As the ICC Cricket World cup is knocking at the door, we are ready to fuel the love for cricket in us. With effusing patriotism, unity, passion, and prayer. It is said that cricket is not just a sport, it is in our blood. Thus there are plenty of brands, banking upon the popularity of the sport. The brands during this time try to make the best use of it. It can be a great opportunity for marketers to use this world cup hype to market their products/brands. It is expected, this year’s World Cup will be a major player in boosting the marketing spend too.
Marketers should start planning for their World Cup Themed marketing campaign as soon as possible. Brands like Pepsico, Nike, Adidas have always run such campaigns which proved to be very fruitful.
Here are a few World Cup-themed Ad campaigns of different brands which were brilliantly executed.
#1 Pepsi- Change the game
Being the official global partner for the ICC World Cup 2011, Pepsi unveiled its most iconic campaign- “Change the Game”. The series featured Shakib Al Hasan, MS Dhoni, Kevin Pietersen in different TVCs. The intelligent choice of choosing these cricketers was based on their unique personas that we often witness on screen. Each TVC mirrored the sportsperson’s respective character.
The idea of the campaign revolved around how creatively the youth has influenced their favorite cricket shots- Shakib’s Super scoop, Dhoni’s Helicopter, Kevin’s Switch Hit, The aim was to ignite excitement, passion and challenge the face of orthodox and conventional methods while playing the game. The brand here signified the fearless voice of uninhibited youth and intended to stand as the unorthodox face of the modern game. These ads were tongue-in-cheek and still managed to show that a creative player can find inspiration to tinker with his technique in the unlikeliest of places.
The Change the Game tagline was also used for Pepsi T20 football. It managed to get fans of both sports to intersect and find common ground.
These series of ads brilliantly traced the fictitious origin stories of some less than traditional, sometimes fictitious cricket moves.
#2 Adidas- bring it on
This was one gritty advert. Sachin Tendulkar is one of the legends that showcased their talents in this game. Using critics voices as fuel to his fire, Sachin is shown training in a montage with ferocity and intensity which speaks to the undercurrent of brimming and simmering rage. He is determined to prove his critics wrong and play a part for his country in lifting the coveted world cup.
#3 Nike – Bleed Blue
This India based ad captures the essence of the unifying power of cricket. It did a beautiful job of drawing a parallel showing an intersection in the lives of our Indian team players and the common youth. Every cricketer in the ad, the idols of the cricket team along with the rest of the country’s youth wakes up at the crack of dawn and uses a myriad of transports to reach their training grounds.
Some may hitch a ride on top of a bus, some may have their own car, but everyone travels to their hallowed training grounds. It ends with a shot of all those players charging into their respective fields for a match. Some may be playing at a sold-out stadium, some may be plowing through a muddy field, but everyone plays.
This showed cricket as a unifying factor that binds together all those who pursue it. Regardless of their level of fame or fortune, the sport makes its disciples pursue journeys that are not dissimilar.
The whole country must be eagerly awaiting the ICC World Cup. Save the dates. Sledding begins from May 30, 2019. Let’s roar again!
Roar with HYPE!!!
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