Big B to shoot ad for Guj Tourism.

Tanvir A Siddiqui
Posted: Apr 21, 2010 at 0353 hrs ISTAhmedabad Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, who is also the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism, has agreed to give dates for the shooting of Khushboo Gujarat Ki – an audiovisual ad campaign to promote tourism in Gujarat. Confirming this, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) Kamlesh Patel said the project will be handled at the state level, but many things are yet to be finalised. TCGL sources added that Big B would also dub for the Gujarati and English versions of the ad.
Shooting will start in the second half of May.
Advertising firm Ogilvy and Mather has been finalised for this Rs 30-crore venture (including airtime cost) with adman Piyush Pandey preparing the concept and script. Pandey is famous for several ad campaigns including the Zoozoo series of ads for Vodafone in recent times. The tentative shooting locales include Somnath, Dwarka, Sasan Gir, landmarks associated with Gandhi, and Kutch, said sources, adding that the production house is yet to be finalised.
The shooting will be split into several slots of 30 to 90 seconds duration over a 10-day period, and will go on air by June.
This is for the first time that Amitabh Bachchan will endorse tourism in Gujarat. It is expected the development would give a boost to state tourism.
Meanwhile, TCGL officials have clarified that the promos need not coincide with the Swarnim Gujarat celebrations.
Tourism Secretary Vipul Mitra could not be contacted on phone despite several attempts.
It may be mentioned that Bachchan agreeing to become the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism had sparked off a row between the BJP on one hand and Congress and her allies on the other. The phase was marked by bitter exchanges in blogosphere with the Congress daring Bachchan to endorse Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s “role” in the 2002 riots, and Modi shooting back by referring to the Congress leaders as “Talibans of untouchability”.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/big-b-to-shoot-ad-for-guj-tourism/609223/