Paytm ropes in Kokilaben to leverage on ‘Rasode Mein Kaun Tha’ trend, to spread an important message

• It has been two weeks since Rashi Rap took over the internet by storm.
• What followed the rap was a hilarious meme fest and the song becoming a part of everyday conversation.
• And now, to leverage the rising popularity, a brand has approached Kokila Ben for an advertisement.

After a snippet from Star Plus’ Saath Nibhana Saathiya serial converted to a catchy song took the internet by storm, Paytm has roped in the protagonist, Kokilaben, to use her fandom and spread awareness about phishing scams.

The serial’s popularity soared after music producer Yashraj Mukhate created a song around a scene from the show. It was followed by a hilarious meme fest and the song became a part of everyday conversations. Brands like Dunzo, Netflix, Tinder, Nearbuy were also quick to jump on the brandwagon.

According to Star Plus, 36 million viewers watched Saath Nibhana Saathiya in that week. Despite its rerun after a decade, it became the 7th most-watched show in the category.

So, Paytm decided to jump onto the ‘Kaun Tha’ trend by giving it a new twist. Its advertisement aims to inform consumers about imposters. Kokilaben gets a call from someone claiming to be a Paytm executive, calling to inform Kokilaben that her Paytm wallet has expired and to complete the KYC procedure, she would have to download another app. Before buying into the caller’s made-up scheme, Kokilaben asks herself, “Is it an executive or imposter?”

She soon smells that there is something fishy and says, “Phone par jalsa tha.” (there was a fraudster on the phone).

She urges consumers to beware of fraud calls, SMS on KYC Account Block or Contests. She also clarifies that Paytm can never be done by any other app.


Does this mean we will see more of Kokilaben in ads now? Only time will tell. But here is an example of leveraging a popular meme fest and using Moment Marketing right.