Champu Dixit is having nightmares about going bald. He wakes up shrieking in the middle of the night as the camera pans to his bald pate. Then it cuts to `Mrs Madhuri Dixit is sponsored by Nyle Herbal Hair Oil'. Are we missing something here? The man is going bald and they come up with an advertisement revelling in glossy, long hair?!Or take the case of Siyaram Suitings sponsoring Good Morning India. All that formal fabric hasn't got the hosts out of their casual wear. And why would Action Shoes want to walk into Good Morning Today? Maybe it has something to do with being active early in the morning! Another toughie is why Daewoo is ``proudly associated with Star News weather report.'' Worse still, why Aaj Tak must expose itself with Rupa underwear. Then there is Nirma presents Hum Paanch. Well, a family of seven must be using a lot of detergent powder. On the other hand, if Tata Chem Shudh detergent can sponsor Maal Hai To Taal Hai, why can't Nirma? Especially since soaps of all kinds are swarming TV. Moov muscle gel sponsored Aurat while Johnson's & Johnson's did Aparajita.Generally, a detergent soap sponsoring a soap opera is appropriate but what about biscuits backing a countdown show? And Britannia doing films? Or Bakeman's which is everywhere. Pick a channel at random and nine chances out of ten you'll find at least one programme sponsored by Bakeman's. ``Our sponsorship is aimed at our target segment, which is all age-groups, except maybe the higher income group. That is why we are sponsoring Mahayagya, which is a socio-political drama for those above 25. Then there is Chattan on Zee, the song show, Ooh La La and serial Gaatha on Star Plus and comedy Kabhi Idhar Kabhi Udhar on Home TV,'' says Manish Jain, Assistant Manager, Marketing, Bakeman's.There are also companies which are trying to improve their corporate image or create one. Colgate for instance, is selling nationalism wherever it can find it; Bharti Enterprises and Anubhav have become synonymous with cricket - -who heard of Anubhav before? Now it's ditty, ``Anubhav hai zindagi ka..'' is like a nursery rhyme for kids.``It is a good strategy since people start identifying the brand with the programme and vice-versa. Take BPL Oye. Nobody is ever going to identify with Oye by itself, but the brand names will always be there,'' explains Harpreet Singh Kaintel, Media Group Head, Contract.Also, some sponsors get it just right. Kissan Tomchi is the appropriate sponsor for Tu Tu Main Main. The serial's bitter-sweet conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bring out the flavours of the sweet 'n sour ketchup. Kellogs presenting Just Mohabbat is cute, especially with the tiger substituting for Jai's friend during the commercial breaks. And Reynolds (ballpoints) presenting Teacher is bull's eye.``Some find that perfect fit between a company's image and the serial's image. In other cases the producer, cast of a serial are taken into consideration. But there is always an element of risk,'' adds Kaintel.Risk or no risk, the companies are calling the shots, especially in case of branded shows like Close Up Antakshri or Chahat aur Nafrat. Both the directors and the channels don't have much of a say if the sponsors want some changes in the programme. ``Our serial was initially called Nafrat. But, when Donear Suitings became our sponsors they felt that Nafrat was very negative and didn't go well with their image. So, we changed it,'' says Saurav Sengupta, director of the serial.There it is then: branded/sponsored serials are in - right from the start of a serial to the end, with liberal appearances in between. Sometimes things get a little confused when the sponsor changes. Now sit back and enjoy Philips Top Ten.sorry, that'll be Zee Top 10 sponsored by Colgate..
