Integrating product placement within the film's storyline is nothing new - who could forget the yellow Rajdoot bike in Raj Kapoor's Bobby.

Recent times have seen a slew of product placements on the silver screen. In-film placement of brands is proving to be a revenue-spinner for ad agencies and producers alike. Film placements are raking in anything between Rs 0.5 million to Rs 50 million for the producers.

Three major players in the film segment are:

Leo Entertainment: Leo Burnett recently established a new subsidiary, Leo Entertainment, in India to capitalise on the phenomenal growth of product placement and related commercial activity in Indian movies.

Leo Entertainment's claim to fame includes bollywood blockbusters Kaante, Raju Chacha, BR Chopra's Baghban, Pooja Bhatt's Jism and Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai where it leveraged brands such as Coke, Thums Up, Maaza, Provogue, Castrol, Tata Tea and Blowplast. It is also working with other producers such as Shahrukh Khan, Ramgopal Varma, NR Paschisia and Ramesh Sippy for in film brand placement.

Hungama.com: Hungama.com is another major player in the business. Entertainment marketing business head Siddhartha Roy affirmed that he is working on three films, one of which is slated for a release in September while a couple of films are launching around Diwali. The entertainment company had done a placement for Western Union Money Transfer in Ramesh Sippy's Kuch Na Kaho in September 2003.

Broadmind Entertainment: Broadmind Entertainment recently got noticed for its in-film placement for ICICI brand in Baghban. The company is also working on eight more projects with production houses such as Entertainment One, Maruti Films and Boney Kapoor Productions. The films are slated for release this summer over April to June and around Diwali, which is when most big projects are released.