Ranveer Singh’s Nude Photoshoot is Marketing Genius, Here’s Why

Issac Thomas
5 min readJul 31, 2022

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When you are an emerging superstar climbing the ladder of superstardom but then there is a sudden halt.

You have two back-to-back flops: 83 and JayeshBhai Jordaar.

It is bound to send ripples down your spine and the ecosystem that relies on you.

And when the race to the top hits a roadblock.

You become restless, take a step back unwillingly and push your team to come up with an idea on how to raise the value of your stocks.

You keep the buzz going by attending cricket matches and shooting Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls.

Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls.

Moreover, then when the time is ripe, set the internet ablaze with your nudes. Nailed it!

Marketing strategy done to perfection! And here are five reasons why I think so:-

  1. What’s all the fuss about female nudity vs male nudity

Mimi Chakravarthy started the whole feminism debate on how had it been a woman, the amount of hostility she would have received would have been enormous. Check out her tweets:-

Mimi Chakravathy’s tweet

Ram Gopal Varma chimed in his two cents if women can show off their sexy bodies why can’t men? I am not here to agree or disagree with what Mimi Chakraborty or RGV says, all I am saying is it is because of Ranveer Singh, that a discussion like this is happening in the first place. And when something you do triggers a major conversation, it’s marketing done right.

2. Controversies are a way to maintain your stardom if you deliberately create it

Controversies around Ranveer Singh’s photoshoot

As a content marketer, my blogs go through four rounds of review. To ensure it states the right facts and expresses the right message across. No way Ranveer Singh would post nudes without discussing the narrative with his team. In fact, maybe weeks ago while brainstorming on how do I get back with a bang or how do I keep my brand value intact, doing a nude photoshoot would have come across as a masterstroke idea.

Ranveer Singh endorses more than 40 brands and in the current times is one of the top stars in our country. Maintaining his brand value is of utmost importance to him and the people around him.

They would be pleased with the result based on how it broke the internet.

3. Brand differentiation takes you miles ahead of your competitors

Quirky superstar

Over the years, Ranveer Singh has built a brand persona quirky over the top superstar who oozes out energy wherever he goes. That’s how he differentiated himself from his line of actors. Doing a nude photoshoot is another step towards brand differentiation. A quirky superstar comfortable in his skin to shed it all.

You need three characteristics to pass the differentiator test:

  • How true is it?
  • How relevant it is?
  • Can you prove it?

Is there any truth to Ranveer Singh’s quirkiness? Yes, the nude photoshoot is the latest proof.

What is the relevance of this nude photo shoot? Well, it is relevant to the brands he endorses. The more people talk about him, the more buzz he generates for these brands.

Anyone can claim to be quirky but the hard part is living the quirkiness. And Ranveer Singh’s latest photoshoot is a testimony to his quirkiness

4. A nude photoshoot after a long time

Ranveer Singh nude pose

Yes, last year John Abraham went nude. This year Vijay Devarakonda did for Liger but Ranveer Singh’s nude photoshoot is the best marketed one. Giving the audience an impression that after Milind Soman, he is the only Indian actor to bare it all.

Well, many of you or some of you might think what the big deal is with nudes. Porn stars do it all the time. Well, Ranveer Singh is a mainstream actor. When someone of his stature does it, it is bound to shock people. I am not saying John Abraham or Vijay Devarakonda aren’t big stars, they are. It’s just that Ranveer Singh’s marketing team did a fantabulous job in placing the nudes at the right place at the right time.

5. His marketing team leveraged the “Purple Cow” concept to perfection

Purple cow concept by Seth Godin

You are a great actor, sounds good. But you had two back-to-back flops, to keep your brand image intact, you need to do something impactful and interesting. Something that could break the internet.

Making a great movie will take time, but again people have anti-Bollywood feelings and it will take time before those hard feelings settle down. What can be done that could leverage the hostility of the audience and the love of the fans at the same time?

Something that will make them go, wow, and make them think, hey what was that?

Bam, there comes the nudes, and up goes the stocks of Ranveer Singh’s brand.

It’s almost a week since Ranveer Singh posted nudes but the discussions aren’t stopping anytime soon. Check the top stories around him,

Top stories around Ranveer Singh’s photoshoot

FIRs have been lodged, brands have jumped the moment marketing bandwagon, and the tweets continue to pour in.

Myntra’s take on Ranveer Singh’s nude photoshoot

Like Seth Godin says,

You are driving on a highway relaxing your eyes looking at those lush green fields on the sides. You see a bunch of cows, you won’t think anything about it.

However, if you saw in those bunch cows, a cow purple in color.

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