Villain, the men’s fragrance and grooming brand from BRND.ME, has taken its Gold Revolver Eau de Parfum to the streets of Bengaluru through a two-day auto-hood branding activation.
The activation marks Villain’s first foray into out-of-home and experiential marketing, with branded auto rickshaws deployed across key commercial and commuter hubs including Russell Market in Shivajinagar, Vidhana Soudha and Koramangala.
The Gold Revolver Eau de Parfum, positioned by the brand as India’s only revolver-shaped perfume, featured prominently across the branded auto hoods, using its distinctive silhouette as the central visual of the campaign.
The activation also used Bengaluru-specific messaging, with two versions of the campaign communication: “Move Aside! Villain is Here!” in English and “Leyy! Villain Bartha Idey!” in Kannada. The bilingual approach was designed to connect with the city’s local and cosmopolitan audiences.
Traffic, a familiar part of Bengaluru’s daily commute, also became part of the campaign idea. By using auto rickshaws as moving brand assets, Villain turned the city’s congestion and everyday traffic routes into an extension of its outdoor media.
The campaign was conceptualised and executed entirely in-house. Until now, Villain’s marketing has largely focused on performance-led channels across D2C, marketplaces and quick commerce, along with influencer-led awareness. The Bengaluru activation takes the brand into physical consumer touchpoints for the first time.
Commenting on the activation, a BRND.ME spokesperson said, “Villain has always been about building distinctive products and a brand personality that is difficult to miss. Gold Revolver is a strong expression of that, and Bengaluru gave us an interesting canvas to take it beyond the screen and onto the streets. Instead of working around the city’s traffic, we made it part of the campaign. As Villain scales, we will continue to explore new ways of building relevance and engaging consumers across markets.”
Following the Bengaluru activation, Villain plans to explore similar on-ground formats in other Indian cities as it expands its brand-building efforts beyond digital channels.
