Banana talk

Armed with wit and humour, other brands join in on the fun after Rahul Bose’s post went viral. They’ve used the situation brilliantly to promote their own products and services.

While certain tourists may be making a mockery of Indians in hotels abroad, it is a hotel that is getting trolled in India — and for good reason.

‘Rs. 442 for two bananas’ — if it weren’t for the recent video Rahul Bose uploaded to Twitter, most would be looking for a missing decimal point here. Except, the actor was charged that very amount by a five-star hotel in Chandigarh when he ordered two bananas from room service. While the video, where Bose maintains a polite tone and straight face, have Twitterati in splits, brands and others have decided to keep their eyes peeled and smartly capitalise on the situation.

Brands such as Oyo, The Park and Amazon have swiftly sent in an army of memes, each taking a jab on the overpriced fruit. The brilliance of it, however, lies in how these enterprises have used the situation to promote their own products and services. For instance, Reliance Smart uploaded an image with a giant bowl filled with bananas, depicting that, in the retail chain, one can get a large number of the fruit for Rs 442.

Other hotels, such as The Park Bangalore and Taj Santacruz, Mumbai, have emphasised that they serve complimentary bananas (especially the former, which made a witty remark on the initials of the hotel that is being trolled). Some are even expressing that their products — such as a room at Oyo or a pizza at Pizza Hut — would burn a smaller hole in your pocket than the infamous bananas.

While a social-media marketing strategy that capitalises upon topical events is not a new phenomenon for these brands, the quick-wittedness of some of the people behind keyboards is impressive, to say the least. So, let the memes pour in.