Masterchef India's Absurd Ad Placements

They are straight-up annoying and they need to stop.

Masterchef India is back with a new season and alongwith contestants running around trying to make their dishes without gas/electricity or tackling some other “twist” to make the show more interesting, the show is also returning with something rather annoying, and that is it’s non-stop ad placements. I know there are much more important things going on in the world right now, but take a moment and do indulge me, because if you’ve been watching Masterchef to escape the madness of war and capitalism, I’m sure this has also annoyed you.

This is going to be more of a ranty piece, but dear lord someone needs to say this! And the interesting thing here is that many people have already voiced their displeasure about the constant barrage of Veeba/Accko/Maggi/Urban Company (I think I’m missing a couple more brands here, but I’m not going to go and check) shots, but it seems like the channel doesn’t really care about the audience.

It was the same last year when the show basically turned into an extended Amul/Fortune ad with some cooking and critique sprinkled in. One would assume that the creators would have taken some feedback from previous season, but turns out that was expecting too much.

It’s the crude ad placements that is so bothersome, it’s the “Veeba tip of the day” - completely unnecessary title to an otherwise normal suggestion, it’s the shameless shots of Maggi products on the counter while contestants barely have time to breathe, it’s the interlude between the cooking and judging the dishes where Urban Company comes to clean the kitchen. It all looks extremely desperate and turns you off the brand instead of buying into it.

The only thing left at this point is to put Chefs Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna into bright suits that are branded with Maggi logo because I have a feeling that the ad execs probably aren’t satisfied with the chefs simply saying the name of the brand. Having them branded on their faces would be better.

There has to be some grace in advertising products in reality shows. Brands and channel execs need to show a little shame and not be so desperate about wanting to earn money. Mentioning the brand partners once in the beginning and the end should be more than enough. What’s happening right now is just plain tacky.