headed in the direction of films. Officials in the advertising industry say Shaw Wallace and Radico Khaitan have also started actively scouting for in-film placements.

As mentioned earlier, in Hollywood films such ad placements have been around for quite some time. From liquor to cigarettes and menswear to cars, James Bonds films have them all. When Smirnoff ended its association with Bond's film Die Another Day, rival Finlandia promptly filled the gap. And how can one forget Bond's favourite cars, which ranged from the BMW to the Jaguar, with due credits being given to the car manufacturer in each Bond film.

RayBan associated itself with Men in Black while the film You've got Mail featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had as its real star of America Online (AOL). AOL reportedly received between $3 million and $6 million with added visibility for AOL's signature smiley-face logo.

Clean finance
BR Chopra's film Baghban starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini among others, scheduled for release later this year, has tied up with three brands - Ford Ikon, ICICI Bank and Tata Tea - which will figure in his film. Ravi Chopra, the director of Baghban, admitted that the total benefit to the producers from associating with the brands is in the range of Rs 3-4 crore.

Says Chopra: "This kind of advertising helps producers recover some of the costs of the film. In any case in our films we need to show film characters driving cars, using mobiles, drinking tea or coffee and using a number of other products, so why not benefit out of it. The sponsoring company also benefits as their brands get associated with film stars."

He feels the growth is tremendous in this kind of advertising as "two to five years ago the amount paid for such ad placements was in the range of a few lakhs while the sums being talked about now run into a few crores."

Such ad placements, he says, could become a source of part-financing for films as big budget films are likely to attract more advertisers and producers would also charge proportionately higher charges for placements. He is however categorical "that such in-film ad placements need to be carried out with finesse and could work against a film also if done shoddily."

There is unanimity among advertisers and producers that advertising of this kind needs to be as unobtrusive as possible. Sanjay Bhutiani, who heads Leo Burnett Entertainment, () says one bad placement can undo the work of 10 good ones.

For the cash-strapped film industry, getting some amount of clean financing from the corporate sector is a whole lot better than dealing with dubious underworld dons. Films gained industry status two years ago and there was much hope that banks and financial institutions would enter into film financing in a big way.

This hasn't really happened. Financial institutions and banks tend to lay huge conditions in front of film producers before sanctioning finance. With film making a hugely risky business and producer unable to furnish the kind of guarantees required, bank and corporate finance has been hard to get.

Companies wanting to connect better with their audiences and faced with huge rates charged by leading print publications and television channels feel that there is tremendous advantage to be gained by associating with film stars and even more so if the stars happen to be ambassadors of their brands.

Officials at PepsiCo, which recently associated with the Shah Rukh Khan-produced Chalte Chalte, say: "Our presence in the film is because Khan is our brand ambassador and we have an ongoing association with him. Chalte Chalte was Khan's home production. Therefore, Pepsi had a presence in the film." Similarly, the Hyundai Santro was a prominent fixture in the film and it is not a mere coincidence that Khan is the brand ambassador for the car.

The entertainment industry in India is getting increasingly corporatised and somewhere along the way certain brands are becoming associated with the film personalities. Cola drink brands like Coke and Pepsi, and miscellaneous bathing soaps have from the outset been associated with film stars. More and models are turning to acting, and it looks like film advertising is in the natural progression of things.