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Time of India
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Rs 33 crore wasted': Former Ola electric marketing head questions Deepika Padukone's viral Instagram reel
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Bollywood star Deepika Padukone recently shared an Instagram reel as part of a paid partnership with a leading hotel chain. The video, which showcased her stay experience, quickly went viral and reportedly racked up a staggering 1.9 billion views — an unprecedented figure for a social media post in Nitin Chandil, former Marketing Head at Ola Electric, isn't convinced that the numbers tell the full story. Taking to Instagram, Chandil said he was 'flabbergasted' after reading reports about the reel's view pointed out that of the 1.9 billion views, only 1.3 million resulted in likes — a mere 0.07% engagement rate. By comparison, Padukone's other reels typically receive around 5 million views with an engagement rate close to 5%.'This clearly suggests it's a boosted (paid) campaign, which usually leads to lower engagement,' Chandil claimed. He estimated that organic views could be at most 10 million, implying that nearly 1.89 billion of the views were likely in Instagram's average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) at around $2, Chandil calculated the campaign's cost at roughly Rs 33 crore. He questioned whether such a massive spend made sense for what he described as 'not so engaging content.'Chandil later clarified that his CPM assumption might be on the higher side, suggesting the actual spend could be between Rs 8 crore and Rs 15 crore. 'But even then, burning so much money just to set a record and gain PR isn't cool,' he post sparked a debate online. Some LinkedIn users criticized the spend as wasteful, suggesting the budget could have been better utilized for influencer-driven or grassroots campaigns. Others defended the move, pointing out that the 'world's most viewed reel' tag has immense global PR value and that the buzz alone might justify the cost for a brand of Hilton 's LinkedIn user commented: 'Even if it's 1 crore, they could have done some UGC influencer marketing or a mass campaign that benefits people instead of just burning money for views.'Another defended the strategy: 'The fact that we're discussing it shows the PR value. The 'world's most viewed' tag is massive. For a brand like Hilton, 33 crore is peanuts if the global buzz is this huge.'A third was more critical: 'If it's really 33 crore, that's almost a criminal offence. I'd love to hear the brand's rationale.'
Time of India
14-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Devotees throng temples since crack of dawn
Ranchi/ Jamshedpur/ Bokaro: Thousands thronged Shiva temples across the state on the first Somvar (Monday) of the Shravan month. From the hilltop Pahari Mandir to the towering Sureshwar Mahadev Temple in Chutia and Marsili Pahad in Namkum, Ranchi resonated with the chants of "Har Har Mahadev" throughout the day. At Pahari Mandir, the day began before sunrise. By 3 am, the first prayers had already been offered, and soon, a stream of devotees started climbing the 468 stairs, carrying milk, gangajal, honey, curd, dhatura flowers, and bel leaves to perform the sacred jalabhishek. "This is the most auspicious time for Shiva bhakts. We have devotees from across Ranchi and nearby districts coming here today. The queue started forming as early as 3am," said Badal, priest at Pahari Mandir In Jamshedpur, too, there were long queues outside the popular temples such as Paridih Kali temple, Jaida Shiv temple, Chandil, Manokamana temple, Sakchi, Chandaneswar Shiv temple, Chakulia, Rankini temple, Jaduguda, Mukteshwardham shiv temple at Harina, Potka and Mahadevsal temple at Goilkera, Chakradharpur and Dalma Shiv temple. On Sunday evening, Singhbhum MP, Joba Majhi, inaugurated the Shravani mela at the Mahadevsal temple. In Bokaro, thousands of Shiva devotees thronged temples across the district to offer prayers. Devotees began gathering at dawn at Luggu Baba Dham in Gomia. Thousands walked to Chilka Dham near the Jharkhand-West Bengal border in Purulia and offered water to Lord Shiva. "There's something magical about offering water here (Luggu Baba Dham); it feels ethereal," said Dipak Manjhi, a devotee
