The banning of all discos and live bands in the state by the Janata Dal government earlier this year, has made pubs "with the ambience" the only places to go to for the Bangalorean looking for a break, and consequently, prime locations for advertisers.
Three months ago, the India Tobacco Division of ITC signed up with The Underground to extend its nationwide Classic campaign to Bangalore. As part of the deal, ITC pumps financial might to sponsor musical evenings, games and quizzes with generous give-aways, such as two-in-ones, to the winners. Besides, most accessories in pubs—like ashtrays, mugs and glasses—are stamped with the logo of an ITC brand, in this case Classic. While pubs like The Downtown, The Pub World and NASA are joining the ITC bandwagon, Black Cadillac has gone one step further and has thrown open its doors to a multitude of advertisers—Pepe Jeans, KLM, Pepsi, Rothmans, Campari and even the health club of a local five-star hotel. A mug of beer is never going to be the same again.
"Every advertiser wants more space now. Even small or medium ventures like holiday resorts are vying for space in pubs," says Ranjit Narang, proprietor of Black Cadillac. "And we are trying to exploit this opportunity." Adds Ashok Sadhwani, who gave Bangalore its first pub in 1985 and now owns NASA and The Pub World: "The onlyentertainment available in Bangalore today is a pub or a restaurant apart from the movies. So for people wanting to market their products, this certainly is a cheaper mode of advertising. And the response to advertising in a pub is direct."
Upmarket pubs around the central business areas have evolved into joints with an identity. Modelled after the London underground, The Underground is a "studentish" pub. NASA, with a spaceship interior and laser shows, attracts visitors to Bangalore because of its novelty. Downtown with its cue ball tables is a stag haunt, while The Pub World and Black Cadillac get a thirty-ish, professional and corporate crowd alongwith families and couples. But much as they are different in their clientele base, the basic ingredients that go into the making of pubs is the same ear-ripping music, snazzy interiors, efficient service and good beer. Says Harsh M. Dar, branch manager of ITC's India Tobacco Division in Bangalore: "We select pubs keeping in mind the profile of their clientele."
The sponsorship and promotions are pushing up the profiles of the pubs, too. The Jim Morrison retrospective and the Beatles evening at The Underground were sellouts with people standing in the aislesand gulping from their double mugs. So was it with the Stairway to Heaven evening at The Pub World which featured Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the Who. Advertised in a big way in local newspapers, the events are overwhelming the pubs which now have 100 per cent occupancy even on Monday evening. And nobody is complaining.
"The sponsorships, events and ads should not make a difference to the ambience of the place," says Abhijit Ganguly, creative controller, Ogilvy & Mather, even as he takes a swig from his mug. Ganguly points to the crowd at Black Cadillac, which consists mostly of professionals and executives from the corporate sector, and says: "The place is already filled with corporate types straight from the office, so a little promotion here shouldn't make a difference."
The difference, though, is quite tangible to the proprietors of the pubs. "With newer places opening up, it is imperative that I add variations to my place to retain my customers," says Narang. So, Black Cadillac has got a juke box, wide-screen TVs with cable connections, and corporate promotion is an added bonus. Sadhwani, who converted Bangalore’s first pub, The Pub into NASA two years ago, believes that it is necessary to bring in major changes every four or five years in the hotel industry to "give it a new look". Sadhwani is going one step ahead and ordered LD (laser disc) players for The Pub World. Adds Suneel Mahtani, owner of The Underground: "You don’t get to listen to all the tracks of one group at a time anywhere. So when we organise a Beatles or Jim Morrison retrospective, the crowds swell."
So what if the 19-year-olds in The Underground haven't heard of Jerry Garcia. As Ganguly found out, so long as there is a USP to the evening and the beer is chilled right, Bangalore's pubs will continue to draw in the crowds and promotion managers. And, of course, the hefty tabs.
