Ranveer Singh in the new Thums Up TVC

Ranveer Singh replaces Salman Khan as the new face of 'Thums Up', but lacks Salman's aura which complemented the brand image

Coca Cola India’s Thums Up recently released a new TVC featuring a brand new ambassador in the form of current heart-throb Ranveer Singh, who replaced Salman Khan to become the new face of Thums Up. The 45-sec action packed TVC has been directed by notable Hollywood director Simon West.

Inspection: The central theme of the ad is quite clear from Ranveer’s line – “Main hum bhi hun, aur khaas bhi”. The ad portrays Ranveer as a courageous saviour who risks his own life trying to save school children who become victims of a school bus accident. The ad is trying to communicate that anybody can be a hero. We just need to ignite our heroic spirit whenever the need arrives. There is no such thing as a superhero and each one of us, the ordinary people, have the ability to become one. We just need to bring out our extraordinary abilities at the correct time. And of course, it is Thums Up which gives us that extra push to become 'Toofani'.

Analysis: The theme of the ad deserves a lot of praise. However, since Thums up has a very strong and masculine brand image, Ranveer doesn’t seem fit to fill in the shoes of Salman Khan who brought in a lot of raw manliness to the brand. Ranveer is more of an enthusiastic and flamboyant young guy and therefore is visibly not suitable for such a serious and macho role. Ranveer’s energy is clearly not used by the director as in his other endorsements like Set Wet and Vivo. There is no questioning Ranveer’s masculinity who is the current sensation in Bollywood, but the brand needs a more mature and manly actor like Salman to complement the rugged brand image. Moreover, Thums Up has discontinued the energetic theme song "Aaj Kuch Toofani Karte Hain" which adds to the disappointment. Add to that resemblances to a scene from Fast and Furious 7 and certain logical mistakes, the ad will definitely fail to match up to the expectations set by the previous ads featuring Salman Khan.

The Ad Inspector’s Rating : 2/5