Off-field Action

Dhoni’s knack of whacking the ball in a wild circular lob — known as the helicopter shot in cricketing circles— is the focus of Pepsi Co India’s latest commercial campaign,with the theme,‘Change the Game’. “We wanted to focus on the unconventional side of a game that has changed dramatically over the past decade. It also reflects the irreverence of today’s youth,” remarks Agnello Dias,chairman and co-founder of TapRoot India,the creative agency behind the Pepsi World Cup television commercial campaigns.

In the 40-second TVC,which hit screens yesterday,Dhoni is shown learning to play the ‘helicopter shot’ on a hay cutter in a village. After he perfects the technique,he plays the shot in a one-day match against England. “Dhoni’s mannerisms on the pitch are synonymous with the current transition in cricket,” adds Dias. Since Pepsi Co. are the official global sponsors of the World Cup,they have planned five commercials with other players,including Harbhajan Singh,Virat Kohli,Virender Sehwag,Kevin Pieterson,Dilshan Tillakaratne and Suresh Raina. “It will be a phased roll-out of the commercials,” says Dias.

Though the World Cup is only a month away,the race to fetch the best cricketer as the ‘face of the brand’ is bound to intensify further. According to advertising gurus,the coming days will see a 15-20 per cent spurt in commercials featuring prominent and in-form cricketers like Sehwag,Gautam Gambhir,Dhoni,Virat Kohli and Harbhajan Singh. “Brands are always gunning for top players and deals have already been inked. This is an opportune time when a particular target audience,gets to notice their favourite cricketer endorsing that brand. Since lots of money is spent on the brand ambassador,events like these are a good recovering technique,” quips Vijay Xavier,VP,Lintas,Chennai,which created a commercial with Sachin Tendulkar three months ago,for endorsing the Reynolds Trimax ballpen. The ad exploits Tendulkar’s strive for excellence and his dedicated presence at practice sessions,through its tag line: the more you write,the more you remember . “More people are bound to turn on the television during the event,so the brand gets more visibility,” says Xavier,who has created two other commercials with Tendulkar,for Reynolds. Incidentally,Tendulkar is also the face of Aviva Life Insurance’s latest commercial for Child Education plans,which capitalises on his fatherhood status.

Contrary to popular belief,events like the World Cup don’t fetch a premium for cricketers as brands usually sign contracts for a 24-month period,irrespective of future tournaments. “There is only a clause in the agreements,which specifies there will be no ad-shoots between matches,” clarifies Xavier.

Among the younger lot,Gautam Gambhir recently signed up for a campaign with MRF Tyres,on January 3,when he scored an unbeaten 93 runs against SA in the 3rd Test in Cape Town. “He will begin shooting for the fresh commercials after the end of the one day matches in South Africa,later this month,” informs Xavier. There seems to be no restriction on the kind of products cricketers endorse — from liquor,cement,real estate,watches and writing instruments. Brands are only concerned in bagging the most successful players “as they feel privilegedwhen they endorse their products,” says ad guru Prahlad Kakkar.

There’s a flip side to it too. Kakkar says cricketer Virat Kohli’s body language in the ad for watch brand Fast Track,reflects arrogance.”When your ego becomes bigger than the game,it spells doom for the cricketer,” cautions Kakkar. Likewise Harbhajan Singh’s commercial for liquor brand Royal Stagg might not auger well for his reputation,fear experts. Tendulkar on the other hand,recently refused to endorse liquor products as it jars with his image of a role model. Whatever be the case,over the next few months you’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to commercials featuring cricketers.