Not really, say some brand experts and media planners. They believe that the muted tone in the ads is more on account of the brevity of the series, rather than a positioning change. However several believe that the new storylines and communication narratives reflect the changing times.
Advertiser interest in the event is as high as ever, despite the muted tone all around. Apart from Paytm and Byju’s (team sponsor), Raymond, Dream11, Nike, MRF, Asus Computers and several other brands have jumped on to the series, with ads on television and for the digital broadcast.
The Star Sports campaign for the series was launched last week. In the ads, Anil Kapoor and Jaaved Jaaferi play the roles of an Indian and Australian fan, respectively. Both engage in banter while warning the other of a potential thrashing on the field. The television campaign is extended on to the digital medium via the social media handles of the actors. For instance, Jaaferi tweeted “Pehle humne jung ki, phir total dhamaal — ab aa rahe hain phirse dikhaane apna kamaal! Anil Kapoor bhai, bach ke rehna, it’s going to be the #BattleofEquals this time. (First war, then annihilation, be warned this is a battle of equals) To which Kapoor said, “#BattleofEquals toh hoga Jaaved Jaaferi, par film mein ‘Hero’ ek hi hota hai, aur jeet ussi ki hoti hai! So watch out” (It may be a battle of equals but there is just one hero in a film and he always wins)
The big shift, point out advertisers, is that the series is pitched as a battle of equals. In the recent past Star Sports has drawn enormous flak on social media (Le Jayenge during the ICC World Cup 2019) for ads that portrayed India as the ‘baap’ (father) of Pakistan. Many said the ad betrayed the gentleman’s spirit of the game. With a campaign that tones down the rivalry and presents the match as a contest between old friends, the broadcaster
is steering away from such controversies.
It could well be that the short duration of the series does not lend itself to a long-drawn out campaign and edgy banter. Sandeep Goyal, founder of Mogae Media and an advertising veteran believes that is the case and added that this is a different kind of series and hence merits a different kind of campaign. Unlike the World Cup campaign in 2019 or earlier ‘Mauka Mauka’ (opportunity) campaigns around India-Pakistan matches, the attempt is to show this as a battle of equals, he said.
“Mauka Mauka built on Indo-Pak rivalry which is not just about cricket. There are a lot of ‘surround emotions’ that fuelled it. India-Australia rivalry is becoming more pronounced, but it is still only about cricket. Mauka was about ‘us’ versus ‘them’ but, Jaaved is still ‘us’ even if he has joined ‘them’,” Goyal said.
According to the Star Sports spokesperson, the campaign has been conceptualised by the in-house creative team and depicts the two actors as friends who live in India and Australia respectively. “The series of TVCs thrive on the banter, laced with fun and tongue-in-cheek humour, between the two, where each takes on the other in several one-upmanship contests,” the spokesperson said.
Goyal believes that the ads have made the typical one-upmanship between the teams a relatively civil affair. “In fact, if this campaign, which is definitely a nicely made one, is used for future cricket series then it is likely to resonate more. The brand’s engagement with the consumer increases when the message or story is told over and over again,” Goyal said.
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